Two out of every five black Americans experienced symptoms of depression or anxiety in the wake of George Floyd’s death, according to new census data released Wednesday.
Levels were already high amid the coronavirus pandemic, but had been falling in late May. But those reporting symptoms of anxiety or depression rose about 5 percentage points to reach 40.5% during the period from May 28 to June 2, which coincides with the growth of Black Lives Matter protests.
“We do not usually see differences between white adults, black adults and Hispanic adults on these measures,” said Stephen Blumberg at the National Center for Health Statistics, a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The data comes from the Census Bureau’s new experimental Household Pulse Survey, which blasts out questionnaires each week during the pandemic, giving policymakers an unprecedented real-time look at how Americans are coping.
In this case, the survey also appears to show non-coronavirus changes as the country’s long-standing debate over race came roaring back after Floyd’s death under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer last month.
Mr. Blumberg called the rise in symptoms for black respondents “statistically significant.”
According to the data, 33.8% of non-Hispanic black respondents reported symptoms of anxiety disorder over the week, and 29.9% had symptoms of depressive disorder. There was substantial overlap, but when combined, 40.5% reported symptoms of at least one.
By contrast among non-Hispanic white respondents the rate was 33.1%.
Beyond race, Mr. Blumberg said about half of young adults — those ages 18 to 29 — reported symptoms of depression or anxiety during the week.
“I’m not saying that half of all young adults have a mental health disorder, but half are experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression,” he said.
The Pulse survey checks on mental health, economic prospects, availability of food and housing.
The Census Bureau now has five weeks of data, and some trends are becoming clear.
Worries over housing loss or problems feeding themselves remain constant, but worries over future income losses are dissipating slightly.
Locally, the D.C. area is showing more resilience than other major metropolitan regions.
While 43.8% of residents said they’ve lost income during the pandemic, that’s lower than every other major metropolitan area studied, even though the city proper has been among the slowest to reopen.
Looking forward, 31% of D.C.-area residents expect future income losses — tied with Dallas for the lowest rate. Miami is the worst at 46.3% of residents predicting more income loss.
One area of concern, the experts said, is housing. According to the data, 16% of mortgage holders are very worried about being able to make future payments.
During the depths of the Great Recession a decade ago, that rate was just 10%, signaling economic worries this time around are more acute.
Among renters, 31% said they have little or no confidence in being able to make future payments.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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