Intention to utilize mental health and suicide prevention resources in a community sample during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: Given the stressors experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical to identify populations with elevated mental health needs during this crisis. This study investigated demographic correlates of reported intention to utilize mental health (MH) and suicide prevention (SP) resources in a community sample during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A sample of 1,978 adults in the United States completed an anonymous online survey between June 2020 and February 2021. Results: Intent to utilize MH resources was associated with younger age, single marital status, female gender, and Hispanic vs. White race/ethnicity. Intent to utilize SP resources was associated with younger age, single marital status, and was greater among Black and Hispanic vs. White race/ethnicity. Lower education was associated with MH and SP utilizers in bivariate analysis. Indirect effects of Suicide Crisis Syndrome (SCS) symptoms were found on the association of age, gender, and marital status with MH utilization and of age, marital status, and education with SP Utilization. Conclusions: Specific demographic populations demonstrate greater interest in mental health care during the COVID-19 pandemic. These help-seeking patterns can be explained in part by an elevated level of SCS symptoms, suggesting greater levels of distress were driving expressed intention to utilize service referrals.