Increasing psychological distress among Californians from 2013 to 2020: Race/ethnic differences
The influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health is of mounting concern to population-health researchers. While early reports indicated increases in mental health problems, noticeably absent from these studies is how mental health has changed in 2020 compared to previous years (2013–2019) and...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-12-01
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| Series: | SSM - Mental Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266656032200041X |
| _version_ | 1797975816872656896 |
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| author | Sydney Tran Alexandra S. Wormley Patricia Louie Connor Sheehan |
| author_facet | Sydney Tran Alexandra S. Wormley Patricia Louie Connor Sheehan |
| author_sort | Sydney Tran |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health is of mounting concern to population-health researchers. While early reports indicated increases in mental health problems, noticeably absent from these studies is how mental health has changed in 2020 compared to previous years (2013–2019) and whether such trends vary by race/ethnicity. The present study used repeated cross-sectional data from the California Health Interview Survey (n = 168,216) to systematically document trends in psychological distress scores (Kessler-6 scale; K6) and severe psychological distress scores (K6; 13+) from 2013 to 2020 and by race/ethnicity over the same period. Among all Californians we find that the reported average psychological distress scores increased by 22% between 2013 and 2020. Reported severe psychological distress scores increased 61% from 2013 to 2020. These increases were largely concentrated in the years 2017–2020. Increases in psychological distress were also especially pronounced among non-Latino/a White Californians (29% increase in K6 from 2013 to 2020), Latino/a Californians (14% increase in K6 from 2013 to 2020), and Asian Californians (35% increase in K6 from 2013 to 2020). Multiple and logistic regression models that accounted for sociodemographic and behavioral health covariates echoed these findings. Future research should continue to investigate secular trends in mental health that coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and carefully situate the shifts into broader temporal perspective. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:41:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-93a7d6b061cd45979dc334849580f533 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-5603 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:41:28Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SSM - Mental Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-93a7d6b061cd45979dc334849580f5332022-12-28T04:19:50ZengElsevierSSM - Mental Health2666-56032022-12-012100101Increasing psychological distress among Californians from 2013 to 2020: Race/ethnic differencesSydney Tran0Alexandra S. Wormley1Patricia Louie2Connor Sheehan3Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, USADepartment of Psychology, Arizona State University, USADepartment of Sociology, University of Washington, USASchool of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, USA; Corresponding author. P.O. Box 873701, Tempe, AZ, 85287-3701, USA.The influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health is of mounting concern to population-health researchers. While early reports indicated increases in mental health problems, noticeably absent from these studies is how mental health has changed in 2020 compared to previous years (2013–2019) and whether such trends vary by race/ethnicity. The present study used repeated cross-sectional data from the California Health Interview Survey (n = 168,216) to systematically document trends in psychological distress scores (Kessler-6 scale; K6) and severe psychological distress scores (K6; 13+) from 2013 to 2020 and by race/ethnicity over the same period. Among all Californians we find that the reported average psychological distress scores increased by 22% between 2013 and 2020. Reported severe psychological distress scores increased 61% from 2013 to 2020. These increases were largely concentrated in the years 2017–2020. Increases in psychological distress were also especially pronounced among non-Latino/a White Californians (29% increase in K6 from 2013 to 2020), Latino/a Californians (14% increase in K6 from 2013 to 2020), and Asian Californians (35% increase in K6 from 2013 to 2020). Multiple and logistic regression models that accounted for sociodemographic and behavioral health covariates echoed these findings. Future research should continue to investigate secular trends in mental health that coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and carefully situate the shifts into broader temporal perspective.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266656032200041XMental healthPsychological distressTrendsRace/ethnicity |
| spellingShingle | Sydney Tran Alexandra S. Wormley Patricia Louie Connor Sheehan Increasing psychological distress among Californians from 2013 to 2020: Race/ethnic differences SSM - Mental Health Mental health Psychological distress Trends Race/ethnicity |
| title | Increasing psychological distress among Californians from 2013 to 2020: Race/ethnic differences |
| title_full | Increasing psychological distress among Californians from 2013 to 2020: Race/ethnic differences |
| title_fullStr | Increasing psychological distress among Californians from 2013 to 2020: Race/ethnic differences |
| title_full_unstemmed | Increasing psychological distress among Californians from 2013 to 2020: Race/ethnic differences |
| title_short | Increasing psychological distress among Californians from 2013 to 2020: Race/ethnic differences |
| title_sort | increasing psychological distress among californians from 2013 to 2020 race ethnic differences |
| topic | Mental health Psychological distress Trends Race/ethnicity |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266656032200041X |
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