PTSD Symptom Severity and Overall Quality of Life Pre-and During COVID-19 Among Adults Seeking Housing Support Services

Abstract

COVID-19 stay-at-home orders have had far-reaching negative consequences on mental health and quality of life (QOL). This is especially true for vulnerable populations, such as those who are unhoused, as they are more likely than the general population to have been struggling with a mental illness and poor QOL well before the pandemic. This exploratory cross-sectional study explored differences in PTSD symptom severity and overall QOL among a cohort of adults who were seeking housing support services pre-COVID-19 (n = 226 compared to a cohort of adults who were seeking housing support services during COVID-19 (n =205). All data were collected upon enrollment into a permanent supportive housing program. Participants seeking housing support services during COVID-19 compared to pre-COVID-19 were significantly more likely to report higher PTSD symptoms (t=3.14, p=0.001) and poorer QOL (=9.81, p=0.001), however differences were no longer observed at the five percent significance level once several covariates were controlled for in the analysis. Despite the lack of statistical significance at the multivariate level (which is likely a result of challenges with the data and the level of statistical significance selected and not a reflection of true differences between the cohorts), the clinical significance of the findings has implications for planning behavioral health services for unhoused individuals seeking housing support services, especially as we exit the pandemic.

Keywords

• covid-19
• unhoused
• ptsd
• quality of life