Psychosocial factors
Changes in Life Satisfaction and Receipt of Social and Emotional Support among Adults Residing in 7 States: 2015-2017 to 2022-2024 Guixiang Zhao* Guixiang Zhao Zhao Zhao CDC
Background Psychosocial factors play important roles in promoting health behaviors and overall health. This study assessed how psychosocial factors changed across the COVID-19 pandemic period among US adults.
Methods During the periods of 2015-2017 (pre-COVID period) and 2022-2024 (post-COVID period), 7 states† collected data via BRFSS‡ on 2 psychosocial factors-life satisfaction and receipt of social and emotional support (SoES). Age-standardized prevalence estimates for the 2 psychosocial factors were estimated to measure changes across the 2 periods, overall and by sociodemographic characteristic.
Results During 2022-2024, the age-standardized prevalence was 92.9% (95% CI: 92.6-93.2%) for life satisfaction and 75.4% (74.9-75.9%) for receipt of SoES among adults, which were significantly lower than those for the period of 2015-2017 [93.9% (93.5-94.4%) and 79.2% (78.4-79.9%), respectively]. The changes persisted across most sociodemographic characteristics. The largest decrease in life satisfaction (relative change ≥2.5%) was seen among adults aged 18-34 years; non-Hispanic (NH) American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN), Asian, and other races; never married; unemployed or retired; and with household income below $50,000. The largest decrease in receipt of SoES (relative change ≥5.0%) was seen among adults aged 18-49 years; male; NH AI/AN and other races; with educational level of high school or above; divorced/widowed/separated or never married; unemployed, retired, or other (homemakers, students, or those unable to work); with household income below $75,000; and resided in Louisiana, Minnesota, or Oklahoma.
Conclusions The findings of this study highlight exacerbated psychosocial factors during the post-COVID period. Although causality cannot be inferred and generalizability of the results is limited because data are from only 7 states, future research may focus on whether improving psychosocial factors could help promote population health at nationwide level.
Key Words: BRFSS, Life Satisfaction, Social and Emotional Support.
†7 states include Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
‡ BRFSS: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System