Psychological Distress in Men During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil: The Role of the Sociodemographic Variables, Uncertainty and Social Support

Abstract

Objective: to analyze the relationships between sociodemographic variables, intolerance to uncertainty (INT), social support and psychological distress (i.e., indicators of Common Mental Disorders [CMDs] and perceived stress [PS]) in Brazilian men during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: a cross-sectional study with national coverage, of the web survey type, and conducted with 1,006 Brazilian men during the period of social circulation restriction imposed by the health authorities in Brazil, for suppression of the coronavirus and control of the pandemic. Structural equation modeling analysis was performed. Results: Statistically significant direct effects of race/skin color (λ=0.268; p-value<0.001), socioeconomic status (SES) (λ=0.306; p-value<0.001), household composition (λ=0.281; p-value<0.001), PS (λ=0.513; p-value<0.001) and INT (λ=0.421; p-value<0.001) were evidenced in the occurrence of CMDs. Black-skinned men, with higher SES, living alone and with higher PS and INT levels presented higher prevalence values of CMDs. Conclusions: high levels of PS and INT were the factors that presented the strongest associations with the occurrence of CMDs among the men. It is necessary to implement actions to reduce the stress-generating sources, as well as to promote an increase in resilience and the development of intrinsic reinforcements to deal with uncertain threats.

Trends in incident diagnoses and drug prescriptions for anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic: an 18-month follow-up study based on the UK Biobank

“…The most notable increase in incident diagnoses of anxiety and depression among COVID-19 tested group was found at the beginning of the pandemic. One reason for the temporary spike at the initial stage of the pandemic is the uncertainty about the virus at that timpoint [44]. Fear of being infected or infecting others may trigger psychological distress.…”

SARS-CoV-2 in Brazil and Psychosocial Repercussions on Men’s Health: Health Literacy Is Important

“…An increase in the risk of suicide, intensified by social isolation, job loss, unemployment, and financial stress, has been observed in countries such as Bangladesh, Colombia, India, Canada, and New Zealand, where phenomena that are characteristic of pandemic contexts such as xenophobia, stigma, and fear of contagion potentiate installation of a devastating scenario that deserves attention from public managers, public policy makers, international organizations, and health professionals working at different levels of the care networks ( Chakraborty, 2020 ; Gonzalez-Diaz et al, 2020 ; Mamun & Griffiths, 2020 ; Ogrodniczuk et al, 2021 ). To minimize the incidence of these repercussions, several countries established, in advance, coping strategies that have been successful in preventing anxiety disorders, reducing the impacts caused by isolation, such as loneliness and the fight against sedentary lifestyles ( Barreto et al, 2020 ; de Sousa, Teixeira, et al, 2022 ; de Sousa, Alves, et al, 2021 ; Moreira et al, 2021 ; Teixeira et al, 2022 ).…”

“…Currently, a number of studies aim at identifying the determinants that drive higher mortality rates due to COVID-19 in the male population, suggesting that factors associated with lifestyle, such as smoking and alcoholism, and the delay in seeking health services may be involved (World Health Organization, 2020a, 2020b, in addition to biological vulnerability factors that may also be associated (Alwani et al, 2021;de Sousa, Teixeira, et al, 2022;White & Kirby, 2020;Wray & Arrowsmith, 2021).…”

COVID-19 in Brazil: Are there any differences in Mental Health Literacy between young and aged men?

“…When working with subgroups of men, it was evident that structural inequalities in health require political attention from the government to effectively tailor and direct efforts to promote men's MHL and health promotion programs, particularly with regard to mental health and to adapt the existing health education tools to focus on specific men's health problems, including depression, suicide and stigma (47)(48)(49) . The findings of our study only reinforce that knowledge alone does not inform or strengthen men's MHL in their practices, but indicates the need to make actions more accessible to the male population.…”