Veteran Reports of Anxiety and Depression Before, During, and After COVID-19: Associations With Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Traumatic Exposures

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic was a world-wide health emergency that resulted in individuals experiencing challenges in numerous life domains. Life domains affected included physical and mental health, finances, and social isolation. Many health and research professionals evidenced concern that veterans were more likely than civilians to experience COVID-19 related problems due to their “at-risk” health status. Veterans are at-risk for health problems due to encountering unique military experiences such as traumatic exposures, development of trauma-related mental health symptoms or disorders, combat-related injuries, and disability, exposure to toxins such as burn pits and biological agents, and living with chronic stress during their transition to civilian life. It was suggested that the disruptions and challenges the COVID-19 pandemic created could trigger mental health problems among veterans. Indeed, based on cumulative stress theory, female veterans and veterans from racial and ethnic minority groups were thought to be particularly vulnerable for experiencing mental health challenges. The current study examined changes in the symptoms of depression and anxiety before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic among a large and diverse sample of post-9/11 veterans. As predicted, when compared to White male veterans, male and female veterans from racial and ethnic minority groups reported having higher symptom levels of anxiety and depression before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. All veterans, except for females from racial and ethnic minority groups, reported experiencing increases in symptoms over time. Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), combat exposure, and length of longest deployment were inconsistently associated with symptoms over time. The results suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with individuals experiencing increased anxious and depressive symptoms over time, although not in a wholly consistent manner. Future global health emergencies may have differential gender- and race/ethnicity-based effects on veterans; thus, veteran-serving organizations should carefully plan their responses to such crises.