QCOSTARICA – During the pandemic, the main concerns that affect people’s mental health are related to the effects of Covid-19 on their family, social and economic stability, indicated an investigation carried out by the Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED) and the Universidad Nacional (UNA).
When consulting people about how they think the pandemic has affected others, responses such as:
- Job loss (57.8%)
- Overload of domestic work and care tasks at home, especially in the case of women (47.1%)
- Reduction in working hours (44.9%)
- Not being able to pay for housing (36.1%)
- Not having daily food (32%)
70.1% of the people who have been unemployed by Covid-19 present features of depression and 64.8% of those who work part-time also present this condition.
When analyzing the percentage of the population most affected in times of Covid-19, the study indicates that the most serious impact is being experienced by 30.6% of the population that receives, on average, a monthly gross family income of less than ¢450,000 colones.
The degree of affectation decreases in groups with higher monthly income:
- 40.3% of those who receive between ¢450,000 to ¢550,000
- 45.2% with income between ¢550,000 and ¢650,000
- 21% of those who receive ¢650,000 to ¢800,000
- 22.7% with income between ¢800,000 to ¢1 million
- 19.7% among those who earn between ¢1 million and ¢1.5 million
- 21.5% of people with incomes of ¢1.5 million and more