International Prevalence and Correlates of Psychological Stress during the Global COVID-19 Pandemic

Maheen M. Adamson, Angela Phillips, Srija Seenivasan, Julian Martinez, Harlene Grewal, Xiaojian Kang, John Coetzee, Ines Luttenbacher, Ashley Jester, Odette A. Harris and David Spiegel
Additional contact information
Maheen M. Adamson: Rehabilitation Service, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
Angela Phillips: Rehabilitation Service, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
Srija Seenivasan: Rehabilitation Service, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
Julian Martinez: Rehabilitation Service, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
Harlene Grewal: Rehabilitation Service, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
Xiaojian Kang: Rehabilitation Service, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
John Coetzee: Rehabilitation Service, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
Ines Luttenbacher: Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1001 NH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Ashley Jester: Science and Engineering Libraries, Stanford Libraries, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Odette A. Harris: Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
David Spiegel: Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 24, 1-16

Abstract: This study reports perceived stress and associated sociodemographic factors from an international sample of adults, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) along with socio-demographic questions were conducted between 8 April 2020 and 11 May 2020. The survey was translated from English into five languages. Recruitment was conducted worldwide using social media. A total of 1685 survey responses were collected across 57 countries with eleven countries (≥30 responses/country) included in the sub-analyses. Overall, the mean PSS-10 score was 19.08 (SD = 7.17), reflecting moderate stress compared to previously reported norms. Female gender was associated with a higher PSS score (3.03, p < 0.05) as well as four-year degree holders (3.29, p < 0.05), while adults over 75 years (−7.46, p < 0.05) had lower PSS scores. Personal care composite score (including hours of sleep, exercise, and meditation) was associated with lower PSS scores (−0.39, p < 0.01). Increases in personal care and changes in work expectations were associated with lower PSS scores (−1.30 ( p < 0.05) and −0.38 ( p < 0.01), respectively). Lower total PSS scores were reported in Germany (−4.82, p < 0.01) compared to the global response sample mean. This information, collected during the initial period of global mitigation orders, provides insight into potential mental health risks and protective factors during crises.

Keywords: COVID-19; coronavirus; global; psychological stress; mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/24/9248/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/24/9248/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:24:p:9248-:d:459995

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().