A Pandemic of Mental Health: Evidence from the U.S.

Ed Coleman; Jhavon Innocent; Sarah Kircher; Hugo Moisés Montesinos-Yufa; McKade Trauger

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijdsa.20241004.12

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| Peer-Reviewed

A Pandemic of Mental Health: Evidence from the U.S.

Ed Coleman

, Jhavon Innocent

, Sarah Kircher

, Hugo Moisés Montesinos-Yufa^*

, McKade Trauger

Published in International Journal of Data Science and Analysis (Volume 10, Issue 4)

Received: 30 July 2024 Accepted: 26 August 2024 Published: 26 September 2024

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Abstract

The direct impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the indirect impact of the ensuing economic and political response have affected the United States on a large scale. We document a substantial surge in anxiety and depression symptoms from 2019 to 2020 driven by the young adult population, indicating a disproportional indirect impact on the young. Multivariate regression analysis was utilized to quantify the stringency of state responses’ indirect effect on the changes in anxiety or depression symptoms during the pandemic. While we observe a slight decline in the share of the adult population experiencing anxiety and depression through July 2021- June 2022, such decline does not compensate for the large surge of mental health issues among young adults in 2020. Overall, our results indicate that the effects of the stringency of the mitigation measures on different areas of health are complex and vary by state, with a wide variation of mental health-related issues by age group and a higher prevalence in younger adult age categories. After discussing inequities in the accessibility of mental health treatment, lack of health insurance, and implications for quality of life among young adults, this paper adds to the breadth of ongoing COVID-19 research and emphasizes the importance of considering the overall health of the population in a large-scale health crisis as well as discussing the potential unintended consequences of the mitigation measures put in place.

Published in	International Journal of Data Science and Analysis (Volume 10, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijdsa.20241004.12
Page(s)	77-85
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

COVID-19, Anxiety, Depression, Pandemic Response, Stringency Index, Lifestyle, Young Adults

References

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[22]	Montesinos-Yufa, H. M., Nagasuru-McKeever, T. (2024). Gender-Specific Mental Health Outcomes in Central America: A Natural Experiment. International Journal on Data Science and Technology, 10(3), 45-50. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijdst.20241003.11
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[24]	Fisher E., Fitzgibbon M., Glasgow R., Haire-Joshu D., Hayman L., Kaplan R., Nanney MS, Ockene JK. Behavior matters. Am J Prev Med. 2011, 40 (5), 15-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2010.12.031
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APA Style

Coleman, E., Innocent, J., Kircher, S., Montesinos-Yufa, H. M., Trauger, M. (2024). A Pandemic of Mental Health: Evidence from the U.S.. International Journal of Data Science and Analysis, 10(4), 77-85. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijdsa.20241004.12

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ACS Style

Coleman, E.; Innocent, J.; Kircher, S.; Montesinos-Yufa, H. M.; Trauger, M. A Pandemic of Mental Health: Evidence from the U.S.. Int. J. Data Sci. Anal. 2024, 10(4), 77-85. doi: 10.11648/j.ijdsa.20241004.12

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AMA Style

Coleman E, Innocent J, Kircher S, Montesinos-Yufa HM, Trauger M. A Pandemic of Mental Health: Evidence from the U.S.. Int J Data Sci Anal. 2024;10(4):77-85. doi: 10.11648/j.ijdsa.20241004.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijdsa.20241004.12,
  author = {Ed Coleman and Jhavon Innocent and Sarah Kircher and Hugo Moisés Montesinos-Yufa and McKade Trauger},
  title = {A Pandemic of Mental Health: Evidence from the U.S.
},
  journal = {International Journal of Data Science and Analysis},
  volume = {10},
  number = {4},
  pages = {77-85},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijdsa.20241004.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijdsa.20241004.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijdsa.20241004.12},
  abstract = {The direct impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the indirect impact of the ensuing economic and political response have affected the United States on a large scale. We document a substantial surge in anxiety and depression symptoms from 2019 to 2020 driven by the young adult population, indicating a disproportional indirect impact on the young. Multivariate regression analysis was utilized to quantify the stringency of state responses’ indirect effect on the changes in anxiety or depression symptoms during the pandemic. While we observe a slight decline in the share of the adult population experiencing anxiety and depression through July 2021- June 2022, such decline does not compensate for the large surge of mental health issues among young adults in 2020. Overall, our results indicate that the effects of the stringency of the mitigation measures on different areas of health are complex and vary by state, with a wide variation of mental health-related issues by age group and a higher prevalence in younger adult age categories. After discussing inequities in the accessibility of mental health treatment, lack of health insurance, and implications for quality of life among young adults, this paper adds to the breadth of ongoing COVID-19 research and emphasizes the importance of considering the overall health of the population in a large-scale health crisis as well as discussing the potential unintended consequences of the mitigation measures put in place.
},
 year = {2024}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Pandemic of Mental Health: Evidence from the U.S.

