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. 2020 Dec;76(12):2170-2182.
doi: 10.1002/jclp.23064. Epub 2020 Oct 9.

Mental distress among U.S. adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Affiliations

Mental distress among U.S. adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Jean M Twenge et al. J Clin Psychol. 2020 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to document the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health.

Method: We compared a nationally representative online sample of 2,032 U.S. adults in late April 2020 to 19,330 U.S. adult internet users who participated in the 2018 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) using the Kessler-6 scale of mental distress in the last 30 days.

Results: Compared to the 2018 NHIS sample, U.S. adults in April 2020 were eight times more likely to fit criteria for serious mental distress (27.7% vs. 3.4%) and three times more likely to fit criteria for moderate or serious mental distress (70.4% vs. 22.0%). Differences between the 2018 and 2020 samples appeared across all demographic groups, with larger differences among younger adults and those with children in the household.

Conclusions: These considerable levels of mental distress may portend substantial increases in diagnosed mental disorders and in their associated morbidity and mortality.

Keywords: COVID-19; anxiety; depression; mental distress; social isolation; unemployment.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percentage with serious mental distress by age group, U.S. adults, 2018 versus 2020. Error bars = ±1 SE [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 2
Figure 2
Percentage with serious mental distress by having children in the household versus no children in the household, U.S. adults, 2018 versus 2020. Error bars = ±1 SE [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 3
Figure 3
Percentage reporting specific symptoms of mental distress at least some of the time during the last 30 days, U.S. adults, 2018 versus 2020. Error bars = ±1 SE [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

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