Covid 19’s Social Quarantine-Moderated Self-Reported Mental Health and Substance Use Among US Adults

Abstract

In 2019 the novel coronavirus spread quickly throughout the world. It was easily transmitted, resulting in a sudden increase in infection and death rates that overwhelmed hospitals. This sudden pandemic resulted in government and health officials mandating physical and social quarantines to decrease the spread of COVID-19. All these unexpected factors induced traumatic stress across the world. The impact of this trauma is seen to date, as many studies reported adverse mental health effects in an array of populations and researchers speculate these effects will continue long after COVID-19. The role of social quarantine as a moderating factor to these adverse mental health symptoms was assessed in a Qualtrics sample of 596 US adults. Participants completed a demographic survey, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Questionnaire, COVID-19 Pandemic Mental Health Questionnaire, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7, International Trauma Questionnaire, Brief Resiliency Scale, and the Tobacco, Alcohol, Prescription Medication and Other Substances Tool. Hierarchical regressions with demographic and risk factors as predictors assessed the role of social quarantine as a moderator in predicting mental health symptoms. ACEs and risk factors were stronger predictors of mental health symptoms, but social quarantine added significant incremental variance in self-reported anxiety, depression, PTSD, complex PTSD, and substance use; β<em> </em>ranged for 0.24 to 0.30. Quarantine had a significant adverse impact on mental health symptoms among these adults. Fostering resilience and distress tolerance is a proposed clinical intervention.