Aims of the current study
Our primary aim was to compare different diagnostic groups in terms of
worsening of mental symptoms and use of mental health services during
the pandemic. We hypothesized that there would be a general decrease in
the use of mental health services for all diagnostic groups; and that
patients with severe mental disorders (typically considered to be
conditions such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder) would be more
negatively affected than others (i.e., they would report higher rates of
“worsening of symptoms”, would rate their current mental health as
worse than others) and would report higher need for and lower use of
mental health services during the pandemic than other patients.