The distress is increasing all over the world, and it is not due to the Covid-19 pandemic, researchers note. Between 2009 and 2021, reports of stress, sadness and worry rose from 25 to 31%, an increase of a quarter, underlines Michael Daly, first author of the study published in the journal PNAS and researcher in the Department of Psychology at Maynooth University (Ireland).
A quarter increase in stress, worry and sadness
Think about yesterday, from morning until the end of the day. Think about where you were, what you were doing, who you were with, and how you felt. Did you experience worry, sadness, stress, anger for much of the day? These are the kinds of questions that were asked from 2009 to 2021 to 1.5 million adults from 113 countries by the consulting and analysis firm Gallup, which carries out large international surveys each year, the results of which are made available to researchers. “Other researchers and I 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 more large scale“, relates Michael Daly. With his co-author, sociologist Lucia Macchia, the researcher discovers an increase of a quarter of the general distress felt by the world’s population. Sadness, worry and stress have thus been reported in 25% of cases. in 2009, compared to 31% in 2021.
Independent of the Covid-19 pandemic
Contrary to what one might think, the Covid-19 pandemic played a minor role in this underlying trend, with only a 2.5% increase in distress followed by a return to normal. “It’s 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 loss. anxiety and depression, followed by recovery“, explains Michael Daly.
Rather counterintuitively, this Covid effect has however had very little impact on the distress of people aged 55 and over, as well as on socio-economically disadvantaged groups, observe the researchers. “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“, supposes Michael Daly. As for the older ones, more exposed to the complications of Covid-19, they showed “high levels of resilience during the pandemic in several studies“.
The most affected disadvantaged populations
On the other hand, the background increase in distress outside of the pandemic effect was indeed greater among socio-economically disadvantaged populations, specifies Michael Daly. The reasons remain to be defined, but probably vary according to the period and the country. “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 around the world.“, points out the researcher. Political instability, traumatic events – shootings in schools, natural disasters, conflicts, enumerates Michael Daly -, increase in the technological environment and the associated productivity requirements are examples of factors which could play.
“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 to cross the threshold for affective disorder diagnoses.“, fears Michael Daly. With in the front line regions with a high proportion of citizens with a low level of education such as Africa or South Asia.