Gender Differences in Mental Health and Beliefs about Covid-19 among Elderly Internet Users

Abstract

Older people’s mental health is at risk during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study investigated gender differences in home isolation, beliefs about Covid-19 and mental health indicators among elderly internet users during the pandemic. A total of 384 older persons (66.9% women and 30.1% men) answered an online survey devised to collect information on sociodemographic characteristics, beliefs/attitudes about Covid-19, depression (PHQ-2), loneliness (short version of the UCLA-BR), social support and resilience (the BRS). Older women showed poorer mental health indicators, were more likely to adhere to home isolation and believe in the effectiveness of this measure, and felt more self-confident to self-isolate at home. Stronger perceived vulnerability to Covid-19 and awareness of the gravity of the disease were related to poorer mental health indicators among women. Older women are a high-risk group for negative mental health outcomes during the pandemic and should therefore be a primary focus of actions to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on mental health.

Home confinement and mental health problems during the Covid-19 pandemic among the population aged 50 and older: A gender perspective

“…Our results also show that women were confined to home more than men during the pandemic. These results can partly be explained by the fact that women are more responsive to Covid-19 preventive measures ( Capraro & Barcelo, 2020 ; Delerue Matos et al, 2021 ; Ferreira, 2021 ). Furthermore, since older women have higher levels of disability ( OECD, 2020 ), they may have adopted more preventive behaviors.…”

Isolamento social e seus impactos na saúde mental: Uma revisão

“…Os resultados do presente estudo encontram-se no Quadro 1. Gayer et al, 2020Silva Júnior AF, et al, 2020Dantas, 2021El-Hage et al, 2020Saidel, 2020Silva, 2020Tavares, 2020Weide, 2021 Artigos sobre Pessoas com transtornos mentais Artigos sobre Idosos Ornell et al, 2020Sher, 2020Shigemura et al, 2020Ferreira, 2021Lima-Costa et al, 2020Romero et al, 2021Silva et al, 2021…”

“…Tais fatores corroboram para aumento dos níveis de ansiedade, medo, angústia, alteração de sono, solidão nos idosos Ferreira, 2021;Lima-Costa et al, 2020).…”

Comportamento suicida: o paradoxo vida e morte em meio à pandemia de COVID-19

“…Vattimo (2020) afirma que nossos valores fundamentais enquanto sociedade foram afetados com a necessidade de confinamento domiciliar e distanciamento social compulsório, o que coloca em xeque até mesmo o princípio da liberdade individual, um dos pilares das democracias modernas. Embora se reconheça a necessidade de adotar tais medidas não farmacológicas complementares à imunização em massa, visando a reduzir as taxas de novas infecções e, consequentemente, de letalidade, o potencial dessas ações para produzir efeitos adversos à saúde mental é apreciável (Ferreira, 2021;Scorsolini-Comin, Rossato, & Santos, 2020).…”