Mental well-being of population in the COVID-19 pandemic (on the example of the Vologda region)

The COVID-19 pandemic can be compared with the stress of emergency situations or combat operations. As a result of this pandemic, the burden of mental disorders and an increase in the use of psychiatric services, an increase in distrust of the actions of the authorities and an increase in social negativism are expected in society. The pur-pose of the work is to study the mental well-being of the population of the Vologda region in the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The method is a sociological sur-vey of the population of the region (N = 1500). The study confirms the hypotheses that the pandemic situation is stressful. The main trend is an increase in the symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorders. The prevalence of symptoms of mental disorders differs in socio-demographic groups. Young people are more anxious. Symptoms of subclinical anxiety and depression are more common among the least affluent resi-dents. The level of satisfaction with the life of the population also shows a down-ward trend. It is concluded that the mental well-being of the population of the region is influenced by the variables that make up the socio-demographic risk factor for health, primarily age and financial situation. The novelty of the study consists in the identification of the current state of mental well-being of the population of the region during the pandemic.