ArticleSSM - population health2021
Financial hardship and social assistance as determinants of mental health and food and housing insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
Article in SSM - population health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 84 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic and Narrative Review of the Mediating Role of Personal Relationships Between Mental Health and Nutrition.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Financial strain measures and associations with adult health: A systematic literature review.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Assets and depression in U.S. adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2024Pooled it
- Social Ties and Depressive Symptoms Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in China During Emergencies: The Moderating Role of Disaster Exposure.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Exploring the Relationship Between Sending Remittances and Food Security in a Multi-State Survey of Dominicans in the U.S. During the Covid-19 Pandemic.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2026Article
- Post-pandemic shocks and non-suicidal self-injury risk in working-age adults: differential pathways via psychological distress and social support.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Changes in health-related social needs and in depression and anxiety symptoms in Massachusetts low-income, community health center patients: an observational cohort study.Preventive medicine reports · 2026Article
- COVID-19 pandemic and the management of type-2 diabetes mellitus among women in Fiji: concerns and context specific interventions.Frontiers in clinical diabetes and healthcare · 2026Article
- Decoding pain and mental health patterns in youth with chronic pain during COVID-19.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The relationship between financial disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic and mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of public health research · 2025Review
- Article
- Beyond Food Assistance: A Scoping Review Examining Associations of Nonfood Social Safety Net Programs in the United States With Food Insecurity and Nutrition Outcomes.Nutrition reviews · 2025Article
- Experience of financial hardship and depression: a longitudinal population-based multi-state analysis.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2025Article
- Emotional and Financial Stressors in New York City During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Consecutive Cross-Sectional Analysis.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2025Article
- Influence of Urban and Rural Areas, Type of School, and Parents' Education Level on Nutrition Habits and Their Relationship with Dental Caries in Schoolchildren in Mallorca.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
- Extent of Anxiety Among Married Women in Bangladesh and its Potential Predictors: A Nation-Wide Cross-Sectional Study.Depression and anxiety · 2025Article
- State-Level Paid Sick Leave Policies and Population Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States.Society and mental health · 2024Article
- Economic insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic among healthcare workers by educational attainment.Health affairs scholar · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWhile social assistance through the U.S. federal CARES Act provided expanded unemployment insurance benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic until the summer of 2020, it is unclear whether social assistance was sufficient in subsequent months to meet everyday spending needs and to curb the adverse health-related sequelae of financial hardship.
methodsUsing multivariable Poisson log-binomial regression and repeated cross-sectional Household Pulse Survey data between September and December 2020 on 91,222 working-aged U.S. adults and 28,842 adult housing renters, this study explored the associations of financial hardship with mental health outcomes and food and housing insecurity after accounting for receipt of social assistance.
resultsFinancial hardship rose progressively from September to December 2020, and disproportionately affected Black non-Hispanic and Hispanic Americans and lower-income households. Experiencing considerable financial hardship (vs no hardship) predicted nearly 3-fold higher risks of anxiety and depressive symptoms (e.g., adjusted prevalence ratio, PR of depression = 2.75, 95% CI = 2.54-2.98,
conclusionsEven after accounting for social assistance receipt, working-aged adults experiencing financial hardship had markedly greater risks of anxiety and depressive symptoms, food insufficiency, and an anticipated housing eviction. These findings point to the urgent need for direct and sustained cash relief well in excess of current levels of social assistance to mitigate the pandemic's adverse impacts on the well-being of millions of Americans, including vulnerable minority and low-income populations.
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