Research Snapshot: Early longitudinal study on impact of pandemic shows increase in depression, less social anxiety among young adults

Autumn Kujawa, assistant professor of psychology and human development, has been conducting one of the first studies tracking people’s response to stress exposure before and during the pandemic. Kujawa’s team set out to determine the mental health effects of the pandemic on young adults and how differences in neurophysiological reactivity may make some more vulnerable to depression and anxiety after stressful events brought on, in this case, by the pandemic.