Professor Jolanda Jetten from UQ's School of Psychology featured in an article by The Australian, discussing Melbourne's COVID-19 curfew and the mental health effects.
Professor Jetten has been tracking mental health research throughout the pandemic and said Melbourne was overwhelmed by a sense of defeat as daily case numbers remained above 1000.
“This huge sense of defeat is also undermining the willingness of people to do it (follow rules) but also that creates more frustration,” she said.
“If I worry that other people are just not going to play along anymore, well why would I play along?
“The solidarity is completely broken and that itself is a very strong predictor of poor mental health.”
Professor Jetten said many people saw curfew as a strange measure imposed on their lives without clear explanation.
“It’s affecting a lot of people in a negative way to perhaps catch a few people who plan some parties,” she said.
“So that’s maybe why people might just feel like it’s unfair or, you know, it doesn’t seem to be the most straightforward way in which you can actually control the virus.”
