The Impact of Anti-Fugitive Offenders Ordinance Protests on the Mental Health in the Hong Kong General Public

Abstract

We examined the prevalence and predictors of mental distress following the Anti-Fugitive Offenders Ordinance Protests in Hong Kong (start from June 09, 2019). A population-representative sample of 1,206 citizens (mean age = 43.19 years; 51% female) was recruited immediately after the protest by stratified probability sampling. Respondents reported sociodemographics, anxiety symptoms (STAI), depressive symptoms (CES-D), and negative affect (CAS-NA). We found alarming post-protest prevalence of severe probable depression of 10.2% (CES-D >21 among 1206 respondents) and 33.4% of mild to moderate levels of anxiety symptoms (STAI ranged from 41-50). Multivariable regressions revealed that younger age, currently being unmarried, primary education level or below, and monthly household income less than HK$10,000 were positively associated with higher odd of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and negative affect. These findings indirectly reflect the protest’s potential negative impact on population mental health. It also implied that political/ social movement has greater negative impact on the mental health for individuals with lower level of preexisting socioeconomic resources. Political protests should be given more attention and be taken into account in population-based mental health promotion.