National COVID-19 survey finds significant mental health effects

Editor's Note

In a nationwide survey that assessed the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the emotional wellbeing of adults, 90% of respondents reported experiencing emotional distress.

The survey of 1,500 adults found that:

• 80% were frustrated with not being able to do what they normally enjoy doing
• 80% were worried about their own health
• 90% were worried about the health of loved ones
• racial and ethnic minorities, especially Hispanic/Latinx, reported higher levels of emotional distress
• men and women reported similar levels of emotional effects
• women with children under the age of 18 were more likely to report clinical levels of anxiety, compared to women without children
• men with children under the age of 18 were more like to report signs of depression than men without young children
• adults under the age of 50 were much more likely to report emotional effects than older adults.

The survey, developed by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, was conducted in the last 2 weeks of May 2020.