Psicothema was founded in Asturias (northern Spain) in 1989, and is published jointly by the Psychology Faculty of the University of Oviedo and the Psychological Association of the Principality of Asturias (Colegio Oficial de Psicología del Principado de Asturias).
We currently publish four issues per year, which accounts for some 100 articles annually. We admit work from both the basic and applied research fields, and from all areas of Psychology, all manuscripts being anonymously reviewed prior to publication.
Berta Ausín, Clara González-Sanguino, Miguel Ángel Castellanos, Jesús Sáiz, Sara Zamorano, Carlos Vaquero, and Manuel Muñoz
Complutense University of Madrid
Background: This study aims to longitudinally assess the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the general Spanish population. It uses four assessment points: two weeks after the start of confinement, one month after, two months after, and one year after the first evaluation. Methods: Evaluations were conducted through an online survey, with a sample of 3,480 people at the first data collection and 1,041, 569, and 550 people at successive evaluation points. Depressive symptoms (PHQ-2), anxiety (GAD-2), post-traumatic stress (PCL-C-2), social support (EMAS), loneliness (UCLA-3), and discrimination (InDI-d) were evaluated. Results: Significant changes were found in the variables depression and anxiety with a greater presence of this kind of symptomatology after one year (p < .01). There were also significant changes in the variable social support, which showed a substantial reduction after one year (p < .001). Similarly, there were significant variations in the variable intersectional discrimination (p < .001), with greater levels of discrimination. The temporal models show no significant differences in terms of post-traumatic symptomatology (p = .12) or loneliness (p = .19). Conclusions: The pandemic had a negative impact on mental health and these effects were further exacerbated one year later.
Impacto Psicológico de la Pandemia de la COVID-19 en España: un Estudio Longitudinal. Antecedentes: el objetivo es evaluar el impacto psicológico de la pandemia generada por la COVID-19 en la población general española longitudinalmente en cuatro momentos: tras dos semanas del inicio del confinamiento, al mes, a los dos meses y al año. Método: las evaluaciones se realizaron mediante una encuesta online, se siguió a una muestra de 3.480 personas en la primera recogida de datos y de 1.041, 569 y 550 personas en los sucesivos momentos de evaluación. Se evaluó la presencia de síntomas depresivos (PHQ-2), de ansiedad (GAD-2), de estrés postraumático (PCL-C-2), el apoyo social (EMAS), la soledad (UCLA-3) y la discriminación (InDI-D). Resultados: se han producido cambios significativos en las variables de depresión y ansiedad con una presencia mayor de dicha sintomatología al año (p < .01), así como en la variable de apoyo social, que muestra una reducción significativa un año después (p < .001), y en la discriminación interseccional, con una mayor discriminación (p < .001). Los modelos temporales no muestran diferencias significativas en cuanto a sintomatología postraumática (p = .12) ni soledad (p = .19). Conclusiones: la pandemia ha tenido un impacto negativo en la salud mental y estos efectos son todavía peores un año después.
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ENGLISH
https://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2021.290