Mental Health and COVID-19: Symptom Prevalence, Sociodemographic Associations, and Implications for Practice

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on mental health. The current study examined symptoms of depression and anxiety and sociodemographic factors associated with increased symptoms among 1,242 adults under the same state-issued stay-at-home mandate. Mean anxiety and depression scores were 58.07 ± 9.6 and 55.18 ± 10.49, with the majority of participants indicating clinically significant symptoms of anxiety (n = 831, 66.90%) and depression (n = 652, 52.49%). African American and Latino/a American participants, individuals under the age of 45, and unemployed individuals or persons working in professional jobs presented with the most significant risk for adverse outcomes. Implications highlight the vital role of clinical mental health counselors in supporting at-risk populations and the need for future research supporting prevention-based, culturally appropriate screening and treatment protocols.