COVID-19 Cases and Anxiety Rates Show Significant National Correlations

Overview

The purpose of this experiment was to determine if there was a correlation between COVID-19 cases and anxiety/depression levels in the United States, and correlations were analyzed nationally, by age, by sex, by education, by race, and by region. The hypothesis was that there would be a significant positive correlation between COVID cases and symptoms of anxiety because stress is a contributing factor to mental health issues. The independent variable in this experiment was the increase in COVID cases (as a percentage of the U.S. population), and the dependent variable was the percentage of the population with significant symptoms of anxiety. To conduct this experiment, data was taken from the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, which tracked mental health during the pandemic, and from The COVID Tracking Project, which contained accurate case data from state and territory health authorities. STATA, a statistical analysis software, was used to test for correlations, and Pearson's Regression tests were used to determine significance. The hypothesis was only partially supported. By examining p-values using the Holm-Bonferroni method, it was determined that there was a significant national correlation (p<0.05). However, this correlation was not significant for each of the groups. The results in this experiment would be beneficial for the medical field because the research highlighted specific groups of people who may require more attention in the future as we prepare for any similar situations.