Meaningful activities during COVID-19 lockdown and association with mental health in Belgian adults.

Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 100968562 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1471-2458 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14712458 NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: London : BioMed Central, [2001-

Activities of Daily Living* ; Communicable Disease Control* ; Mental Health*; COVID-19/*psychology; Adult ; Belgium/epidemiology ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Pandemics

Background: The spread of COVID-19 has affected people's daily lives, and the lockdown may have led to a disruption of daily activities and a decrease of people's mental health.
Aim: To identify correlates of adults' mental health during the COVID-19 lockdown in Belgium and to assess the role of meaningful activities in particular.
Methods: A cross-sectional web survey for assessing mental health (General Health Questionnaire), resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale), meaning in activities (Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey), and demographics was conducted during the first Belgian lockdown between April 24 and May 4, 2020. The lockdown consisted of closing schools, non-essential shops, and recreational settings, employees worked from home or were technically unemployed, and it was forbidden to undertake social activities. Every adult who had access to the internet and lived in Belgium could participate in the survey; respondents were recruited online through social media and e-mails. Hierarchical linear regression was used to identify key correlates.
Results: Participants (N = 1781) reported low mental health (M = 14.85/36). In total, 42.4% of the variance in mental health could be explained by variables such as gender, having children, living space, marital status, health condition, and resilience (β = -.33). Loss of meaningful activities was strongly related to mental health (β = -.36) and explained 9% incremental variance (R ² change = .092, p < .001) above control variables.
Conclusions: The extent of performing meaningful activities during the COVID-19 lockdown in Belgium was positively related to adults' mental health. Insights from this study can be taken into account during future lockdown measures in case of pandemics.

Erratum in: BMC Public Health. 2021 Sep 15;21(1):1680. (PMID: 34526010)

