A multilevel approach to social support as a determinant of mental health during COVID‐19

• Published in: Journal of community psychology Vol. 52; no. 5; pp. 640 - 653
• Main Authors: Schulder, Talia, Rudenstine, Sasha, Bhatt, Krish J., McNeal, Kat, Ettman, Catherine K., Galea, Sandro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.07.2024; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: COVID-19; Low income groups; Mental depression; Mental health; neighborhood cohesion; Neighborhoods; social class; Social networks; Social support; Socioeconomic status; Special Issue; Stress; COVID-19; social support; neighborhood cohesion; mental health; social class
• ISSN: 0090-4392; 1520-6629; 1520-6629
• DOI: 10.1002/jcop.22832

The COVID‐19 pandemic has detrimentally affected the mental health of lower income communities. We sought to investigate the relationship among multilevel social support, specifically individual‐, network‐, and neighborhood‐level social supports, COVID‐19‐related stressors, and probable diagnoses of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress (PTS), within a racially diverse and predominantly low‐socioeconomic status population. We used multiple logistic regressions to assess the odds of diagnosis for high versus low social support and stressor levels. Participants who endorsed high levels of stress had significantly higher odds of probable diagnoses. Participants who endorsed low individual‐level social support had higher odds of probable depression and anxiety. Those who endorsed low neighborhood‐level social support had higher odds of probable depression and probable PTS. Network‐level social support was not significantly associated with the health indicators of interest. Results indicate the importance of both individual‐ and neighborhood‐level support to protect mental health during COVID‐19.