ArticleJournal of psychiatric research2021
Facing the "new normal": How adjusting to the easing of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions exposes mental health inequalities.
Article in Journal of psychiatric research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Common mental disorders and associated factors among adults after COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) symptoms among health care workers in COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Forms of interventions for problematic usage of the internet: A scoping review.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2025Article
- Impact of Remote Appointments on the Outcomes of Community Mental Health Nurses in Primary Care Since the Covid Pandemic: A Retrospective Observational Cohort Study.International journal of mental health nursing · 2025Observational
- Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in the General Population Under Stressful Conditions: Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic.Brain sciences · 2024Article
- Physical activity and mental health in school-aged children: a prospective two-wave study during the easing of the COVID-19 restrictions.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2024Article
- Cognitive inflexibility and immunome biomarkers in children with autism spectrum disorder.Neuroscience applied · 2024Article
- Cognitive inflexibility, obsessive-compulsive symptoms and traits and poor post-pandemic adjustment.Neuroscience applied · 2024Review
- Trajectories of Adjustment Disorder and Well-Being in Austria and Croatia during 20 Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Longitudinal Course of Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review of Three Years of Prospective Cohort Studies.Clinical neuropsychiatry · 2023Review
- Investigating the correlation between perceived stress and health anxiety with obsessive-compulsive disorder and quality of life during COVID-19 pandemic.BMC psychology · 2023Article
- Meaninglessness and monotony in pandemic boredom.Phenomenology and the cognitive sciences · 2023Article
- A longitudinal investigation of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on 2SLGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness.PloS one · 2023Article
- The impact of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on physical activity and mental health status of Iranian people.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2022Article
- Aggressive measures, rising inequalities, and mass formation during the COVID-19 crisis: An overview and proposed way forward.Frontiers in public health · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundRe-establishing societal norms in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic will be important for restoring public mental health and psychosocial wellbeing as well as economic recovery. We investigated the impact on post-pandemic adjustment of a history of mental disorder, with particular reference to obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms or traits.
methodsThe study was pre-registered (Open Science Framework; https://osf.io/gs8j2/). Adult members of the public (n = 514) were surveyed between July and November 2020, to identify the extent to which they reported difficulties re-adjusting as lockdown conditions eased. All were assessed using validated scales to determine which demographic and mental health-related factors impacted adjustment. An exploratory analysis of a subgroup on an objective online test of cognitive inflexibility was also performed.
resultsAdjustment was related to a history of mental disorder and the presence of OC symptoms and traits, all acting indirectly and statistically-mediated via depression, anxiety and stress; and in the case of OC symptoms, also via COVID-related anxiety (all p < 0.001). One hundred and twenty-eight (25%) participants reported significant adjustment difficulties and were compared with those self-identifying as "good adjusters" (n = 231). This comparison revealed over-representation of those with a history or family history of mental disorder in the poor adjustment category (all p < 0.05). 'Poor-adjusters' additionally reported higher COVID-related anxiety, depression, anxiety and stress and OC symptoms and traits (all p < 0.05). Furthermore, history of mental disorder directly statistically mediated adjustment status (p < 0.01), whereas OC symptoms (not OC traits) acted indirectly via COVID-related anxiety (p < 0.001). Poor-adjusters also showed evidence of greater cognitive inflexibility on the intra-extra-dimensional set-shift task.
conclusionIndividuals with a history of mental disorder, OC symptoms and OC traits experienced greater difficulties adjusting after lockdown-release, largely statistically mediated by increased depression, anxiety, including COVID-related anxiety, and stress. The implications for clinical and public health policies and interventions are discussed.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.