Adult life-course trajectories of psychological distress and economic outcomes in midlife during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study used two British birth cohorts to examine whether pre-pandemic trajectories of psychological distress were associated with a greater risk of changes in financial and employment situation during the pandemic, as well as increased need for government support and use of other methods to mitigate their economic situation. We identified 5 differential life-course trajectories of psychological distress from adolescence to midlife and explored their relation to changes in financial and employment circumstances at different stages during the pandemic from May 2020 to March 2021, applying multinomial logistic regression and controlling for numerous early life covariates. In addition, we ran modified Poisson models with robust standard errors to identify whether different trajectories were more likely to have been supported by the benefit system, payment holidays, borrowing and other methods of mitigating the economic shock. We found that despite the UK governments economic response package economic inequalities for pre-pandemic psychological distress trajectories with differential onset, severity and chronicity across the life-course were exacerbated by the COVID-19 economic shock. Furthermore, the subsequent cut in government support, alongside increases in the cost of living may widen economic inequalities for differential pre-pandemic psychological distress trajectories, which in turn may also worsen mental health. This work highlights, different pre-pandemic trajectories of psychological distress were more vulnerable to economic shock.