Worsening Public Mental Health After COVID-19... 13.6% Consider "Extreme Choices"

On the 11th, citizens visited the COVID-19 screening clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza. As the spread of COVID-19 in the country eased, the number of critically ill patients remained in the 700s for the second consecutive day. New confirmed cases also stayed in the 3,000s for five consecutive days. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the rate of suicidal thoughts has increased by 40%, indicating that the prolonged pandemic and continued social distancing measures have adversely affected the mental health of the public.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the results of the "2021 COVID-19 National Mental Health Survey" on the 11th. Since 2020, the ministry has been conducting quarterly surveys to assess the mental health status of the public due to COVID-19 and to provide necessary mental health services. Each quarter, the Korean Society of Trauma Stress conducts the survey through Korea Research, targeting 2,063 adults aged 19 to 71 nationwide.

According to last year's quarterly survey results, the December survey showed a depression risk group rate of 18.9% and a suicidal thought rate of 13.6%, which were somewhat improved compared to the worst figures recorded in March at 22.8% and 16.3%, respectively. However, compared to March 2020, the early stage of the pandemic, the suicidal thought rate increased from 9.7% to 13.6%, a 40% rise, and considering that one in five people were in the depression risk group, it is difficult to say there has been significant improvement. The ministry analyzed that "the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and continued social distancing likely influenced these results."

By age group, those in their 30s showed the highest depression scores (total score 27 points) and depression risk group rate. With scores of 6.4 points and 27.8%, these figures were 1.5 times and twice as high, respectively, compared to those aged 60 and above, who scored 4.2 points and 13.8%. The high depression scores and risk group rates among people in their 30s have consistently been high since the survey began in March 2020. Except for a temporary peak in depression scores and risk group rates among those aged 19 to 29 in December 2020 and June last year, the 30s age group consistently showed the highest scores and rates in all surveys.

By gender, both depression scores (women 5.7 points, men 4.4 points) and depression risk groups (women 23.1%, men 14.9%) were higher in women than men. Notably, women in their 30s had the highest depression score of 7.0 points and a depression risk group rate of 33.0%, the highest across all genders and age groups.

The rate of suicidal thoughts, which had been steadily increasing since the survey began in March 2020, peaked at 16.3% in March last year and then slightly declined but remained high at 13.6% in the December survey. This represents about a 40% increase compared to the first survey in March 2020, which recorded 9.7%.

By age, similar to depression, those in their 30s had the highest suicidal thought rate at 18.3%, followed by those in their 20s at 17.3%. The rates decreased with age, with 50s at 10.4% and those aged 60 and above at 8.7%. Conversely, by gender, unlike depression, men generally showed higher rates of suicidal thoughts than women. However, as of the December survey, the difference between genders narrowed significantly, with men at 13.8% and women at 13.4%. Men in their 30s had the highest rate at 22.4% among all genders and age groups.

On the 6th, amid the ongoing COVID-19 situation, the area in front of a bar in Myeongdong, Seoul is quiet.
Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

Anxiety related to COVID-19 has shown a continuous decreasing trend. It dropped from 5.5 points (total score 21) in March 2020 to 4.6 points in March last year, and further to 4.0 points in December. In the anxiety survey with a total score of 21 points, a score of 0 to 4 is considered within the 'normal' range. On the other hand, fear of COVID-19 (total score 3 points) has remained at a similar level, fluctuating slightly between 1.6 and 1.8 points across all eight surveys.

The degree to which daily life is disrupted (total score 10 points) was rated at 5.0 points, indicating "somewhat disrupted." Among the areas, disruption to social and leisure activities was highest at 6.2 points, followed by disruption to family life at 4.5 points and work disruption at 4.3 points.

The most common source of psychological support to cope with mental difficulties was family, at 62.3%. Friends and coworkers accounted for 20.6%, while 11.3% responded that they had no one. Among those who answered "none," the highest rates of depression scores and suicidal thoughts were found in people in their 30s and 20s, at 13.6% and 12.4%, respectively.

Jung Eun-young, Director of Mental Health Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated, "As COVID-19 has prolonged for nearly two years, the mental health of the public has not improved, with increases in suicide rates, necessitating management. Experts are concerned that mental health issues will worsen as economic and social impacts become more pronounced. Moving forward, we will closely support policies for the recovery of public mental health alongside the phased restoration of daily life."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.