Table 1 Definitions of key variables
Variable | Definition |
|---|---|
How much stress do you usually experience? | |
Stress | 1 (“very high”) to 5 (“no stress at all”). Reverse-coded for analysis in this study; thus, a score of 1 represents “no stress at all.” Have you experienced, at any time in the past 12 months, at least two consecutive |
Sadness and despair | Weeks of sadness or hopelessness to the point that you put your daily life on hold? 1 (“not in the past 12 months”) or 2 (“yes”) |
Loneliness | How frequently over the past 12 months have you felt lonely 1 (“never”) to 5 (“constantly”) Seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale |
Generalized anxiety disorder | (1) Feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge |
(2) Not being able to stop or control worrying | |
(3) Worrying too much about different things | |
(4) Trouble relaxing | |
(5) Being so restless that it is hard to sit still | |
(6) Becoming easily annoyed or irritable. | |
(7) Feeling afraid, as if something awful might happen | |
Each item was scored between 1 (“not bothered at all”) and 4 (“bothered nearly every day”). An overall score was determined by summing the scores for each of the seven items |