• Christoph Benke, Lara K Autenrieth, Eva Asselmann, and Christiane A Pané-Farré.
• Department of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Philipps University of Marburg, Gutenbergstraße 18, 35032 Marburg, Germany. Electronic address: christoph.benke@uni-marburg.de.
• Psychiatry Res. 2020 Nov 1; 293: 113462.

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic is suggested to have a negative impact on mental health. To prevent the spread of Sars-CoV-2, governments worldwide have implemented different forms of public health measures ranging from physical distancing recommendations to stay-at-home orders, which have disrupted individuals' everyday life tremendously. However, evidence on the associations of the COVID-19 pandemic and public health measures with mental health are limited so far. In this study, we investigated the role of sociodemographic and COVID-19 related factors for immediate mental health consequences in a nationwide community sample of adults from Germany (N = 4335). Specifically, we examined the effects of different forms and levels of restriction resulting from public health measures (e.g. quarantine, stay-at-home order) on anxiety and depression symptomatology, health anxiety, loneliness, the occurrence of fearful spells, psychosocial distress and life-satisfaction. We found that higher restrictions due to lockdown measures, a greater reduction of social contacts and greater perceived changes in life were associated with higher mental health impairments. Importantly, a subjectively assumed but not an officially announced stay-at-home order was associated with poorer mental health. Our findings underscore the importance of adequate risk communication and targeted mental health recommendations especially for vulnerable groups during these challenging times.Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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