Open Collections

UBC Faculty Research and Publications

Mental Health During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic : A Review and Recommendations for Moving Forward Aknin, Lara B.; De Neve, Jan-Emmanuel; Dunn, Elizabeth, 1977-; Fancourt, Daisy E.; Goldberg, Elkhonon; Helliwell, John F.; Jones, Sarah P.; Karam, Elie; Layard, Richard; Lyubomirsky, Sonja; Rzepa, Andrew; Saxena, Shekhar; Thornton, Emily M.; VanderWeele, Tyler J.; Whillans, Ashley V.; Zaki, Jamil; Karadag, Ozge; Amor, Yanis Ben

Abstract

COVID-19 has infected millions of people and upended the lives of most humans on the planet. Researchers from across the psychological sciences have sought to document and investigate the impact of COVID-19 in myriad ways, causing an explosion of research that is broad in scope, varied in methods, and challenging to consolidate. Because policy and practice aimed at helping people live healthier and happier lives requires insight from robust patterns of evidence, this article provides a rapid and thorough summary of high-quality studies available through early 2021 examining the mental-health consequences of living through the COVID-19 pandemic. Our review of the evidence indicates that anxiety, depression, and distress increased in the early months of the pandemic. Meanwhile, suicide rates, life satisfaction, and loneliness remained largely stable throughout the first year of the pandemic. In response to these insights, we present seven recommendations (one urgent, two short-term, and four ongoing) to support mental health during the pandemic and beyond.

Item Metadata

Title
Mental Health During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic : A Review and Recommendations for Moving Forward
Creator
Aknin, Lara B.; De Neve, Jan-Emmanuel; Dunn, Elizabeth, 1977-; Fancourt, Daisy E.; Goldberg, Elkhonon; Helliwell, John F.; Jones, Sarah P.; Karam, Elie; Layard, Richard; Lyubomirsky, Sonja; Rzepa, Andrew; Saxena, Shekhar; Thornton, Emily M.; VanderWeele, Tyler J.; Whillans, Ashley V.; Zaki, Jamil; Karadag, Ozge; Amor, Yanis Ben
Date Issued
2022
Description
COVID-19 has infected millions of people and upended the lives of most humans on the planet. Researchers from across the psychological sciences have sought to document and investigate the impact of COVID-19 in myriad ways, causing an explosion of research that is broad in scope, varied in methods, and challenging to consolidate. Because policy and practice aimed at helping people live healthier and happier lives requires insight from robust patterns of evidence, this article provides a rapid and thorough summary of high-quality studies available through early 2021 examining the mental-health consequences of living through the COVID-19 pandemic. Our review of the evidence indicates that anxiety, depression, and distress increased in the early months of the pandemic. Meanwhile, suicide rates, life satisfaction, and loneliness remained largely stable throughout the first year of the pandemic. In response to these insights, we present seven recommendations (one urgent, two short-term, and four ongoing) to support mental health during the pandemic and beyond.
Subject
COVID-19; Mental health; Psychological distress; Subjective well-being; Loneliness; Social connection; Self-harm; Suicide
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2023-02-09
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0424327
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/83816
Affiliation
Arts, Faculty of; Non UBC; Psychology, Department of; Vancouver School of Economics
Citation
Aknin, L. B., De Neve, J.-E., Dunn, E. W., Fancourt, D. E., Goldberg, E., Helliwell, J. F., Jones, S. P., Karam, E., Layard, R., Lyubomirsky, S., Rzepa, A., Saxena, S., Thornton, E. M., VanderWeele, T. J., Whillans, A. V., Zaki, J., Karadag, O., & Ben Amor, Y. (2022). Mental Health During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review and Recommendations for Moving Forward. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 17(4), 915–936.
Publisher DOI
10.1177/17456916211029964
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty; Researcher; Graduate
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository
DSpace

Item Media

Item Citations and Data

Rights

Attribution 4.0 International