ABSTRACT
Background and objective: Globally, men are at greater risk of mortality and serious physical consequences from COVID-19 infection than women, but are less impacted by the pandemic’s impact on labor force par-ticipation and increased childcare responsibilities. Outside of gender identity, however, it is unclear whether men’s beliefs about gender may be related to the kinds of COVID-19-related impacts they report. This study sought to describe the employment, income, and household responsibility-related impacts of the pandemic on a sample of young men in the U.S. and to examine relationships between the men’s gender ideologies and attitudes toward gender equity with self-reported stress impacts of the pandemic. Methods: The data are from an online survey of 481 young men from across the U.S. Measures included scales assessing masculinity ideology, modern sexism, support for traditional divisions of labor by gender, and attitudes toward gender equity. New items developed for this study assessed COVID-19-related changes in employment, household responsibilities, and childcare duties as well as levels of stress. Hierarchical regression examined the relative roles of demographic characteristics, changes in employment and household work, and gender-related attitudes on COVID-related stress. Results: Descriptive findings showed that under 50% of the men in the sample experienced negative COVID-related impacts on employment, but that a majority of the men reported at least some COVID-related stress. Results of the hierarchical regression suggest that higher levels of stress were predicted by having a minori-tized sexual identity, less religiosity, experiencing employment or household responsibility-related changes, and not endorsing modern sexism or a traditional, gendered division of labor. Conclusions: Experiencing COVID-19-related stress was normative in this sample of young men. However, endorsing traditional notions of a gendered division of labor was slightly protective against higher levels of COVID-related stress. These findings add to existing evidence that gender analysis must be a central compo-nent of ongoing COVID-related policy and programming development. © Erin AC, et al.
ABSTRACT
Social isolation is an important public health issue that has gained recognition during the COVID-19 pandemic because of the risks posed to older adults based on physical distancing. The primary purposes of this article are to provide an overview of the complex interconnectedness between social isolation, loneliness, and depression while introducing the COVID-19 Connectivity Paradox, a new concept used to describe the conflicting risk/harm continuum resulting from recommended physical distancing. In this context, examples will be provided for practical and feasible community-based models to improve social connectivity during COVID-19 by adjusting the processes and modalities used to deliver programs and services to older adults through the aging social services network. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for clinical and community-based organizations to unite and form inter-sectorial partnerships to maintain the provision of services and programs for engaging and supporting older adults during this difficult time of physical distancing and shelter-in-place and stay-at-home orders. The aging social services network provides a vital infrastructure for reaching older underserved and/or marginalized persons across the U.S. to reduce social isolation. Capitalizing on existing practices in the field, older adults can achieve distanced connectivity to mitigate social isolation risk while remaining at safe physical distances from others.