Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2024 May 2.
Published in final edited form as: Health Soc Care Community. 2021 Dec 1;30(3):1199–1211. doi: 10.1111/hsc.13671

Table 2.

Descriptive statistics for the five COVID-19 related stressful life events domains and the frequencies of the individual items in these domains.

n (%) Mean (SD) Range
COVID-19 related stressful life events:

Work/financial events: - 1.9 (1.6) 0–7

 Laid off from job or had to close own business 53 (14.2) - -
 Reduced work hours or furloughed 91 (24.3) - -
 Had to lay-off or furlough employees or people supervised 15 (4.0) - -
 Had to continue to work even though in close contact with people who might be infected 96 (25.7) - -
 Spent a lot of time disinfecting at home due to close contact with people who might be infected at work 87 (23.3) - -
 Experienced increase in workload or work responsibilities 125 (33.4) - -
 Had hard time doing job well because of needing to take care of people in the home 34 (9.1) - -
 Had hard time making the transition to working from home 65 (17.4) - -
 Unable to go to school or training for weeks or had to withdraw 30 (8.0) - -
 Had to move or relocate 16 (4.3) - -
 Became homeless 2 (0.5) - -
 Unable to get enough food or healthy food 13 (3.5) - -
 Unable to access clean water 0 (0.0) - -
 Unable to pay important bills like rent or utilities 32 (8.6) - -
 Had difficulty getting places due to less access to public transportation or concerns about safety 38 (10.2) - -

Home disruption events: - 2.1 (2.1) 0–13

 Had child in home who could not go to school 33 (8.8) - -
 Childcare or babysitting unavailable when needed 28 (7.5) - -
 Difficulty taking care of children in the home 25 (6.7) - -
 More conflict with child or harsher in disciplining child or children 19 (5.1) - -
 Had to take over teaching or instructing a child 28 (7.5) - -
 Family or friends had to move into your home 7 (1.9) - -
 Had to spend a lot more time taking care of a family member 23 (6.1) - -
 Increase in verbal arguments or conflict with a partner or spouse 61 (16.3) - -
 Increase in physical conflict with a partner or spouse 7 (1.9) - -
 Increase in verbal arguments or conflict with other adult(s) in home 27 (7.2) - -
 Increase in physical conflict with other adult(s) in home 1 (0.3) - -
 Increase in physical conflict among children in home 2 (0.5) - -
 Increase in mental health problems or symptoms 230 (61.5) - -
 Increase in sleep problems or poor sleep quality 145 (38.8) - -
 Increase in use of alcohol or substances 103 (27.5) - -
 Increase in child behavioral or emotional problems 32 (8.6) - -
 Increase in child’s sleep difficulties or nightmares 16 (4.3) - -

Social isolation events: - 4.6 (2.0) 0–11

 Separated from family or close friends 294 (78.6) - -
 Did not have the ability or resources to talk to family or friends while separated 16 (4.3) - -
 Unable to visit loved one in a care facility (e.g., nursing home, group home) 55 (14.7) - -
 Family celebrations cancelled or restricted 287 (76.7) - -
 Planned travel or vacations cancelled 246 (65.8) - -
 Religious or spiritual activities cancelled or restricted 84 (22.5) - -
 Unable to be with a close family member in critical condition 39 (10.4) - -
 Unable to attend in-person funeral or religious services for a family member or friend who died 34 (9.1) - -
 Unable to participate in social clubs, sports teams, or usual volunteer activities 164 (43.9) - -
 Unable to do enjoyable activities or hobbies 274 (73.3) - -
 Limited physical closeness with child or loved one due to concerns of infection 91 (24.3) - -
 Moved out or lived away from family due to a high-risk job (e.g., health care worker, first responder) 6 (1.6) - -
 Close family member not in the home was quarantined 33 (8.8) - -
 Family member was unable to return home due to quarantine or travel restrictions 13 (3.5) - -
 Entire household was quarantined for a week or longer 71 (19.0) - -

COVID-19 infection events: - 0.5 (0.8) 0–4

 Isolated or quarantined due to possible exposure to this disease 112 (29.9) - -
 Isolated or quarantined due to symptoms of this disease 24 (6.4) - -
 Isolated due to existing health conditions that increase risk of infection or disease 24 (6.4) - -
 Currently have symptoms of this disease but have not been tested 1 (0.3) - -
 Tested and currently have this disease 0 (0.0) - -
 Had symptoms of this disease but never tested 25 (6.7) - -
 Tested positive for this disease but no longer have it 4 (1.1) - -
 Got medical treatment due to severe symptoms of this disease 3 (0.8) - -
 Hospital stay due to this disease 0 (0.0) - -
 Someone died of this disease while in our home 0 (0.0) - -
 Death of close friend or family member from this disease 10 (2.7) - -

Healthcare barrier events: - 0.5 (0.8) 0–5

 Unable to get needed medications (e.g., prescriptions or over-the-counter) 8 (2.1) - -
 Unable to access mental health treatment or therapy 31 (8.3) - -
 Not satisfied with changes in mental health treatment or therapy 27 (7.2) - -
 Important medical procedures cancelled (e.g., surgery) 10 (2.7) - -
 Unable to access medical care for a serious condition (e.g., dialysis, chemotherapy) 1 (0.3) - -
 Got less medical care than usual (e.g., routine or preventive care appointments) 84 (22.5) - -
 Elderly or disabled family member not in the home unable to get the help they need 13 (3.5) - -