The COVID-19 Psychological Research Consortium Study, 2020-2021

Bentall, Richard and Shevlin, Mark and McBride, Orla and Murphy, Jamie and Hartman, Todd K and Levita, Liat and Gibson-Miller, Jilly and Mason, Liam and Bennett, Kate (2022). The COVID-19 Psychological Research Consortium Study, 2020-2021. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Service. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-855552

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented global restrictions on freedom of movement, social and economic activity. Pandemics may cause fear in the population, affecting behaviour which in turn may propagate or restrict the further spread of the virus. Social and economic restrictions may also have a major impact on population mental health, especially affecting vulnerable groups, influencing the nation's ability to recover once the pandemic is over. To investigate these mental health effects, it is necessary to collect data using validated measures capturing mental health and decision-making early and throughout the pandemic. Prior to our work leading to this application, no research has addressed this. With initial seed funding from the Universities of Sheffield and Ulster, we assessed mental health and other relevant variables in 2025 UK adults who are highly representative of the UK population in the week of March 23rd, and followed them up in a second wave between April 20th and 30th, with a 69% follow-up rate. We measured not only mental health but many other social and Our work is already being used by the Cabinet Office, Public Health England and the Department of Health and Social Care. We request funding for five further waves of data collection (including one wave of increased sampling to ensure that the four nations/provinces of the UK are fully represented). We also seek funding for more detailed investigations of subgroups within our sample using qualitative interviews of vulnerable people (e.g. older people, people with pre-existing medical conditions) conducted over the telephone, cognitive testing of decision-making processes relevant to the perception of infection risk, and momentary experience sampling (in which people are contact at random intervals throughout the day to ask them about their experiences and feelings) extending until March 2021 after the hoped-for end of the crisis. We will achieve a complete picture of the psychology of a country during crisis and release our findings to the public and government in a timely manner, and make the data available to other scientists.

Data description (abstract)

The COVID-19 Psychological Research Consortium (C19PRC) Study aims to monitor and assess the long-term psychological, social, political and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the UK general population. A longitudinal, internet panel survey was designed to assess: (1) COVID-19 related knowledge, attitudes and behaviours, (2) the occurrence of common mental health disorders, as well as the role of (3) psychological factors, and (4) social and political attitudes in influencing the public’s response to the pandemic. Quota sampling was used to recruit a nationally representative sample of adults in terms of age, sex and household income. The first C19PRC survey was launched on 23 March 2020 (Wave 1), the day that a strict lockdown was enforced across the UK, and recruited 2025 UK adults. As of February 2022, six follow-up surveys have been conducted: Wave 2, April/May 2020; Wave 3, July/August 2020; Wave 4, Nov/Dec 2020; Wave 5, March/April 2021; Wave 6, Aug/Sept 2021; and Wave 7, Nov/Dec 2021. The baseline sample was representative of the UK population in relation to economic activity, ethnicity, and household composition. Data collection for the C19PRC Study is ongoing, with subsequent follow-up surveys being conducted during 2022 (Waves 8 and 9). C19PRC Study data has strong generalisability to facilitate and stimulate interdisciplinary research on important pandemic-related public health questions. It will allow changes in mental health and psychosocial functioning to be investigated from the beginning of the pandemic, identifying vulnerable groups in need of support. Find out more about the study at https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/psychology-consortium-covid19

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