RESUMO
The COVID-19 pandemic is a major threat to the health and well-being of people around the world that has impacted freedom of movement, social interaction and the economy. The aim of the present work was twofold: first, to study the presence of mental distress, positive and negative experiences and affect balance in women and men in Spain in two different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, the initial "first state of alarm" phase, characterized by maximum restrictions, and in the "new normal" phase with minimal restrictions, and second, to study the protective role of age, educational level, self-esteem, marital status and social support against mental distress, and as factors that increase the affect balance of women and men in the above mentioned phases of the first wave of the COVID- 19 pandemic in Spain. The study sample consisted of 652 women and 652 men from the general population, aged between 18 and 88 years, who were evaluated through self-reports. Results show greater mental distress in women than men but, strikingly, the magnitude of such differences were greater in the "new normal" phase than in the maximum restriction phase. In addition, in this last phase, women also experienced more negative feelings and less affect balance than men. High self-esteem and social support were also found to be protective factors for mental health, both in women and men, during the two phases of the pandemic studied. In conclusion, our study shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has especially impacted the well-being of women.
RESUMO
The present study investigates gender differences in stressful events, psychological distress and well-being during the second wave of COVID-19 in Spain, analyzing women's and men's risk and resilience factors for psychological distress and for well-being. Participants were 1758 individuals from the general population, 50.8% women, aged between 18 and 79 years. Women and men did not differ in age, number of children, educational level, occupation or marital status. The participants were assessed by seven self-report questionnaires and scales. The results revealed that women experienced more psychological distress, more negative feelings, more stressful events related to the COVID-19 pandemic, more social support, and lower thriving and self-esteem than men. Multiple regression analyses showed that, in the case of women and men as well, self-esteem was the most important predictor of higher well-being and lower psychological distress and negative feelings while more COVID-19 pandemic-related stressful events were associated with higher psychological distress and lower well-being. Another important predictor of greater well-being for either gender was social support while unemployment was associated with lower well-being. In women and men, a higher educational level was associated with greater psychological distress and negative feelings; the male sample revealed that psychological distress was also connected to younger age while in women it was associated with lower instrumental social support. The results suggest that gender plays an important role in the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the risk being higher for women than for men.
