Predictors of Mental Health During the COVID Pandemic

Health professionals have been concerned about mental health of older adults during the COVID pandemic. To explore their experiences, we conducted an online survey of community-dwelling older people to examine their mental health related to stress, based on Pearlin’s Stress Process Model. A snowball approach was used; we sent recruitment e-mails through senior organizations and contacts with e-mail lists of potential participants; there were 504 respondents. We used regression analysis to explore predictors of mental health based on Pearlin’s model. Background characteristics included age (m = 75.7, SD 4.95), gender (77.4% female) and race (White = 93.4%). The CESD-10 provided a measure of mental health. Scores indicated 62.3% of the sample scored in the low range for depressive symptoms and 37.7% in the moderate to high range. Stressors were measured using the Perceived Stress Scale that includes subscales of perceived helplessness and perceived self-efficacy. We also measured perceived social Isolation, and current life space as predictor variables. Results of regressing the CESD-10 onto the set of theoretical predictors revealed that the inclusion both subscales of the Perceived Stress Scale, social isolation, and current life space jointly accounted for approximately 63.0% of the variability in the outcome beyond the baseline model (FChange[4, 449] = 211.15, p < .01), which included age, race, and gender. The model overall, accounted for approximately 66.5% (R2adjusted = 66.0%) of the variability in CESD-10 scores, (F[7, 449] = 127.473, p < .01). Addressing stress among older adults is important to help them maintain positive mental health.