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Harriger, Joseph, and Trammell Study Psychological Effects of COVID-19 on Emerging Adults


Three Seaver College professors—Jennifer A. Harriger, Nataria T. Joseph, and Janet P. Trammell—recently collaborated on the article “Detrimental Associations of Cumulative Trauma, COVID-19 Infection Indicators, Avoidance, and Loneliness With Sleep and Negative Emotionality in Emerging Adulthood During the Pandemic” published in the journal Emerging Adulthood

Considerable research has been done on the physical effects of COVID-19, but Harriger, professor of psychology, and Joseph and Trammell, both associate professors of psychology, sought a greater understanding of the risk factors for negative psychosocial and behavioral outcomes.

“The research aims to examine the relationships and interactions between an extensive set of risk factors, including exposure to multiple traumas and stressors, avoidant coping, and limited social resources, and sleep and negative emotions in a sample of undergraduate students during the first peak of COVID-19 in the United States,” the study shares.

The researchers found that pre-existing trauma, COVID-19 stressors, loneliness, and avoidant coping strategies were associated with poor sleep quality and negative emotionality. The findings contribute to the development of a conceptual model of pandemic behavioral and emotional risk for emerging adults and support the idea that vulnerability factors must be understood and reduced prior to pandemics.

To read the full publication, visit the Emerging Adulthood journal.