AU  - Ed Coleman
AU  - Jhavon Innocent
AU  - Sarah Kircher
AU  - Hugo Moisés Montesinos-Yufa
AU  - McKade Trauger
Y1  - 2024/09/26
PY  - 2024
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijdsa.20241004.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijdsa.20241004.12
T2  - International Journal of Data Science and Analysis
JF  - International Journal of Data Science and Analysis
JO  - International Journal of Data Science and Analysis
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PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-1891
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijdsa.20241004.12
AB  - The direct impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the indirect impact of the ensuing economic and political response have affected the United States on a large scale. We document a substantial surge in anxiety and depression symptoms from 2019 to 2020 driven by the young adult population, indicating a disproportional indirect impact on the young. Multivariate regression analysis was utilized to quantify the stringency of state responses’ indirect effect on the changes in anxiety or depression symptoms during the pandemic. While we observe a slight decline in the share of the adult population experiencing anxiety and depression through July 2021- June 2022, such decline does not compensate for the large surge of mental health issues among young adults in 2020. Overall, our results indicate that the effects of the stringency of the mitigation measures on different areas of health are complex and vary by state, with a wide variation of mental health-related issues by age group and a higher prevalence in younger adult age categories. After discussing inequities in the accessibility of mental health treatment, lack of health insurance, and implications for quality of life among young adults, this paper adds to the breadth of ongoing COVID-19 research and emphasizes the importance of considering the overall health of the population in a large-scale health crisis as well as discussing the potential unintended consequences of the mitigation measures put in place.

VL  - 10
IS  - 4
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Author Information

Ed Coleman

Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Statistics, Ursinus College, Collegeville, United States

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0009-0002-6755-4297
Jhavon Innocent

Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Statistics, Ursinus College, Collegeville, United States

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0009-0001-5549-0647
Sarah Kircher

Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Statistics, Ursinus College, Collegeville, United States

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0222-8394
Hugo Moisés Montesinos-Yufa

Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Statistics, Ursinus College, Collegeville, United States

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6957-7519
McKade Trauger

Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Statistics, Ursinus College, Collegeville, United States

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0009-0007-6754-3631

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APA Style

Coleman, E., Innocent, J., Kircher, S., Montesinos-Yufa, H. M., Trauger, M. (2024). A Pandemic of Mental Health: Evidence from the U.S.. International Journal of Data Science and Analysis, 10(4), 77-85. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijdsa.20241004.12

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ACS Style

Coleman, E.; Innocent, J.; Kircher, S.; Montesinos-Yufa, H. M.; Trauger, M. A Pandemic of Mental Health: Evidence from the U.S.. Int. J. Data Sci. Anal. 2024, 10(4), 77-85. doi: 10.11648/j.ijdsa.20241004.12

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AMA Style

Coleman E, Innocent J, Kircher S, Montesinos-Yufa HM, Trauger M. A Pandemic of Mental Health: Evidence from the U.S.. Int J Data Sci Anal. 2024;10(4):77-85. doi: 10.11648/j.ijdsa.20241004.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijdsa.20241004.12,
  author = {Ed Coleman and Jhavon Innocent and Sarah Kircher and Hugo Moisés Montesinos-Yufa and McKade Trauger},
  title = {A Pandemic of Mental Health: Evidence from the U.S.
},
  journal = {International Journal of Data Science and Analysis},
  volume = {10},
  number = {4},
  pages = {77-85},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijdsa.20241004.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijdsa.20241004.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijdsa.20241004.12},
  abstract = {The direct impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the indirect impact of the ensuing economic and political response have affected the United States on a large scale. We document a substantial surge in anxiety and depression symptoms from 2019 to 2020 driven by the young adult population, indicating a disproportional indirect impact on the young. Multivariate regression analysis was utilized to quantify the stringency of state responses’ indirect effect on the changes in anxiety or depression symptoms during the pandemic. While we observe a slight decline in the share of the adult population experiencing anxiety and depression through July 2021- June 2022, such decline does not compensate for the large surge of mental health issues among young adults in 2020. Overall, our results indicate that the effects of the stringency of the mitigation measures on different areas of health are complex and vary by state, with a wide variation of mental health-related issues by age group and a higher prevalence in younger adult age categories. After discussing inequities in the accessibility of mental health treatment, lack of health insurance, and implications for quality of life among young adults, this paper adds to the breadth of ongoing COVID-19 research and emphasizes the importance of considering the overall health of the population in a large-scale health crisis as well as discussing the potential unintended consequences of the mitigation measures put in place.
},
 year = {2024}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Pandemic of Mental Health: Evidence from the U.S.

AU  - Ed Coleman
AU  - Jhavon Innocent
AU  - Sarah Kircher
AU  - Hugo Moisés Montesinos-Yufa
AU  - McKade Trauger
Y1  - 2024/09/26
PY  - 2024
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijdsa.20241004.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijdsa.20241004.12
T2  - International Journal of Data Science and Analysis
JF  - International Journal of Data Science and Analysis
JO  - International Journal of Data Science and Analysis
SP  - 77
EP  - 85
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-1891
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijdsa.20241004.12
AB  - The direct impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the indirect impact of the ensuing economic and political response have affected the United States on a large scale. We document a substantial surge in anxiety and depression symptoms from 2019 to 2020 driven by the young adult population, indicating a disproportional indirect impact on the young. Multivariate regression analysis was utilized to quantify the stringency of state responses’ indirect effect on the changes in anxiety or depression symptoms during the pandemic. While we observe a slight decline in the share of the adult population experiencing anxiety and depression through July 2021- June 2022, such decline does not compensate for the large surge of mental health issues among young adults in 2020. Overall, our results indicate that the effects of the stringency of the mitigation measures on different areas of health are complex and vary by state, with a wide variation of mental health-related issues by age group and a higher prevalence in younger adult age categories. After discussing inequities in the accessibility of mental health treatment, lack of health insurance, and implications for quality of life among young adults, this paper adds to the breadth of ongoing COVID-19 research and emphasizes the importance of considering the overall health of the population in a large-scale health crisis as well as discussing the potential unintended consequences of the mitigation measures put in place.

VL  - 10
IS  - 4
ER  -

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