**5. Conclusions**

While quarantine and lockdown measures have been successful in limiting the spread of COVID-19, they have also resulted in isolation and loneliness, which might trigger or aggravate pre-existing mental illnesses [42]. However, despite their pervasive and long-lasting psychological impact, such measures still remain the best available containment strategy, and may be considered the lesser of two evils.

The present findings paint a general picture of the psychological impact of COVID-19 on the psychiatric residential population, in comparison with the general population, and provide a baseline for future research on the impact of COVID-19 on individuals and specific populations.

The results showed that, during the lockdown in Italy, psychiatric patients living in residential communities received unbroken support from peers and mental health professionals, maintained their usual medication treatment, and were informed of the possible consequences of COVID-19 and which strategies to implement to protect against contagion. Consequently, they had significantly lower levels of Stress than the non-residential psychiatric population. This finding provides insight into the differences between residential and non-residential psychiatric populations and highlights the importance of continuous support for psychiatric patients, especially during stressful situations such as a pandemic.

**Author Contributions:** Substantial contribution to conception and design: J.B., P.R., B.B., P.C. and A.M.G. Acquisition of data: A.P. Analysis and interpretation of data: P.R., S.B. and A.F. Drafting the manuscript: J.B., P.R., B.B., S.B. Revising the manuscript critically for important intellectual content: S.F., C.M. and A.M.G. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Acknowledgments:** The data of this study were collected thanks to participation of the Manager and Staff of SRTR Villa Costanza, Gruppo Sage.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
