THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL ASPECTS, PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS, AND SUBSTANCE USE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Keywords:
Mental Health, Social Determinants of Health, Substance Use, COVID-19 PandemicAbstract
The COVID-19 pandemic represented a disruptive health event that produced profound transformations in social structures, behavioral patterns, and mental health conditions of populations on a global scale. In Brazil, a country marked by historical structural inequalities, the effects of the health crisis transcended the biomedical dimension, revealing preexisting social vulnerabilities and intensifying psychological distress processes. This study analyzes the relationship between social aspects, psychological symptoms, and substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Brazilian context. The adopted methodology is characterized as qualitative research of descriptive and analytical nature, based on systematic review of scientific literature published between 2020 and 2024 in SciELO, PubMed, LILACS, and PsycINFO databases. The results show that the pandemic produced differentiated and socially stratified impacts on mental health, with high prevalence of anxious, depressive, and post-traumatic stress symptoms, particularly among vulnerable groups. Psychoactive substance use presented complex patterns, with significant changes in consumption contexts. The conclusions indicate that social determinants of health exert decisive influence on individual and collective responses to adverse events, reinforcing the need for integrated public policies sensitive to the specificities of each social context.
