Abstract
The COVID-19 Psychological Research Consortium (C19PRC) study was established to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the population of multiple countries. Here, we provide a methodological overview, cohort profile, data access, and summary of key findings from the Republic of Ireland arm of the C19PRC study. A longitudinal internet panel survey was designed to collect data from a nationally representative sample of Irish adults (N = 1041) who were tracked from March/April 2020 to March/April 2021. Quota sampling methods were used to produce a sample that was representative of the population with respect to sex, age, and regional distribution. Data were collected in five waves, and new participants were recruited at follow-up waves to cover sample attrition and produce nationally representative samples at various points during the first year of the pandemic. A comprehensive battery of measures was used throughout the project to assess an array of sociodemographic, political, social, psychological, physical health, COVID-19, and mental health variables. Analyses were conducted to compare sample characteristic to known population parameters from available census data. These analyses showed that the sample was representative of the general adult population of Ireland on the three quota variables and was reasonable representative of the population across a diverse range of sociodemographic variables. These data representative the first and only nationally representative, longitudinal survey of the mental health of the Irish population. These data are made freely available to interested users (https://osf.io/2huzd/files/) and the findings of this study provide a methodological basis for the future use of these data.
Highlights
The emergence of the novel severe acute respiratory coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in 2019 and the resultant COVID-19 disease pandemic in 2020 posed a threat to the global population as initial attempts to contain the spread of the virus were unsuccessful
Our findings are in line with this, and we showed that 85% of the Irish adult sample could be described as resilient/adaptive to the unique stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic (Hyland, Shevlin, et al, 2021), with a smaller sub-population at increased risk of deterioration
In the aftermath of previous respiratory coronavirus outbreaks in the 2000s, researchers investigating the mental health effects of these epi demics stressed the value of preparation for the epidemiological event (Mak et al, 2009; Smith, 2006) and this report follows suit
Summary
The emergence of the novel severe acute respiratory coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in 2019 and the resultant COVID-19 disease pandemic in 2020 posed a threat to the global population as initial attempts to contain the spread of the virus were unsuccessful. The primary goal of the C19PRC was to conduct a longitudinal assessment of the social, political, economic, and health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the adult population of each nation. The Irish branch of the C19PRC collected longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample of adults in fives waves between March/April 2020 and March/April 2021. The collection of data on an extensive array of sociodemographic, individual, COVID-19 specific, socio-political, and physical and mental health variables has produced a dataset that will allow researchers to comprehensively examine the pandemic's effects on the adult population of Ireland. It is our hope that this paper will serve as a useful reference point for all parties interested in making use of these data
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