Feelings of fear and anxiety related to the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can inadvertently lead to social stigma due to lack of knowledge or misinformation about how COVID-19 spreads, a need to blame someone, and fears related to the disease and death.
The number of "active-duty personnel" who "have died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces" between 2006 and 2020, according to an updated CRS In Focus report -- Trends in Active-Duty Military Deaths Since 2006. This includes mobilized Guard and Reserve members.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, people across the U.S. and around the world have faced agonizing and ethically difficult situations where they feel like they cannot do enough or are unable to live up to their own standards. Some examples include not being able to be there in person to care for an infected family member, worrying about exposing others to infection, being unable to provide for their family due to job loss, or being unable to adequately care for children and their education during school closures.
The weekly Research Update contains the latest news, journal articles, useful links from around the web. Some of this week's topics include:
● A Systematic Review of Intensive Empirically Supported Treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
● Measuring Trauma Exposure: Count Versus Variety of Potentially Traumatic Events in a Binational Sample.
● The Effects of Prolonged Exposure on Substance Use in Patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Substance Use Disorders.
Although individuals from minority populations in the U.S. experience mental illness at similar rates as white individuals, symptoms are potentially more long-lasting and disabling among minority groups due to a variety of factors. Part of this may be due to difficulty obtaining appropriate mental health care in a timely way. Primarily, the broad context of systemic racism and social barriers that members of minority groups face play a role.