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Psychology · Research topic

Open research questions in COVID-19 and Mental Health

583 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 6,777 COVID-19 and Mental Health papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • The relationship between long COVID and subjective wellbeing is not well understood. There is a need to investigate the association between long COVID and subjective wellbeing among U.S. working-age adults.

    long covid and subjective wellbeing among U.S. working-age adults · 2026 · DOI

  • The study faced challenges in recruiting and retaining participants during the pandemic. The study had to adapt to the changing circumstances of the pandemic, including the need for remote assessments.

    Pre-Pandemic Longitudinal Factors Associated with Mental Health Difficulties in Clinically Anxious Youth During the First 15 Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic · 2026 · DOI

  • Research on the longer-term impact of chronic stress events, including the role of prior functioning, is limited. Findings on the impact of pre-pandemic anxiety severity on youth mental health during the pandemic are mixed.

    Pre-Pandemic Longitudinal Factors Associated with Mental Health Difficulties in Clinically Anxious Youth During the First 15 Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need to understand how parenting behaviors moderate the associations between adolescents' disaster-related distress and their physical and mental health. Prior work has shown that disaster-health relations are relatively weak and not all individuals are equally affected by disasters.

    Is this the Real Life? Is this just Fantasy? Croatian Adolescents’ Health in Times when Earthquakes Hit in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic · 2026 · DOI

  • Limited understanding of the effectiveness of online learning and assessment tools in student recovery. Limited research on the impact of i-Ready on student achievement growth. Limited understanding of the differential effects of i-Ready usage on student achievement growth by prior performance level, grade level, and sociodemographic variables.

    The Efficacy of an Online Learning and Assessment Tool for COVID-19 Recovery Intervention · 2026 · DOI

  • Investigating the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on HCWs' mental health, - Examining the impact of different support strategies on HCWs' mental health, - Studying the relationship between HCWs' mental health and patient outcomes

    The longitudinal trajectories of mental health outcomes in healthcare workers in England during the COVID-19 pandemic · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of understanding about the mental health trajectories of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aims to address this gap by examining the mental health trajectories of healthcare workers in England during the pandemic.

    The longitudinal trajectories of mental health outcomes in healthcare workers in England during the COVID-19 pandemic · 2026 · DOI

  • The study faced challenges in terms of pandemic-related restrictions, which limited recruitment to online methods. The study had to deal with missing values in the data, which were imputed using a random forest algorithm. The study had to quantify interaction strength between predictors, which was done using Friedman's H statistic.

    Determining the relative importance of risk and protective factors for adjustment disorder symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic by mixed-effects random forests · 2026 · DOI

  • Most existing studies on adjustment disorder during the pandemic have been cross-sectional and restricted to a limited set of psychosocial predictors. Important knowledge gaps remain regarding the relative importance of risk and protective factors for adjustment disorder symptoms. There is a need for a more comprehensive understanding of how diverse psychosocial, health-related, and pandemic-specific burdens contribute to adjustment disorder symptoms.

    Determining the relative importance of risk and protective factors for adjustment disorder symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic by mixed-effects random forests · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the body mass index and prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents in China. There is a need to investigate the effects of the pandemic on the nutritional and health status of adolescents in China.

    A longitudinal study on differential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and normalized prevention and control on overweight and obese adolescents in China · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies the challenges faced by educators in rural areas, including the abrupt shift to virtual teaching, insufficient resources, and limited institutional support. Educators experienced intense emotional strain, feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and underprepared for the demands of remote instruction.

    Rural public primary school educators' challenges and emotional well-being during COVID-19 in the North West province: South Africa · 2026 · DOI

  • Limited attention was given to the difficulties and emotional burdens experienced by educators themselves during the pandemic. The study addresses the gap in understanding educators' lived experiences during the pandemic, particularly in rural areas.

    Rural public primary school educators' challenges and emotional well-being during COVID-19 in the North West province: South Africa · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies challenges in promoting physical activity and health behaviors among Filipino tertiary students, including sedentary lifestyles and academic pressures. The research highlights the need for interventions to address these challenges and promote well-being among tertiary students. The study notes the importance of considering the cultural and contextual factors that influence physical activity and health behaviors among Filipino tertiary students.

