A Prospective Examination of Mental Health Trajectories of Disaster-Exposed Young Adults in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Melissa Janson; Erika D Felix; Natalia Jaramillo; Jill D Sharkey; Miya Barnett

doi:10.3390/bs14090787

A Prospective Examination of Mental Health Trajectories of Disaster-Exposed Young Adults in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Behav Sci (Basel). 2024 Sep 7;14(9):787. doi: 10.3390/bs14090787.

Authors

Melissa Janson¹, Erika D Felix², Natalia Jaramillo³, Jill D Sharkey², Miya Barnett²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
² Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
³ Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.

Abstract

This longitudinal study examines young adult mental health (MH) trajectories after exposure to natural disasters (i.e., hurricanes, wildfires, mudslides) across four waves, two pre- and two during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants (n = 205) answered questions about anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSSs) across Waves (Ws) s 1-4 and pre-pandemic factors (prior trauma history, disaster exposure, life stressors since disaster) at Wave (W) 1. Hierarchical linear modeling was conducted to examine MH trajectories and associations with pre-pandemic factors. Only the PTSS trajectory significantly differed across all Ws, with the largest increase between Ws 2 and 3 (pre- and during-pandemic time points). Prior trauma history and life stressors since the disaster were significantly associated with all MH trajectory intercepts but not growth rates.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; collectively experienced traumas; life stressors; mental health trajectories; natural disaster; young adult mental health symptoms.

Grants and funding

This research was funded through the Rapid COVID-19 Collaborative Research Initiative Grant, awarded from the Institute of Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and the Academic Senate at UCSB.