New research analyzes the impact of COVID-19-related worries on mental health and finds anxiety plays a key role. The study found gender differences: Men's anxiety increased with worries about work, while women's anxiety increased with worries about family and friends.
Do you remember the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020? At that time, businesses, restaurants, movie theaters and theaters were closed. Gatherings with friends and family are restricted. Children have had to adapt to learning in their bedrooms, and travel has become impossible.
Today, many people seem to have moved past those challenging years. However, the various measures taken to combat the virus have undoubtedly caused great stress for many people. Concerns about job security, anxieties about family members' illnesses, and the tension of juggling working from home and homeschooling in a tight space: numerous studies show that this is not without impact.
The key factor is anxiety
How and to what extent have these experiences impacted the mental health and quality of life of women and men during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic? A research team from the University of Würzburg and the University Hospital Würzburg investigated this. Specifically, the scientists were interested in how worries about the workplace and others relate to a person's own mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression, and to their overall quality of life, the impact of friends or work support on these problems, and whether the findings show differences between men and women.
The findings are clear: among a variety of different variables and influencing factors, anxiety plays a central role. However, gender differences are also evident: "Men's anxiety increases with worries about work, but this does not happen for women. On the other hand, we found that women's anxiety levels increase simultaneously with their worries about family and friends. Furthermore, research also shows that women respond positively to support from friends and family at such times, thereby improving their quality of life. In men, this phenomenon is not obvious."
Gerrit-Hein is Professor of Translational Social Neuroscience at the Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy Clinic and General Outpatient Department at University Hospitals. She and her postdoc Martin Weiß led the research, the results of which have now been published in the journal Scientific Reports.
"In the past, many studies have investigated the impact of psychosocial factors on mental health and quality of life, such as support from friends and colleagues, as well as financial, career or personal worries. However, there is a paucity of data on whether these related factors have the same impact on men and women," said Gerrit-Hein, explaining the background of the study. Therefore, the Würzburg research team, broadening upon previous research, now also examined the impact of these factors on gender.
Research involving approximately 2,900 people
The team obtained the information from a large group of test subjects: participants in the so-called STAAB study. The study involved around 5,000 volunteers randomly selected from the general population in Würzburg, with an initial focus on the development of cardiovascular disease. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the project spontaneously expanded to include the psychosocial impacts of the pandemic, lockdowns, and other side effects.
A total of 2,890 people (1,520 women and 1,370 men) participated in the survey. Their ages ranged from 34 to 85, with a median age of 60. Between June and October 2020, they must fill out an extensive mental health questionnaire. Among other things, they were asked to provide information on the extent to which they felt supported by their social environment, colleagues and supervisors, and whether they had anyone with whom they could discuss problems. They were also asked to what extent the ban on contact with their parents and grandparents burdened them, and how much pressure they felt at work or school. Financial issues or concerns about financial matters are also the subject of further questions.
To evaluate this data, Hein and her team used a special method: so-called network analysis. "Analysis based on network methods can graphically represent all variables as individual nodes. In this way, it is possible to identify variables that are particularly correlated with other variables. For example, networks can show complex relationships between symptoms of different mental disorders and thus explain possible comorbidities," explains Hein.
Results conform to traditional gender norms
Grit Hein and Martin Weiß are not surprised by this result. "The observation that men are more closely related to work, while women are more closely related to family and friends, can be traced back to traditional gender norms and roles. Therefore, men are generally more susceptible to job insecurity and unemployment, leading to greater psychological stress. Women, on the other hand, experience greater stress when they feel that they are neglecting their family," Hein explains.
In addition, when women receive support from friends and family, their psychological endurance is also stronger: "This is consistent with traditional female family roles, which include a greater tendency to maintain close social ties and seek social support to reduce stress and improve happiness," Yin said. "
While these findings are clear, study leaders noted some limitations. The most important point is this: "Since the context of the COVID-19 pandemic is very specific, it remains to be clarified whether our findings can be applied to general situations not related to the pandemic. However, one finding is unquestionable: our findings highlight the need to consider social factors in therapeutic interventions to improve the mental health of women and men."