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.

Mindfulness and psychological distress in men during the COVID‐19 pandemic: The mediating role of environmental mastery and purpose in life

“…Moreover, other critical contextual variables could be included in these models, such as men's socio‐economic status, social support, marital status, quality of family and friendship relationships, spirituality and the practice of mindfulness. These seem appropriate variables to consider in future mindfulness studies with men because they might serve as protective factors (Palma, de Sousa, et al, 2022; Palma, Sousa, et al, 2022; Park & Yu, 2022) and provide an even more complex picture of the relationship between mindfulness and psychological distress.…”

“…Regarding specific populations, studies have recently addressed how men's physical and mental health has been impacted by COVID‐19 (Ellison et al, 2021; Palma, de Sousa, et al, 2022; Palma, Sousa, et al, 2022). For instance, according to Capuano et al (2020) and Ellison et al (2021), men are more likely to be infected with SARS‐CoV‐2, be hospitalised, and die from COVID‐19 and its associated complications.…”

“…For instance, according to Capuano et al (2020) and Ellison et al (2021), men are more likely to be infected with SARS‐CoV‐2, be hospitalised, and die from COVID‐19 and its associated complications. Therefore, these variables might constitute vulnerability factors for men's psychological suffering (Palma, de Sousa, et al, 2022; Palma, Sousa, et al, 2022). In this sense, Ellison et al (2021) point out that COVID‐19 has posed specific challenges for this population.…”

“…Individual, interpersonal and contextual factors, such as intolerance of uncertainty, emotion regulation, poor or lack of social support, isolation, financial stressors and increasing unemployment rates (Ellison et al, 2021; Palma, de Sousa, et al, 2022; Palma, Sousa, et al, 2022; Park & Yu, 2022) might lead to greater psychological suffering in men. For example, Park and Yu (2022) highlighted that isolation and loneliness severely impacted men’s mental health during the COVID‐19 pandemic.…”

“…In fact, several determinants of men's psychological distress have been reported over the last 2 years (Palma, de Sousa, et al, 2022; Palma, Sousa, et al, 2022; Park & Yu, 2022). For instance, common mental disorders (i.e., indicators of anxiety, depression and stress‐related disorders) and perceived stress (i.e., individuals' appraisal of life stressors and their ability to cope with them effectively) have been consistently associated with intraindividual (e.g., intolerance of uncertainty, emotion regulation and coping strategies) and contextual (e.g., socio‐economic status, monthly income and marital status) variables, to varying degrees (Palma, de Sousa, et al, 2022; Palma, Sousa, et al, 2022; Park & Yu, 2022). However, the processes that might help protect individuals against psychological distress in the COVID‐19 context still warrant further investigation.…”