Mental Health Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Amish and Mennonite Participants in AMBiGen

People have had to make a lot of changes to their lives due to the COVID-19 health crisis. Most experts agree that social distancing and other safety measures have taken a toll on people s mental health. Amish and Mennonite communities often have large families. They may have limited access to health care. Their lifestyle is based on interaction and group events rather than technology. So people in Amish and Mennonite communities may experience the pandemic in their own special ways.

Objective:

To describe the relationship between stress related to the pandemic and self-rated measures of mental health symptoms and distress among Amish and Mennonite people with bipolar disorder and related conditions, and their family members.

Eligibility:

Adults ages 18 and older who are taking part in the NIMH AMBiGen study (80-M-0083).

Design:

Participants will be mailed 4 surveys. One survey will ask about depression symptoms. One survey will ask about mania symptoms. One survey will assess a broad range of psychological problems. One survey will assess the impact of COVID-19 on their mental health. They will fill out the surveys 4 times over 24 months.

The surveys will not include participants names, just codes. This will help protect privacy.

Data collected in 80-M-0083 will be used. This includes data about participants genes, medical conditions, and assessments.

Participants will get an 800 number they can call to speak to the research team. They can also write to the team if they prefer. Participants who wish will get referrals for mental health services. Participation will last up to 24 months. There will be an option for recontact in the future.

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Key information

Conditions

Depression Anxiety Anxiety Disorders Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Bipolar Disorder Bipolar and Related Disorders Coronaviridae Infections Coronavirus Infections Infections Mental Disorders Mood Disorders Nidovirales Infections RNA Virus Infections Virus Diseases

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States

About this study

This protocol leverages existing NIMH studies and participants to accomplish time-sensitive research on the mental health impact of environmental stressors imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The study will describe the relationship between stressors related to COVID-19 and self-rated measures of mental health symptoms and distress among Amish and Mennonite participants in an ongoing study of bipolar disorder (AMBiGen), and their family members.

Objectives: The primary objective is to describe the relationship between stressors related to COVID-19 and self-rated measures of mental health symptoms and distress among individuals with bipolar disorder, related conditions, and their family members. The secondary objectives are to determine the roles played by psychiatric diagnosis, genetic risk of various mental illnesses, and perceived social support in moderating risk and resilience for mental health during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

INCLUSION CRITERIA:

In order to be eligible to participate in this study, an individual must meet all of the following criteria:

Active enrollment in Protocol 80-M-0083
18 years of age and older.

Exclusion criteria

Under age 18.

INCLUSION OF VULNERABLE PARTICIPANTS:

The study will be not be targeting any vulnerable populations. We are not planning to recruit children; all participants being invited to participate have previously been assessed under Protocol 80-M-0083 as over the age of 18.

Treatment and study plan

Primary outcomes

To describe the relationship between stressors related to COVID-19 and self-rated measures of mental health symptoms and distress among a range of participants including various patient populations and healthy volunteers.

Time frame: assesses the stressors experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The availability of repeated measurement will allow us to establish whether changes in stressors related to COVID-19 are associated with changes in mental health symptoms and distress within subject.

Secondary outcomes

1) Determine whether existing mental health concerns moderates the relationship between stressors related to COVID-19 and self-rated measures of mental health symptoms and distress. 2) To identify risk and resilience factors among study particip...

Time frame: End of study

In order to determine whether the participant has existing mental health concerns, we must collect information on a variety of symptoms related to mental health. We hypothesize that certain participant- level characteristics may be related to the mental health and behavioral impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. For this exploratory aim, we will evaluate a variety of sociodemographic, clinical, genetic, and behavioral variables.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Nih

Registry information

Important dates

Study start: 2020
Primary completion: 2025
Study completion: 2025
First posted: Dec 24, 2020
Registry last updated: May 5, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed