Changes in QIDS-SR16 scores during the COVID-19 pandemic by age group

Abstract: Introduction: The Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic represented an unprecedented challenge to the mental health of the global population. The purpose of this study was to determine which age group experienced the greatest increase in depression longitudinally during 2020 and if this effect was persistent. Method: A secondary analysis was conducted from the longitudinal Dallas 2k study to examine changes in QIDS-SR16 scores from December 2019 to November 2020 by quarter. Participants were grouped by age demographics into children ages 10-18, young adults 19-25, middle-aged adults 26-64, and older adults 65+. A paired t-test analysis was used to assess score changes within age groups across quarters. Results were considered significant at a two-tailed p-value of