Men's mental health in the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of intolerance of uncertainty and social support

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic exerted a tremendous toll on individuals' mental health. This study aimed to examine the associations between men's common mental disorders (CMD), intolerance of uncertainty (IU), and social support (SS). A cross-sectional online study was carried out in all Brazilian states. Participants were 1.006 adult men recruited through social media using a snowball technique. Men completed the Self-Report Questionnaire-20, the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, the Two-Way Social Support Scale, and a sociodemographic questionnaire. In addition, a t-Test and a regression analysis were performed. Men in the clinical group reported significantly higher levels of IU and lower levels of SS. Furthermore, SS moderated the relationship between IU and CMD, suggesting that SS might help protect men's mental health against the deleterious effects of IU in a pandemic scenario. These results indicate that different forms of social support seem to be a promising focus of psychosocial intervention in this context. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Portuguese) A pandemia da COVID-19 impactou consideravelmente a saude mental dos individuos. Este estudo teve por objetivo examinar associacoes entre transtornos mentais comuns (TMC) de homens, a intolerancia a incerteza (II) e apoio social (AS). Trata-se de um estudo transversal online realizado em todos os estados brasileiros, com 1.006 homens adultos recrutados em redes sociais mediante a tecnica de bola de neve. Os participantes responderam ao Self-Report Questionnaire-20, a Escala de Intolerancia a Incerteza, a Escala de Apoio Social Two-way e a um questionario sociodemografico. Teste t e analise de regressao foram realizados. Os homens do grupo clinico relataram significativamente niveis maiores de II e niveis inferiores de AS. Alem disso, o AS moderou a relacao entre II e TMC, sugerindo que AS protege a saude mental dos homens contra efeitos deleterios da II na pandemia. Esses resultados sugerem que o apoio social parece ser um foco promissor de intervencao psicossocial nesse contexto. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Spanish) La pandemia de COVID-19 afecto considerablemente la salud mental individual. Este estudio examino las asociaciones entre los trastornos mentales comunes (TMC) de los hombres, la intolerancia a la incertidumbre (II) y el apoyo social (AS). Es un estudio transversal online realizado en los estados brasilenos, con 1.006 hombres adultos reclutados en redes sociales mediante la tecnica de bola de nieve. Respondieron el Self-Report Questionnaire-20, la Escala de Intolerancia a Incertidumbre, la Escala de Apoyo Social Two-way y un cuestionario sociodemografico. Se realizaron el test t y el analisis de regresion. Hombres del grupo clinico informaron significativamente niveles superiores de II e inferiores de AS. Ademas, AS modero la relacion entre II y TMC, lo que sugiere que AS protege la salud mental de los hombres contra los efectos nocivos de II en la pandemia. Estos resultados sugieren que el apoyo social es un foco prometedor de intervencion psicosocial en este contexto. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)