Mental Health of Apprentices during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Austria and the Effect of Gender, Migration Background, and Work Situation

This study assessed the mental health of apprentices during the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria and the effect of gender, migration background, work situation, and work sector. An online survey via REDCap was performed with a sample of 1442 apprentices (female: 53.5%, male: 45.4%, diverse: 1.1%, migration background: 28.4%) from 29 March to 18 May 2021. Indicators of mental health were depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), well-being (WHO-5), disordered eating (EAT-8), and insomnia (ISI-7). There was a high prevalence of clinically relevant depression (cut-offs >= 11 for adolescents, >= 10 for adults: 48.3%), anxiety (cut-offs >= 11 for adolescents, >= 10 for adults: 35.4%), insomnia (cut-off >= 15: 27%), and disordered eating (cut-offs >= 2 for men, >= 3 for women: 50.6%). Linear models revealed that apprentices with female and diverse gender, migration background, and unemployed status showed the poorest scores on all mental health measures (all p-values < 0.05) except disordered eating. These findings emphasize the need for intersectional strategies to reduce and prevent adverse mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for apprentices.

Automated summary

This study assessed the mental health of apprentices during the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria and found high prevalence of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and disordered eating. Female and diverse gender apprentices, those with migration background, and unemployed status showed the poorest mental health scores, highlighting the need for intersectional strategies to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on apprentices' mental health.