    Beyond the pandemic: physical activity and health behaviors as predictors of well-being among Filipino tertiary students · 2025 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in the literature regarding the relationship between physical activity and health behaviors as predictors of well-being among Filipino tertiary students. The research aims to address this gap by investigating the enduring significance of health behaviors in supporting student well-being beyond the pandemic. The study highlights the need for further research on the relationship between physical activity and health behaviors as predictors of well-being among tertiary students.

    Beyond the pandemic: physical activity and health behaviors as predictors of well-being among Filipino tertiary students · 2025 · DOI

  • The study notes that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated mental health challenges in children and adolescents. The study identifies challenges in estimating the burden of mental disorders, including the need for accurate and reliable data. The study notes that the prolonged trajectory of brain development and psychosocial adaptation in modern societies poses challenges for studying mental disorders in children and adolescents.

    Global burden of mental disorders in children and adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 · 2025 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in the understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global burden of mental disorders among children and adolescents. The study notes that the onset of mental disorders predominantly occurs during youth, but the burden of mental disorders during the pandemic is not well understood.

    Global burden of mental disorders in children and adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 · 2025 · DOI

  • Possible instrumentation bias due to differences in data collection methods, - Lack of data after COVID-19, - Limited generalizability due to differences in study populations and methods

    Alarm bells or echoes of hope? A new perspective on the global youth mental health crisis · 2025 · DOI

  • Investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in youth, - Examine the effectiveness of treatment and prevention strategies for mental health problems in youth, - Explore the role of social and economic factors in mental health outcomes

    Alarm bells or echoes of hope? A new perspective on the global youth mental health crisis · 2025 · DOI

  • The study faced challenges in recruiting a representative sample of Chinese undergraduate students. It required the development of a comprehensive survey instrument to measure academic stress, psychological resilience, and employment anxiety. The study needed to control for various demographic and experiential factors that influence students' career-related stress.

    The relationship between perceived academic stress and college students’ employment anxiety: the mediating role of psychological resilience · 2025 · DOI

  • The underlying mechanisms of employment anxiety remain underexplored. There is a need to investigate the mediating role of psychological resilience in the relationship between academic stress and employment anxiety.

    The relationship between perceived academic stress and college students’ employment anxiety: the mediating role of psychological resilience · 2025 · DOI

  • The difficulty in identifying clear research gaps since a majority of the citations did not provide any substantial insight into unexplored areas of the field. The reliance on self-reporting, which increases the chance of bias. The conceptualisation of wellbeing in academic libraries as activities and initiatives, which may have been limiting.

    Do Academic Libraries Contribute to Students’ and Communities’ Wellbeing?: A Scoping Review · 2025 · DOI

  • Difficulty in identifying clear research gaps, - No quality appraisal of the included studies, - A large majority of the results relied on self-reporting

    Do Academic Libraries Contribute to Students’ and Communities’ Wellbeing?: A Scoping Review · 2025 · DOI

  • Investigate the long-term effects of short-form video apps on life satisfaction, - Examine the impact of short-form video apps on occupational burnout in other professions

    The Role of Short-Form Video Apps in Mitigating Occupational Burnout and Enhancing Life Satisfaction Among Healthcare Workers: A Serial Multiple Mediation Model · 2025 · DOI

  • There is a notable gap in research on the recovery of individuals' mental health after the pandemic. Few studies have investigated how mental health symptoms evolve and recover once the acute phase of the crisis ends.

    Recovery trajectories of mental health symptoms among Chinese adolescents following the end of COVID-19 · 2024 · DOI

  • Few studies have examined changes in children's mental health across more than two time points during the pandemic. None have examined changes post-COVID.

    The course of children's mental health symptoms during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic · 2024 · DOI

Most-cited papers in COVID-19 and Mental Health

Most recent work

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583 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 6,777 COVID-19 and Mental Health papers in our 4.5M-paper local library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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