Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and Traumatic Stress: Probable Risk Factors and Correlates of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) outbreak, which first began in December 2019 in China, has since become a global health crisis with vast and devastating consequences for individuals and societies. Both earlier research and recent findings suggest that infectious disease epidemics and pandemics can be highly traumatic experiences for some individuals and lead to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic psychological distress. Mental health risks associated with COVID-19 have yet to be systematically studied; however, the emerging literature on COVID-19, as well as previous studies on infectious disease outbreaks provide insights into probable risk factors and correlates of PTSD. In this paper, we provide a brief review of these studies and discuss probable risk factors for PTSD and chronic psychological distress related to COVID-19.