Fact Sheet: The Mental Health Impact of COVID-19 on New York State Veterans

By

NYHealth

Funding Area

Veterans’ Health

Date

January 2021

Veterans’ Health

New York State is home to more than 700,000 military veterans. Prior to the pandemic, veterans in New York State were 8 times more likely to experience post-traumatic stress disorder and 2–4 times more likely to experience major depression than their civilian counterparts. The COVID-19 pandemic may exacerbate mental health and substance use issues that too often bring veterans in contact with the criminal justice system.

See a fact sheet on how COVID-19 has impacted the mental health of New York State’s veterans.


Full list of references

  1. New York State Division of Veterans’ Services, “2019 Annual Report,” https://veterans.ny.gov/sites/default/files/annual-report-2019.pdf.
  2. Mike Richman, “Veterans and the criminal justice system,” U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, September 8, 2018, https://www.research.va.gov/currents/0918-VA-researcher-examines-Vets-who-collide-with-criminal-justice-system.cfm.
  3. Wounded Warrior Project and Westat, “2020 Annual Warrior Survey,” 2020, https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/media/zojlzv53/2020-annual-warrior-survey.pdf.
  4. N. Leigh-Hunt et al., “An Overview of Systematic Reviews on the Public Health Consequences of Social Isolation and Loneliness,” Public Health 152 (November 2017): 157–71, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2017.07.035.
  5. “Unemployment Rates for People 18 Years and Older by Veteran Status, Period of Service, and Sex, Not Seasonally Adjusted,” accessed November 13, 2020, https://www.bls.gov/charts/employment-situation/unemployment-rates-for-persons-18-years-and-older-by-veteran-status.htm.
  6. Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, “Effects of COVID-Induced Economic Recession on Veteran Suicide and Substance Use Disorder,” June 18, 2020, http://mmhpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/COVID-MHSUDImpactsVeterans.pdf.
  7. Wounded Warrior Project and Westat, “2020 Annual Warrior Survey,” 2020, https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/media/zojlzv53/2020-annual-warrior-survey.pdf.
  8. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “SNAP Helps 1.3 Million Low-Income Veterans, Including Thousands in Every State,” January 2020, https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/snap-helps-13-million-low-income-veterans-including-thousands-in-every
  9. Christina M. Marini et al., “Aging Veterans’ Mental Health and Well-Being in the Context of COVID-19: The Importance of Social Ties during Physical Distancing.,” Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy 12, no. S1 (20200611): S217, https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000736.
  10. New York State Division of Veterans’ Services, “2019 Annual Report,” https://veterans.ny.gov/sites/default/files/annual-report-2019.pdf.