The objective of this study was to examine whether novel pandemic-related stressors have any effect on cognitive functioning. This study aimed to examine whether the overall number of pandemic-related stressors, and whether stressor type, are associated with cognitive problems. The coronavirus pandemic, and societal changes to prevent and respond to it, have created novel stressors, including unemployment, social isolation, and health risks. While prior research has focused on the physical and psychological consequences of these stressors, these stressors may also be associated with cognitive impairments. Individuals who have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and individuals who experience chronic stress are at risk for cognitive impairments, however, research has not yet examined whether pandemic-related stressors not specifically related to infection but to the experience of the pandemic overall, are associated with cognitive deficits. This study evaluated whether pandemic-related psychosocial stressors (financial, health, role/responsibility, and social) were related to cognitive functioning. We hypothesized that individuals with a higher number of pandemic-related stressors will perform worse on cognitive domains of attention, memory, and executive functions, than those with fewer stressors.

An online survey recruited participants (A/=19), of whom 89.5% were female, and the average age was 34 years (SD=15.7), to complete an online neuropsychological battery. Participants first completed questionnaires on the coronavirus pandemic, demographic characteristics, and completed the BDI-II and the BAI. An online neuropsychological battery was administered to participants over Zoom consisting of various neuropsychological tests, including the RAVLT, story memory, digit span, FAS, animal fluency, a go-no/go task, the Stroop, and the NAART-R.

A majority of participants (89.5%) experienced one or more coronavirus pandemic stressors, with only two participants reporting no coronavirus stressors. A majority of participants experienced at least one social stressor (57.9%), role/responsibility stressor (63.2%), and health stressor (52.6%), with financial stressors (47.4%) experienced by just fewer than half of participants. Pearson’s correlations showed significant negative correlations between stressors and performance on several neuropsychological tests. Specifically, social, health, and total stressors were associated with significantly poorer performance on digit span backwards and trials of the RAVLT (i.e., Trials 15, delayed recall, recognition) (ps<.05). Social stressors, health stressors, and total pandemic stressors were significantly associated with poorer performance on measures of working memory, processing speed, verbal learning, and verbal memory.

While small sample size limits the power and generalizability of these findings, this study highlights the need to investigate the cognitive effects of pandemic-related stressors. An expanded coronavirus questionnaire would be beneficial as the current questionnaire may have not captured all stressors of the pandemic, or level of severity, that could potentially contribute to changes in neuropsychological function. Pandemic-related stressors have spread into many areas of everyday life and the consequences that have stemmed from these stressors seem to play a negative role on the general wellbeing of individuals and also show an effect on psychological and neuropsychological functioning. This study illustrates the need for an expanded response to health crises, as the negative results of this pandemic have not been solely affecting physical health.