Sex Differences in COVID-19 Infection Fear in a Community Sample of Korean Adults Using Quantile Regression.

This study aims to explore the impact of distributional changes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection fear with sex differences. A quota sampling strategy was followed and 483 Korean adults were surveyed in a community sample. Self-report questionnaires were used to assess COVID-19 infection fear, depressive symptoms, and general characteristics. Quantile regression was used to explore the regression relationship of COVID-19 infection fear and an individual's sex. There was a significant difference in COVID-19 infection fear (P = 0.001) and depression (P = 0.008) between the sexes - male and female. The differences between sexes at the 20th and 30th percentiles were significant (ß = 2.04, P = 0.006; ß = 1.5, P = 0.004, respectively). The results demonstrate that sex significantly predicts COVID-19 infection fear and women had significantly greater fear than men in the mild-level of COVID-19 infection fear.

COVID-19-Related Functional Impairment in a Community Sample of Korean Adults: Associations With Depression, COVID-19 Infection Fear, and Resilience.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the effects of depression, COVID-19 infection fear, and resilience on COVID-19-related functional impairment. METHODS: We obtained data from 476 community-dwelling adults aged 20-69 years living in Jeju, South Korea, and evaluated the relationships between COVID-19-related functional impairment (work/school, social, and home life) and sociodemographic and healthrelated characteristics, COVID-19-related life changes (financial difficulties since the pandemic, employment change, interpersonal conflict), and clinical characteristics, including depression, COVID-19 infection fear, and resilience. RESULTS: Functional impairment in the home life domain was associated with marital status and monthly income. Greater work/school, social, and home life functional impairment was significantly associated with all COVID-19-related life changes. Regression analysis indicated that resilience modulated the positive associations of COVID-19-related functional impairment with symptoms of depression and COVID-19 infection fear when relevant factors were controlled for. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest the importance of clinical characteristics, including depression, COVID-19 infection fear, and resilience for understanding functional impairment related to COVID-19. These results have important implications for interventions aimed at reducing depression and COVID-19 infection fear, and enhancing resilience.