How bad is it? Suicidality in the middle of the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

Abstract Objective The current paper examines the intersection between social vulnerability, individual risk, and social/psychological resources with adult suicidality during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Method Data come from a national sample ( n = 10,368) of U.S. adults. Using an online platform, information was gathered during the third week of March 2020, and post‐stratification weighted to proportionally represent the U.S. population in terms of age, gender, race/ethnicity, income, and geography. Results Nearly 15 percent of sampled respondents were categorized as high risk, scoring 7+ on the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire‐Revised (SBQ‐R). This level of risk varied across social vulnerability groupings: Blacks, Native Americans, Hispanics, families with children, unmarried, and younger respondents reported higher SBQ‐R scores than their counterparts ( p < .000). Regression results confirm these bivariate differences and also reveal that risk factors (food insecurity, physical symptoms, and CES‐D symptomatology) are positive and significantly related to suicidality ( p < .000). Additionally, resource measures are significant and negatively related to suicidality ( p < .000). Conclusions These results provide some insight on the impact COVID‐19 is having on the general U.S. population. Practitioners should be prepared for what will likely be a significant mental health fall‐out in the months and years ahead.