Dynamics of psychological distress: understanding the impact of intraindividual and interindividual factors in the Belgian population during the COVID-19 pandemic—a multilevel prospective cohort study

Overall, these findings suggest that the variation in psychological distress between the waves was mostly influenced by social support, loneliness, and social activities, rather than by exposure to COVID-19. Mitigation policies aimed at controlling the pandemic should focus more on addressing specific individual psychosocial vulnerabilities.