November 3, 2020

Psychological Distress and Adaptation to the COVID-19 Crisis in the United States

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Mental Health and Personal Impact

Keywords (Tags): mental health personal impact

Longitudinal, nationally representative data from eight waves of the Understanding America Survey (n=7,319; observations=46,145) show that psychological distress increased significantly from March to April as the pandemic emerged and lockdown restrictions were put in place, then declined back to baseline levels by June 2020. A similar increase in distress followed by recovery to baseline levels was also observed among those with pre-existing diagnosed mental health conditions. The findings suggest population level resilience in mental health may be occurring as a response to the pandemic.

Daly and Robinson. (Oct 27, 2020). Psychological Distress and Adaptation to the COVID-19 Crisis in the United States. Journal of Psychiatric Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.10.035