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Mental well-being, health, and locus of control in Danish adults before and during COVID-19

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2021

Hanne Würtzen ,
Line Helene Clausen ,
Peter Birkelund Andersen ,
Ziggi Ivan Santini Open the ORCID record for Ziggi Ivan Santini [Opens in a new window] ,
Jakob Erkmen  and
Heidi Frølund Pedersen Open the ORCID record for Heidi Frølund Pedersen [Opens in a new window]
Hanne Würtzen
Affiliation:
Multidisciplinary Pain Centre, Department of Anaesthesia, Pain and Respiratory Support, Neuroscience Centre, Rigshospitalet - Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
Line Helene Clausen
Affiliation:
Multidisciplinary Pain Centre, Department of Anaesthesia, Pain and Respiratory Support, Neuroscience Centre, Rigshospitalet - Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
Peter Birkelund Andersen
Affiliation:
Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Ziggi Ivan Santini
Affiliation:
National Institute for Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
Jakob Erkmen
Affiliation:
Applied Research of Education and Social Science, UCL University College, Odense, Denmark
Heidi Frølund Pedersen*
Affiliation:
Research Clinic for Functional Disorders and Psychosomatics, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
*
Author for correspondence: Heidi Frølund Pedersen, Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Aim:

The aim of this study was to investigate the possible impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on general health, mental well-being, and experiences of control compared to pre-pandemic populations. Our hypotheses were that we would observe a significantly lower level of psychological well-being and general health in the 2020 sample compared to the pre-pandemic samples, and that we would observe younger age groups to be the most affected.

Method:

Two representative Danish populations (2016, n = 1656) and (2017, n = 3366) were compared to a representative Danish population (2020, n = 1538) sampled during the first lockdown in May 2020. Two-tailed tests of proportions were used to investigate possible differences between samples in proportions reporting poorer mental well-being measured by 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index, general health, and internal locus of control.

Results:

Younger men (aged 18–24) and younger women (aged 18–44) as well as elderly women (aged 65–74) reported lower mental well-being during the early phase of the pandemic compared to the population from 2016. Both women and men in 2020 reported significantly lower levels of internal locus of control compared to the 2017 sample. This was especially true for younger men and women. There were no statistically significant differences in general health between populations.

Discussion:

This study partly supports the hypothesis that the Covid-19 pandemic affected mental well-being negatively among younger persons. However, longitudinal studies are needed to investigate possible long-term effects of the pandemic on mental health and well-being. Further, qualitative studies are needed to investigate the in-depth consequences of Covid-19.

Keywords

COVID-19mental well-beinghealthlocus of controlpopulation study
Type
Original Article
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Volume 34 , Issue 2 , April 2022 , pp. 93 - 98
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Scandinavian College of Neuropsychopharmacology

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