Table 1.
Relationships of Age With Risk Perceptions and Mental Health Variables
| Predicted variable | Pearson correlation with age (r) | Relationships with age in regressions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. with control variablesb | 2. with control variables and past depression diagnosis | ||
| Risk perceptions | |||
| Getting COVID-19 | −0.14*** | β = −0.11*** | β = −0.09*** |
| Dying if getting COVID-19 | 0.18*** | β = 0.17*** | β = 0.17*** |
| Getting quarantined | −0.13*** | β = −0.08*** | β = −0.08*** |
| Losing joba | −0.05** | β = −0.01 | β = −0.02 |
| Running out of money | −0.20*** | β = −0.15*** | β = −0.14*** |
| Mental health | |||
| Depression and anxiety score | −0.18*** | β = −0.19*** | β = −0.15*** |
| Depression score | −0.16*** | β = −0.18*** | β = −0.14*** |
| Anxiety score | −0.17*** | β = −0.17*** | β = −0.14*** |
| Warning signs of depression and anxiety disorder | −0.14*** | OR = 0.97*** [0.97, 0.98] | OR = 0.98*** [0.97, 0.98] |
| Warning signs of depression disorder | −0.12*** | OR = 0.97*** [0.97, 0.98] | OR = 0.98*** [0.98, 0.99] |
| Warning signs of anxiety disorder | −0.14*** | OR = 0.98*** [0.97, 0.98] | OR = 0.98*** [0.98, 0.99] |
Note. N = 6,666 for models with control variables except for N = 4,199 when predicting risk perceptions of job loss; N = 5,638 for models with control variables and past depression diagnosis except for N = 3,411 when predicting risk perceptions of job loss; β = standardized estimate in linear regression; OR = odds ratio [95% confidence interval] in logistic regression; age was treated as a continuous variable; warning signs of depression and anxiety disorder referred to scores of ≥6 on the 4-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4) and warning signs of either depression or anxiety disorder referred to scores of ≥3 on PHQ-4 subscales (Kroenke et al., 2009; Löwe et al., 2010).
aAmong N = 4,119 who reported current employment.
bControl variables included being unsure about already having been infected (yes = 1; no = 0), gender (male = 1; female = 0), marital status (married = 1; not married = 0), non-Hispanic white race/ethnicity (yes = 1; no = 0), college education (yes = 1; no = 0), residing in worst-hit states (yes = 1; no = 0), below-median income (yes = 1; no = 0), and survey date (March 10–12, 2020 = 0; March 13–31, 2020 = 1). All regression models except ones predicting risk perceptions for job joss also included a control variable for being currently employed (yes = 1; no = 0). Pre-crisis depression diagnosis was reported in December 2019 and January 2020 (yes = 1; no = 0).
***p < .001. **p < .01.