Poll: Half of Bexar County residents say their mental health was impacted by pandemic

SAN ANTONIO – Editor’s note: The Bexar Facts-KSAT-San Antonio Report poll is a partnership that launched in Feb. 2020 with the aim of informing and engaging the San Antonio community. See the results of the fifth poll here.

A recently released poll provides a new perspective on how San Antonio and Bexar County residents’ mental health was impacted by COVID-19.

Half of the 618 respondents of the Bexar Facts-KSAT-San Antonio Report 2021 Q1 poll said their mental health was impacted “a great deal” or “some” during the coronavirus pandemic.

The survey breaks down which demographic groups said they struggled the most: younger women, renters and parents.

• 62% of adult women under 50 said their mental health was impacted - that’s the largest share of any demographic group in the poll.
• People who rent their homes were the second-most impacted group with 60% saying their mental health suffered.
• 58% of parents with children at home also faced setbacks, according to the poll.

“I do believe that women, historically and today, have been more honest and open about their own mental health struggles,” said Talli Dolge, CEO of Jewish Family Service of San Antonio. “That is why on many of the mental health polls women usually skew higher than men.”

Dolge also said: “Women during the pandemic have not only had to work from home but may have had the main responsibility for working with and being with their children in quarantine. This may be one of the many contributing factors to stress and anxiety that they may have felt during the pandemic.”

This may have also led to the results that show more parents felt a mental health impact at 58%.

“This has put pressure on parents that they were not equipped to handle,” Dolge said. “In turn, anxiety and depression have been a more prevalent role for parents than before the pandemic.”

Last March during Spring Break schools closed indefinitely and went virtual as the coronavirus spread. Many of those schools remained closed last fall and continue to be virtual, making it harder for parents to juggle work and helping their kids at home.

The poll was conducted from March 23 to 29 by phone and email in both English and Spanish. A total of 618 Bexar County residents were surveyed in the poll. The poll has a 4% margin of error. You can read more about the methodology here.

Read more on our Mental Wellness page:

• Social media during the pandemic: The good, bad and ugly
• Social media triggers may contribute to compulsive behavior online, San Antonio mental health advocates say
• 5 ways to help combat anxiety in the age of COVID-19