A new doctoral thesis by Karel Kulbin, a well-being researcher at Tallinn University, examines how perceived stress and depressive symptoms changed among Estonian residents during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings were released on Apr. 6 and are based on a longitudinal study that followed 530 individuals through several stages of the pandemic.
The research is significant as it highlights that not everyone experienced negative mental health effects equally during the crisis. While public health restrictions and virus spread changed daily life for many, average levels of stress and depression among participants remained relatively stable throughout the year.
Kulbin's study identified four main coping patterns: 33% of participants coped well with the challenges; 25% showed improved coping over time; 27% experienced increased stress as the year progressed; and 15% had persistently high stress levels. Notably, about 42% faced ongoing adjustment difficulties, putting them at higher risk for chronic stress-related mental health issues. The analysis also found that worsening or consistently high stress was a strong predictor of later depressive symptoms.
"This result supports previous long-term research," said Kulbin. "People are able to adapt to long-term uncertainty and repeated stressors much better than they themselves expect." He cautioned, however, that successful adaptation is not universal: "Tracking average changes can mask large individual differences," he said.
One possible protective factor highlighted in the thesis is active leisure activities such as exercise or spending time in nature. Restrictions often disrupted these routines, but those who maintained active hobbies generally fared better mentally than those who did not. Giving up physical activity or hobbies was linked to a higher risk of depression.
The study concludes that supporting simple and accessible forms of leisure which encourage movement may help people adapt better in future crises.
