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      Mental Health of Young Australians during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring the Roles of Employment Precarity, Screen Time, and Contact with Nature

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          Abstract

          The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is widely understood to have contributed to mental health problems. In Australia, young people (18–24 years) have been disproportionately affected. To date, research has predominantly focused on the presence or absence of mental illness symptoms, while aspects of mental well-being have been overlooked. We aimed to explore associations between potential risk and protective factors and mental health more comprehensively, using the Complete State Model of Mental Health. An online survey of 1004 young Australians (55% female; M age = 21.23) was undertaken. Assessment of both mental illness and mental well-being enabled participants to be cross-classified into four mental health states. Those with ‘Floundering’ (13%) or ‘Struggling’ (47.5%) mental health reported symptoms of mental illness; a ‘Languishing’ group (25.5%) did not report symptoms of mental illness but mental well-being was compromised relative to those who were ‘Flourishing’ (14%) with high mental well-being. Multinomial logistic regressions were used to examine associations, adjusting for socio-demographic confounders. Protective factors associated with Flourishing mental health included being in secure employment, using screen time to connect with others, and reporting high levels of hope. Both incidental and purposive contact with nature were also associated with Flourishing, while a lack of green/bluespace within walking distance was associated with Languishing, absence of outdoor residential space was associated with Floundering, and lower neighbourhood greenness was associated with all three suboptimal mental health states. Precarious employment, financial stress, living alone, reporting decreased screen time during lockdowns, lower levels of hope, and high disruption of core beliefs were also associated with Struggling and Floundering mental health. Those who were Languishing reported somewhat less hardship and little disruption to core beliefs, but lower levels of hope compared to young people who were Flourishing. This study highlights that young adults require dedicated mental health services to deal with current burden, but should also be supported through a range of preventive strategies which target mental health risk factors, like precarious employment, and enhance protective factors, such as urban green infrastructure.

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          Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress

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            Mental Illness and/or Mental Health? Investigating Axioms of the Complete State Model of Health.

            A continuous assessment and a categorical diagnosis of the presence (i.e., flourishing) and the absence (i.e., languishing) of mental health were proposed and applied to the Midlife in the United States study data, a nationally representative sample of adults between the ages of 25 and 74 years (N = 3,032). Confirmatory factor analyses supported the hypothesis that measures of mental health (i.e., emotional, psychological, and social well-being) and mental illness (i.e., major depressive episode, generalized anxiety, panic disorder, and alcohol dependence) constitute separate correlated unipolar dimensions. The categorical diagnosis yielded an estimate of 18.0% flourishing and, when cross-tabulated with the mental disorders, an estimate of 16.6% with complete mental health. Completely mentally healthy adults reported the fewest health limitations of activities of daily living, the fewest missed days of work, the fewest half-day work cutbacks, and the healthiest psychosocial functioning (low helplessness, clear life goals, high resilience, and high intimacy). (c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved.
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              The psychological impact of COVID-19 on the mental health in the general population

              Abstract As a result of the emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in the Chinese city of Wuhan, a situation of socio-economic crisis and profound psychological distress rapidly occurred worldwide. Various psychological problems and important consequences in terms of mental health including stress, anxiety, depression, frustration, uncertainty during COVID-19 outbreak emerged progressively. This work aimed to comprehensively review the current literature about the impact of COVID-19 infection on the mental health in the general population. The psychological impact of quarantine related to COVID-19 infection has been additionally documented together with the most relevant psychological reactions in the general population related to COVID-19 outbreak. The role of risk and protective factors against the potential to develop psychiatric disorders in vulnerable individuals has been addressed as well. The main implications of the present findings have been discussed.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Role: Academic Editor
                Role: Academic Editor
                Journal
                Int J Environ Res Public Health
                Int J Environ Res Public Health
                ijerph
                International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
                MDPI
                1661-7827
                1660-4601
                25 May 2021
                June 2021
                : 18
                : 11
                : 5630
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Faculty of Health & Medical Sciences, School of Public Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia; vivienne.moore@ 123456adelaide.edu.au
                [2 ]Faculty of Health & Medical Sciences, Robinson Research Institute, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia; alice.rumbold@ 123456sahmri.com (A.R.R.); sophie.kedzior@ 123456adelaide.edu.au (S.G.E.K.)
                [3 ]South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute, SAHMRI Women and Kids, North Adelaide, SA 5006, Australia
                [4 ]Faculty of Health & Medical Sciences, School of Psychology, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia; mark.kohler@ 123456adelaide.edu.au
                [5 ]The Environment Institute, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
                Author notes
                Author information
                https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1686-7077
                Article
                ijerph-18-05630
                10.3390/ijerph18115630
                8197562
                34070331
                1db73992-55bf-417b-b810-82292e756ab6
                © 2021 by the authors.

                Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

                History
                : 14 April 2021
                : 21 May 2021
                Categories
                Article

                Public health
                young people,emerging adulthood,mental health,covid-19 pandemic,screen time,nature,employment,precarity,hope,core beliefs

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