Relationship Between Severity and Length of Exposure to COVID-19 Parameters and Resulting Government Responses and the Suicide Crisis Syndrome (SCS)

Abstract

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a globally devastating psychosocial impact. A detailed understanding of the mental health implications of this worldwide crisis is critical for successful mitigation of and preparation for future pandemics. Using a large international sample, we investigated in the present study the relationship between multiple COVID-19 parameters (both disease characteristics and government responses) and the incidence of the suicide crisis syndrome (SCS), an acute negative affect state associated with near-term suicidal behavior.

Methods: Data were collected from 5528 adults across 10 different countries in an anonymous web-based survey between June 2020 and January 2021.

Results: Individuals scoring above the SCS cut-off lived in countries with higher peak daily cases and deaths during the first wave of the pandemic. Additionally, the longer participants had been exposed to markers of pandemic severity (eg, lockdowns), the more likely they were to screen positive for the SCS. Findings reflected both country-to-country comparisons and individual variation within the pooled sample.

Conclusion: Both the pandemic itself and the government interventions utilized to contain the spread appear to be associated with suicide risk. Public policy should include efforts to mitigate the mental health impact of current and future global disasters.

Keywords: COVID-19; lockdown; pandemic; suicide; suicide crisis syndrome.