Table 1.
Distribution of demographic, health, and coping factors for the overall sample and between the two latent trajectory groups of depressive symptomsa
| Variables | Overall sample | Depression Trajectories | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low and consistent | High and increasing | |||
| Age, n (%) | 0.0037 | |||
| < 50 years | 297 (56.57) | 156 (50.98) | 98 (65.33) | |
| ≥ 50 years | 228 (43.43) | 150 (49.02) | 52 (34.67) | |
| Sex, n (%) | 0.0339 | |||
| Male | 106 (20.58) | 70 (23.10) | 21 (14.48) | |
| Female | 409 (79.42) | 233 (76.90) | 124 (85.52) | |
| Education, n (%) | 0.0430 | |||
| Bachelor’s degree or above | 378 (72.00) | 237 (77.45) | 103 (68.67) | |
| Below bachelor’s degree | 147 (28.00) | 69 (22.55) | 47 (31.33) | |
| Partner status, n (%) | 0.0004 | |||
|
Married or living with a partner in common-law |
370 (71.71) | 232 (77.33) | 91 (61.49) | |
| Single | 146 (28.29) | 68 (22.67) | 57 (38.51) | |
| Type of dwelling, n (%) | 0.0016 | |||
| House | 432 (82.92) | 265 (86.60) | 112 (74.67) | |
| Apartment | 89 (17.08) | 41 (13.40) | 38 (25.33) | |
| Number of COVID-19 related symptoms, mean (SD) | 4.17 (3.24) | 3.60 (2.78) | 5.43 (3.68) | <.0001 |
| Number of chronic conditions, mean (SD) | 1.71 (1.80) | 1.75 (1.63) | 2.49 (2.03) | <.0001 |
| Coping strategy | ||||
| Problem-focused, mean (SD) | 7.29 (3.87) | 7.35 (3.79) | 7.10 (4.03) | 0.5123 |
| Emotion-focused, mean (SD) | 12.99 (4.91) | 13.51 (5.01) | 11.83 (4.45) | 0.0006 |
| Dysfunctional, mean (SD) | 7.27 (4.66) | 5.59 (3.33) | 10.78 (5.08) | <.0001 |
| Clinically significant depressive symptoms, n (%) | 225 (46.11) | 75 (24.51) | 141 (94.00) | <.0001 |
aParticipants in the low and consistent trajectory group displayed consistently low levels of depressive symptoms, while participants in the high and increasing trajectory group displayed high and accelerated increase in their depressive symptoms over time. P-value is for the comparison of characteristics between the two trajectory groups