The consequences of a year of the COVID-19 pandemic for the mental health of young adult twins in England and Wales
Year: 2022
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all our lives, not only through the infection itself but also through the measures taken to control the spread of the virus (e.g. lockdown). AIMS: Here, we investigated how the COVID-19 pandemic and unprecedented lockdown affected the mental health of young adults in England and Wales. METHOD: We compared the mental health symptoms of up to 4773 twins in their mid-20s in 2018 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (T1) and during four-wave longitudinal data collection during the pandemic in April, July and October 2020, and in March 2021 (T2-T5) using phenotypic and genetic longitudinal designs. RESULTS: The average changes in mental health were small to medium and mainly occurred from T1 to T2 (average Cohen d = 0.14). Despite the expectation of catastrophic effects of the pandemic on mental health, we did not observe trends in worsening mental health during the pandemic (T3-T5). Young people with pre-existing mental health problems were disproportionately affected at the beginning of the pandemic, but their increased problems largely subsided as the pandemic persisted. Twin analyses indicated that the aetiology of individual differences in mental health symptoms did not change during the lockdown (average heritability 33%); the average genetic correlation between T1 and T2-T5 was 0.95, indicating that genetic effects before the pandemic were substantially correlated with genetic effects up to a year later. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that on average the mental health of young adults in England and Wales has been remarkably resilient to the effects of the pandemic and associated lockdown.
Source: BJPsych Open
DOI: 10.1192/bjo.2022.506
Authors: Kaili Rimfeld, Margherita Malanchini, Ryan Arathimos, Agnieszka Gidziela, Oliver Pain, Andrew McMillan, Rachel Ogden, Louise Webster, Amy E. Packer, Nicholas G. Shakeshaft, Kerry L. Schofield, Jean-Baptiste Pingault, Andrea G. Allegrini, Argyris Stringaris, Sophie von Stumm, Cathryn M. Lewis, Robert Plomin
Institutions: King's College London, Royal Holloway University of London, Queen Mary University of London, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, National Institute for Health and Care Research, NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, University College London, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Mental Health, University of York
Language: English
Topic: COVID-19 and Mental Health
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,190
Funders: South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Wellcome Trust, Maudsley Charity, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Department of Health and Social Care, King's College London, Jacobs Foundation, National Institutes of Health, NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, Medical Research Council, Menzies Centre for Australian Studies, King's College London, University of London, National Institute on Aging
Awards: G2082591074, G2496263360, G2761558319, G3964375220, G4590952238, G463724992, Examining the associations between educational experiences and mental health from childhood to adulthood, Origins of learning difficulties and behaviour problems: from behavioural genetics to behavioural genomics., Colorado Adoption Project/Twin Study of Lifespan behavioral development & cognitive aging [CATSLife2], G7624716486, G7642225605, G8658852833, G9000059956
OpenAlex ID: W4286435217