“Evaluating the Mental Health Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perceived Risk of COVID-19 Infection and Childhood Trauma Predict Adult Depressive Symptoms in Urban South Africa”
In this article, Emily Mendenhall, Andrew Wooyoung Kim and Tawanda Nyengerai evaluate the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Soweto, a major township in South Africa, a society where one in three individuals develops a psychiatric disorder during their life. The team concluded that higher perceived risk of COVID-19 infection is associated with greater depressive symptoms during the first 6 weeks of quarantine. High rates of severe mental illness and low availability of mental healthcare amidst COVID-19 emphasize the need for immediate and accessible psychological resources.