2023-07-31 16:23:45
The pandemic has given psychologists a unique opportunity to study how a common stressor affects different people. First of all, a big difference between women and men became apparent. According to a study, they react differently to strain and stress. This is the conclusion reached by researchers from the University of Würzburg in an article that has now been published in the journal “Scientific Reports”. In it, they examine the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on the mental health and quality of life of men and women. Around 2,900 people were interviewed, of whom around 1,500 were women and 1,400 men. Their ages ranged from 34 to 85 years, the average age was 60 years.
Gender-specific differences became apparent: “In men, anxiety increases with concern about their job, but this effect does not occur in women. On the other hand, we were able to register an increase in anxiety levels in women in parallel with an increase in worries about family and friends,” said study leader and neuroscientist Grit Hein.
Women can be helped emotionally
In addition, the study makes it clear that women react positively to the support of friends and family in times of crisis by feeling a plus in quality of life. This phenomenon does not occur in men.
“In the past, numerous studies have examined the influence of psychosocial factors such as support from friends and colleagues and financial, professional or personal concerns on mental health and quality of life. However, there was a lack of data on whether these associations are the same in men and women,” Hein explained the background to the study.
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The results are related to traditional role patterns. “The observation that men are more closely associated with work and women are more closely associated with family and friends can be traced back to traditional gender norms and roles,” explained Hein.
The results are clear; However, since the Covid 19 pandemic represents “a very specific context”, it still has to be clarified whether the results can be transferred to general pandemic-independent situations, according to the study authors.
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