Smith, Louise E;
Amlôt, Richard;
Fear, Nicola T;
Michie, Susan;
Rubin, James;
Potts, Henry;
(2022)
Psychological wellbeing in the English population during the COVID-19 pandemic: a series of cross-sectional surveys.
OSF Preprints: Charlottesville, VA, USA.
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Abstract
Psychological distress has been elevated during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, few studies published to date have investigated distress after the first wave of infections (Spring – Summer 2020). We investigated distress and wellbeing between April 2020 and September 2021 in England through a series of cross-sectional nationally representative online surveys. People aged 16 years or over living in the UK were eligible for the surveys; for this study we selected only those living in England due to differences in restrictions between UK nations. Distress was measured using the PHQ4 (n=46,478 responses), while wellbeing was measured using the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (n=48,193 responses). Throughout, approximately 50% to 60% of women and 40% to 50% of men reported distress, higher than the 20% to 25% of men, and 25% to 30% of women reported in data. Wellbeing was also worse than population norms, with women reporting lower wellbeing than men. Rates of distress in the English population have been consistently high throughout the pandemic. Patterns of distress have broadly mirrored the pattern of restrictions and case numbers, but there are notable exceptions which indicate that other factors may play a part in population mental health.
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