Demographic Determinants of Depression, Anxiety, and PTSD Symptomatology amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Mental Health Providers

Previous research established an increase in clinically significant mental health effects among adults in the United States, with age, gender, economics, and location as persistent predictors of mental disorder symptomatology. The objective of this study was to examine associations between demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety symptomatology during the pandemic. The study used secondary data that sampled US adults older than eighteen (n = 6,602) using social media to provide implications for mental health providers and inform behavioral health service organizations. Measures included behavioral scores based on behavior and information sources, as well as psycho-emotional impact based on the Anxiety-Depression Patient Health Questionnaire-4 and the Impact of Events Scale-6. Results showed that gender and age were consistently associated with high depression and anxiety, and PTSD scores were consistently associated with age as the strongest predictor of severe depression. Implications for mental health providers are discussed.