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 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 < 0.000). 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 < 0.000). Additionally, resource measures are significant and negatively related to suicidality (p < 0.000).
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.