For the first time, most Americans (53%) now say that stress and worry related to the pandemic has had a negative impact on their mental health – an increase of 14 percentage points since May. This includes about one in four who say it has had a “major” negative impact.
Those most likely to report negative mental health effects include women, young adults, Blacks and people with difficulties affording household expenses due to coronavirus.
About half (52%) of the public also report experiencing at least one of six specific issues due to worry and stress related to the pandemic: sleep difficulties (36%), poor appetite or overeating (32%), difficulty controlling their temper (18%), frequent headaches or stomachaches (18%), increased alcohol or drug use (12%), and worsening chronic conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure (12%).
Other findings include:
- About half (48%) of the public rate the federal government response to the pandemic as “poor” while another 23% rate it “fair.” Smaller shares rate the federal response positively as “good” (20%) or excellent (7%). About half the public gives their state (46%) and local (48%) governments positive marks.
- With the country facing a double-digit unemployment rate, 40% of adults say someone in their household has had problems paying bills or affording medical care or basic expenses in the past three months, including 22% who say this was a direct result of coronavirus and its impact on their financial situation.
Designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at KFF, the poll was conducted July 14-19 among a nationally representative random digit dial telephone sample of 1,313 adults including an oversample of parents of school-aged (5-17 year-old) children. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish by landline (323) and cell phone (990). The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the full sample. For results based on subgroups, the margin of sampling error may be higher.
Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues, KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.
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