Occup Ther Health Care. 1990;6(4):1-17. (PMID: 23931133)
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2012 Feb;1249:118-36. (PMID: 22320203)
Front Psychol. 2021 Feb 09;12:600076. (PMID: 33633635)
Occup Ther Int. 2018 Apr 17;2018:6798697. (PMID: 29849515)
J Med Internet Res. 2020 Aug 6;22(8):e20328. (PMID: 32716899)
Eur J Public Health. 2021 Feb 1;31(1):151-156. (PMID: 32879968)
J Adolesc Health. 2020 Nov;67(5):714-717. (PMID: 33099414)
Scand J Occup Ther. 2016;23(2):97-106. (PMID: 26466966)
OTJR (Thorofare N J). 2010 Summer;30(3):111-121. (PMID: 21927592)
Int J Ment Health Addict. 2022;20(1):380-386. (PMID: 32837440)
Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2020 Apr;74(4):281-282. (PMID: 32034840)
Pediatrics. 2020 Oct;146(4):. (PMID: 32709738)
Chronobiol Int. 2015 May;32(4):524-30. (PMID: 25799223)
J Sport Health Sci. 2020 Mar;9(2):103-104. (PMID: 32099716)
J Health Psychol. 2020 Jun;25(7):883-887. (PMID: 32370621)
Environ Sci Technol. 2010 May 15;44(10):3947-55. (PMID: 20337470)
J Affect Disord. 2020 Nov 1;276:30-37. (PMID: 32697713)
Sports Med. 2000 Mar;29(3):167-80. (PMID: 10739267)
Gen Psychiatr. 2020 Jul 21;33(4):e100250. (PMID: 34192232)
Asian J Psychiatr. 2020 Jun;51:101990. (PMID: 32163908)
Br J Psychiatry. 2002 May;180:428-33. (PMID: 11983640)
Am J Chin Med. 2020;48(3):737-762. (PMID: 32164424)
Asian J Psychiatr. 2020 Jun;51:102119. (PMID: 32339895)
BMJ. 2019 Aug 13;366:l4828. (PMID: 31409609)
Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2020 Jul 10;22(8):43. (PMID: 32651717)
J Clin Med. 2020 Jan 24;9(2):. (PMID: 31991628)
Scand J Occup Ther. 2014 Jul;21(4):277-86. (PMID: 24666140)
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jul 08;17(14):. (PMID: 32650522)
Prev Chronic Dis. 2012;9:E17. (PMID: 22172184)
Prev Med. 1988 Jan;17(1):35-47. (PMID: 3258986)
J Trauma Stress. 2007 Dec;20(6):1019-28. (PMID: 18157881)
Psychol Med. 1997 Jan;27(1):191-7. (PMID: 9122299)
Psychol Med. 2022 Oct;52(13):2549-2558. (PMID: 33183370)
Ann Intern Med. 2007 Oct 16;147(8):573-7. (PMID: 17938396)
CNS Neurosci Ther. 2018 Jul;24(7):633-640. (PMID: 29575682)
Lancet Psychiatry. 2020 Jun;7(6):547-560. (PMID: 32304649)
Ann Behav Med. 2008 Apr;35(2):239-44. (PMID: 18347896)
JAMA. 1997 Oct 22-29;278(16):1321-6. (PMID: 9343462)
Lancet Public Health. 2020 Oct;5(10):e543-e550. (PMID: 32979305)
Psychiatry Res. 2020 Sep;291:113267. (PMID: 32623266)
Scand J Occup Ther. 2010 Sep;17(3):244-54. (PMID: 19929266)
J Adolesc. 2007 Apr;30(2):251-69. (PMID: 16600358)
Scand J Occup Ther. 2018 May;25(3):172-179. (PMID: 28276964)
J Adv Nurs. 1983 Sep;8(5):397-404. (PMID: 6556200)
Trials. 2020 Sep 14;21(1):789. (PMID: 32928298)
J Appl Psychol. 2003 Oct;88(5):879-903. (PMID: 14516251)
Am J Occup Ther. 2012 Mar-Apr;66(2):e20-9. (PMID: 22394537)
Psychiatry Res. 2020 May;287:112934. (PMID: 32229390)
BMJ. 2020 Jan 31;368:m408. (PMID: 32005727)
Psychiatry Res. 2020 Jun;288:112954. (PMID: 32325383)
Transl Psychiatry. 2020 Aug 20;10(1):291. (PMID: 32820171)
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Mar 06;17(5):. (PMID: 32155789)
Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2020;75:e1931. (PMID: 32401965)
Prev Med. 2008 May;46(5):457-62. (PMID: 18258290)
BMC Public Health. 2021 Feb 3;21(1):275. (PMID: 33535992)
Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2014 Oct 01;5:. (PMID: 25317257)
Depress Anxiety. 2003;18(2):76-82. (PMID: 12964174)
Environ Res. 2020 May;184:109225. (PMID: 32078817)
J Health Soc Behav. 2012 Mar;53(1):67-83. (PMID: 22328171)
Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2010 Oct;64(5):499-504. (PMID: 20923429)
Nat Hum Behav. 2020 Dec;4(12):1303-1312. (PMID: 33199859)
Lancet. 2020 Mar 14;395(10227):912-920. (PMID: 32112714)
Psychol Trauma. 2020 Aug;12(S1):S79-S81. (PMID: 32525382)
Psychol Trauma. 2020 Aug;12(S1):S222-S224. (PMID: 32478541)
JAMA. 2020 Jul 7;324(1):93-94. (PMID: 32492088)
Spinal Cord. 2019 May;57(5):360-366. (PMID: 30670770)
Clin Psychol Rev. 2010 Jul;30(5):479-95. (PMID: 20395025)
Lancet Psychiatry. 2020 Oct;7(10):883-892. (PMID: 32707037)
Psychol Trauma. 2020 Aug;12(S1):S51-S54. (PMID: 32538658)
Scand J Occup Ther. 2012 Jul;19(4):322-7. (PMID: 21780985)
Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2011 Aug 05;9:63. (PMID: 21819555)
Nord J Psychiatry. 2006;60(3):200-6. (PMID: 16720510)

Keywords: Corona; General health; Meaningful activities; Occupations; Resilience; Well-being

Date Created: 20210331 Date Completed: 20210504 Latest Revision: 20240331

20240331

PMC8009071

10.1186/s12889-021-10673-4

33785029