A new study shows that many members of the LGBTQ community are experiencing anxiety and depression for the first time because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The survey of nearly 2,300 LGBTQ people found that, contrary to popular belief, the pandemic wasn’t worsening depression and anxiety for people who already had it but was creating anxiety and depression in LGBTQ people who weren’t anxious or depressed prior.
Depression was measured by a scale of 0-27, with 27 being the most severe depression, and anxiety was measured from 0-21. Among those who screened negative for depression at the first survey, the average score decreased by 1.08 on the scale.