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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1547178
The Relationship between Safety Measures, Preparedness, and Mental Health Outcomes in New York City during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Provisionally accepted- 1 Department of Public Health and Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway
- 2 Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway
- 3 Global Psychiatric Epidemiology Group, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University-New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, United States
- 4 Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York City, New York, United States
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated strict safety measures and preparedness, potentially influencing mental well-being worldwide. This study investigated the impact of safety measures and preparedness levels on mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, USA, examining how sociodemographic characteristics modified these associations. Method: A longitudinal study of 1,227 participants from three ongoing cohorts, provided data through telephone interviews across three waves from March 2020 to August 2021. Depression and anxiety were measured using Patient Health Questionnaire 8 (PHQ-8) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7). Logistic regression models were used to investigate associations between safety measures, preparedness, and mental health outcomes over time, adjusting for potential confounders and assessing the modification effect of demographic factors. Results: At Wave 1, 18% of participants reported moderate to severe depression, while 20% had moderate to severe anxiety. Over time, these rates declined significantly, with depression dropping to 9% and anxiety to 10% by Wave 3. Safety measures practiced at Wave 1 showed a protective effect on depression at Wave 3 (OR=0.45, 95% CI: 0.22, 0.91). Higher preparedness levels were significantly associated with reduced odds of anxiety (aOR=0.72, 95% CI: 0.55, 0.93) in the concurrent wave. Age-specific analysis revealed that individuals aged 26-35 experienced stronger protective effects from higher preparedness levels (OR=0.43, 95% CI: 0.2, 0.92) compared to younger age groups.Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of safety measures and preparedness in mitigating mental health challenges during crises. Addressing age specific factors and preparedness levels can guide the public health strategies to better support diverse populations.
Keywords: Anxiety, COVID-19, Depression, New York City, pandemic responses, preparedness, Safety measures, Time trends
Received: 17 Dec 2024; Accepted: 21 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Vo, Skokauskas, Cheslack-Postava and Hoven. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Norbert Skokauskas, Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, 7030, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway
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