Distress, which covers feelings of sadness, stress and worry, is felt by 31% of the world’s population in 2021, especially the most disadvantaged, compared to 25% in 2009, according to an international study.
- Between 2009 and 2021, reports of stress, sadness and worry jumped by a quarter, from 25% to 31%.
- Covid-19 did not significantly affect this general trend, with a small increase in distress of 2.5% followed by a return to normal.
- The increase in distress outside of the pandemic effect was significantly greater among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations.
Distress is on the rise around the world, and this increase is independent of the Covid-19 pandemic, specify the researchers behind a study published in the journal PNAS on March 27, 2023. According to its results, between 2009 and 2021, reports of stress, sadness and worry jumped by a quarter, from 25% to 31%.
An increase in distress of only 2.5% during the Covid period
Did you experience worry, sadness, stress, anger for much of the day? These are the types of questions asked from 2009 to 2021 to 1.5 million adults from 113 different countries by the consulting and analysis firm Gallup, which produces major international surveys each year and whose data is accessible. to researchers. “I and other researchers have found an increase in depression and emotional distress in the US and UK over this century, so it was interesting to find out if this was the case at larger scale”explains the first author of the study, Michael Daly, a researcher in the department of psychology at Maynooth University in Ireland.
Counterintuitively, Covid-19 did not significantly affect this general trend, with a small increase in distress of 2.5% during the crisis, followed by a return to normal. “This is a pattern found in decades of trauma research, where negative life events, such as bereavement or exposure to disaster, are characterized by a short-term increase in feelings of ‘anxiety and depression, followed by recovery’says Michael Daly.
This Covid effect nevertheless had very little impact on the distress of people aged 55 and over, as well as on socio-economically disadvantaged groups, note the authors of the study. “People with a high level of education or income may have less experience than others in coping with adverse circumstances, and start from a relatively low level in terms of distress”suggests the researcher.
The increase in distress is much greater among the disadvantaged
However, the increase in distress outside of the pandemic effect was significantly greater among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, observes Michael Daly. “For example, the period we study includes the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, when economic uncertainty related to job security and debt was felt by many people around the world”, underlines the psychologist. Traumatic events – conflicts, natural disasters, school shootings – political instability, increased productivity demands, are all factors that may have played a role, explains Michael Daly.
“Given the strong overlap between emotional distress and affective disorders such as depression and anxiety, it is likely that symptoms of these conditions are on the rise, which could push some people over the threshold for disorder diagnoses. affective”worries the researcher.
