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Acute mental health responses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
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Abstract
The acute and long-term mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are unknown. The current study examined the acute mental health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in 5070 adult participants in Australia, using an online survey administered during the peak of the outbreak in Australia (27th March to 7th April 2020). Self-report questionnaires examined COVID-19 fears and behavioural responses to COVID-19, as well as the severity of psychological distress (depression, anxiety and stress), health anxiety, contamination fears, alcohol use, and physical activity. 78% of respondents reported that their mental health had worsened since the outbreak, one quarter (25.9%) were very or extremely worried about contracting COVID-19, and half (52.7%) were worried about family and friends contracting COVID-19. Uncertainty, loneliness and financial worries (50%) were common. Rates of elevated psychological distress were higher than expected, with 62%, 50%, and 64% of respondents reporting elevated depression, anxiety and stress levels respectively, and one in four reporting elevated health anxiety in the past week. Participants with self-reported history of a mental health diagnosis had significantly higher distress, health anxiety, and COVID-19 fears than those without a prior mental health diagnosis. Demographic (e.g., non-binary or different gender identity; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status), occupational (e.g., being a carer or stay at home parent), and psychological (e.g., perceived risk of contracting COVID-19) factors were associated with distress. Results revealed that precautionary behaviours (e.g., washing hands, using hand sanitiser, avoiding social events) were common, although in contrast to previous research, higher engagement in hygiene behaviours was associated with higher stress and anxiety levels. These results highlight the serious acute impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of respondents, and the need for proactive, accessible digital mental health services to address these mental health needs, particularly for those most vulnerable, including people with prior history of mental health problems. Longitudinal research is needed to explore long-term predictors of poor mental health from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“This increase has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, where health anxiety and fears of COVID-19 were common [10].”
From Illness Anxiety Disorder: A Review of the Current Research and Future Directions (2024) · cites this paper as [10]
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“Finally, the sample is being recruited during the COVID-19 period, which is likely to elevate participants’ levels of psychological distress and mental health symptoms [54].”
From A mobile health intervention (LifeBuoy App) to help young people manage suicidal thoughts: protocol for a mixed-methods randomized controlled trial (2020) · cites this paper as [54]
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“Although we found that individuals with mental illness had higher levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety at the start of lockdown (which is echoed in COVID-19 studies33, 34, 35 from various countries), they had the same trajectories over the subsequent weeks.”
From Trajectories of anxiety and depressive symptoms during enforced isolation due to COVID-19 in England: a longitudinal observational study (2021) · cites this paper as [33]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Newby, J. M., O’Moore, K., Tang, S., Christensen, H., & Faasse, K.
- Affiliations
- Black Dog Institute (AU)
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Newby, Jill M.
- Venue
- PLOS ONE
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2020-07-28
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- e0236562
- ISSN
- 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7386645
- OpenAlex
- W3046129790
- Cited by
- 471
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 49 · 2023: 75 · 2022: 122 · 2021: 162 · 2020: 34
- FWCI
- 39.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- medRxiv (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UNSWorks (UNSW Sydney) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- HRB National Drugs Library (Health Research Board) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Informationszentrum Lebenswissenschaften (ZB MED) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Keywords
- COVID-19 pandemic, psychological distress, depression, anxiety, stress, health anxiety, fear of contamination, fear of COVID-19, preventive behavior, hygiene practices, loneliness, financial worry, uncertainty, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, non-binary gender identity, caregivers, stay-at-home parents, digital mental health services, Australia
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, Adult, Anxiety, Australia, Depression, Fear, Humans, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Pneumonia, Viral, Surveys and Questionnaires, Stress, Psychological, Coronavirus Infections, Pandemics, Social Media
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