Business shutdowns and financial challenges. School and day care closures and lack of child care. Quarantine and household conflict. The pandemic’s stay-at-home orders intended to keep people safe from COVID-19, but did it have an adverse effect on their mental health?

In a new study from the Fielding School's UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR), researchers examine the association between economic hardship, household conflict, and mental health outcomes during the pandemic.

Though serious psychological distress and suicidal ideation among adults increased during the pandemic, UCLA CHPR Research Scientist Dr. Imelda Padilla- Frausto will share data from the California Health Interview Survey on how mental health was further compromised among Californians whose livelihoods were disrupted and those who were struggling financially due to the pandemic.