TY - JOUR
T1 - The mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and exposure to other potentially traumatic events up to old age
AU - Havermans, Demi C. D.
AU - Hoeboer, Chris M.
AU - Sobczak, Sjacko
AU - Primasari, Indira
AU - Coimbra, Bruno M.
AU - Hovnanyan, Ani
AU - Novakovic, Irina Zrnic
AU - Langevin, Rachel
AU - Aakvaag, Helene F.
AU - Grace, Emma
AU - Dragan, Malgorzata
AU - Lueger-Schuster, Brigitte
AU - el-Hage, Wissam
AU - Olff, Miranda
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Journal of Traumatic Stress published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.
PY - 2023/8
Y1 - 2023/8
N2 - We investigated whether the impact of potentially traumatic events (PTEs) on trauma-related symptoms changes across the transitional adult lifespan (i.e., 16–100 years old) and if this association differs for self-reported COVID-19–related PTEs compared to other PTEs. A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 7,034 participants from 88 countries between late April and October 2020. Participants completed the Global Psychotrauma Screen (GPS), a self-report questionnaire assessing trauma-related symptoms. Data were analyzed using linear and logistic regression analyses and general linear models. We found that older age was associated with lower GPS total symptom scores, B = −0.02, p <.001; this association remained significant but was substantially weaker for self-reported COVID-19–related PTEs compared to other PTEs, B = 0.02, p =.009. The results suggest an association between older age and lower ratings of trauma-related symptoms on the GPS, indicating a blunted symptom presentation. This age-related trend was smaller for self-reported COVID-19–related PTEs compared to other PTEs, reflecting the relatively higher impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults.
AB - We investigated whether the impact of potentially traumatic events (PTEs) on trauma-related symptoms changes across the transitional adult lifespan (i.e., 16–100 years old) and if this association differs for self-reported COVID-19–related PTEs compared to other PTEs. A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 7,034 participants from 88 countries between late April and October 2020. Participants completed the Global Psychotrauma Screen (GPS), a self-report questionnaire assessing trauma-related symptoms. Data were analyzed using linear and logistic regression analyses and general linear models. We found that older age was associated with lower GPS total symptom scores, B = −0.02, p <.001; this association remained significant but was substantially weaker for self-reported COVID-19–related PTEs compared to other PTEs, B = 0.02, p =.009. The results suggest an association between older age and lower ratings of trauma-related symptoms on the GPS, indicating a blunted symptom presentation. This age-related trend was smaller for self-reported COVID-19–related PTEs compared to other PTEs, reflecting the relatively higher impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85159885247&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22937
DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22937
M3 - Article
C2 - 37218466
SN - 0894-9867
VL - 36
SP - 738
EP - 749
JO - Journal of traumatic stress
JF - Journal of traumatic stress
IS - 4
ER -