Premium
Essential workers: Past month suicidal ideation and COVID‐19 stress
Author(s) -
Bond Allison E.,
Wagler Kayla,
Anestis Michael D.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.23276
Subject(s) - covid-19 , suicidal ideation , psychology , clinical psychology , ideation , psychiatry , suicide prevention , poison control , medicine , medical emergency , disease , virology , outbreak , infectious disease (medical specialty) , cognitive science
Abstract Objective This study examined if essential workers (EW) reported higher past month suicidal ideation (SI) and coronavirus‐19 (COVID‐19) stress than non‐EW, explored if the association between EW status and SI is indirect through COVID stress, and tested whether EW who identified as black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) experienced more past month SI and COVID stress than white EW. Methods Participants ( N = 3500) were predominately white and female. COVID‐19 was assessed with the COVID‐19 subscale. Results EWs reported higher past month ideation and COVID‐19 stress than non‐EWs. EWs who identified as BIPOC reported higher past month ideation and higher fears about economic consequences and compulsive checking and reassurance seeking subscales compared to White EWs. Conclusion EWs experience higher rates of SI and stress than non‐EW; and BIPOC EWs experience higher SI and stress than White EWs. Accessibility of support should be a priority for this group at high risk for both the physical and emotional burden of COVID‐19.