Research snapshot: COVID-19 and traumatic stress

In the early months of 2020, the novel coronavirus quickly spread from a series of medical cases in a few countries to a global pandemic with profound effects.

CEHD Professors Jeff Ashby and Ken Rice were part of an international team who conducted a study published in the Journal of Loss and Trauma focused on COVID-19 traumatic stress, which is unique compared to other traumatic stresses.

Their study involved 1,374 people from seven countries responding to an online questionnaire that Ashby and Rice developed with colleagues from the Center for Cumulative Trauma Studies in Stone Mountain, Ga.

"This study offers evidence for three primary components of traumatic stress related to the experience of COVID-19: stress related to the fear of present or future infection or death from infection, economic stress due to job loss and/or related financial difficulties, and traumatic stress related to social isolation and disturbed routine," Ashby explained. "The combined experience of these three components is significantly related to increases in anxiety, depression and the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder."