{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,1]],"date-time":"2026-06-01T07:01:44Z","timestamp":1780297304897,"version":"3.54.0"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,1]],"date-time":"2026-06-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1780272000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychiatry"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The COVID-19 pandemic worsened well-being and mental health worldwide, but effects have diminished over time. However, prospective national data within representative samples remain scarce. We aimed to examine the change in well-being and psychopathology from pre-pandemic to intra-pandemic times in an Austrian representative general population sample, to identify vulnerable subgroups, and explore most effective coping strategies to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Data were collected in Austria as part of the Collaborative Outcomes Study on Health and Functioning During Infection Times (COH-FIT) survey, an international, multilingual, anonymous online survey assessing mental health indicators during COVID-19. Adults \u226518 years old participated through nationally representative sampling across three waves from 05\/2020-04\/2022. Outcomes included the WHO well-being index (WHO-5) and a global psychopathology score (\u2018P-score\u2019), alongside 12 predefined risk factors and 16 coping strategies.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Across 4,148 adults, the mean WHO-5 well-being score decreased by 7.5\u00a0\u00b1\u00a017.7 points from the pre-pandemic baseline (73.2\u00a0\u00b1\u00a019.7) to the intra-pandemic average (65.7\u00a0\u00b1\u00a024.1) (p&amp;lt;.001). Participants with female sex, pre-existing mental or physical health conditions, and unemployment experienced greater declines. The proportion of individuals scoring &amp;lt;50, indicating depression, increased from 12.6% pre-pandemic baseline to 25.1% intra-pandemic, and the proportion scoring &amp;lt;29, indicating major depression, increased from 3.3% to 9.7% (both p&amp;lt;.001). The \u2018P-score\u2019 increased by 9.6\u00a0\u00b1\u00a015.0 points from 24.1\u00a0\u00b1\u00a019.5 pre-pandemic baseline to 33.7\u00a0\u00b1\u00a022.4 intra-pandemic (p&amp;lt;.001) with the same risk groups (except female sex). Although the greatest deterioration in both outcomes occurred during the mid-pandemic period (04\/2021), neither well-being nor \u2018P-score\u2019 levels returned to pre-pandemic baseline values by 04\/2022, nor to values from 05\/2020 (Wave 1). Greater deterioration in WHO-5 and the P-score were associated with female sex, unemployment, pre-existing mental or physical disorders, and COVID-19 infection. The most commonly reported helpful coping strategies included internet use, physical activity, media consumption, social media and remote interaction, and meaningful hobbies.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>COVID-19 had a persistent negative impact on well-being and mental health in Austria. Vulnerable subgroups - including those with prior health conditions and unemployment - were particularly affected. The findings underscore the importance of implementing public health measures together with targeted interventions, preventive measures, and long-term psychosocial support, especially for risk populations.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1783600","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,1]],"date-time":"2026-06-01T06:19:03Z","timestamp":1780294743000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Two years of COVID-19: persistently reduced well-being and increases in global psychopathology during the pandemic in a representative Austrian population-sample within the COH-FIT study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Monika","family":"Schl\u00f6gelhofer","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Biopsychosocial Corporation, BioPsyC, Non-profit Association for Research Funding Ltd.","place":["Vienna, 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Hofstra\/Northwell","place":["New York, NY, United States"]},{"name":"Deutsches Zentrum f\u00fcr Psychische Gesundheit (DZPG), Partner Site Berlin","place":["Berlin, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Georg","family":"Dorffner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Medical Data Science, Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Medical University of Vienna","place":["Vienna, Austria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alexa","family":"Kuenburg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Klinik f\u00fcr Konsilarpsychiatrie und Psychosomatik, Universit\u00e4tsspital Z\u00fcrich","place":["Z\u00fcrich, Switzerland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marco","family":"Solmi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Charit\u00e9 Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin","place":["Berlin, Germany"]},{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, University of Ottawa","place":["Ottawa, ON, Canada"]},{"name":"Department of Mental Health, The Ottawa Hospital","place":["Ottawa, ON, Canada"]},{"name":"Ottawa Hospital Research Institute","place":["Ottawa, ON, Canada"]},{"name":"Early Psychosis Interventions and Clinical-Detection Lab, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King\u2019s College","place":["London, United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Trevor","family":"Thompson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education, Health and Human Sciences, University of Greenwich","place":["London, United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","article-title":"Long COVID is a serious health concern in Europe","author":"Chiou","year":"2023","journal-title":"Institute For Health 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