The weaker sex? What we can learn from sex differences in population mental health during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic

Giel, Katrin Elisabeth; Derntl, Birgit

doi:10.1007/s00406-021-01312-5

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 11 publications

(16 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Although girls appear to be suffering more than boys in response to COVID-19, our results show that boys also are impacted and thus should not be overlooked in prevention and intervention efforts. Prior research suggests boys’ delayed response may be related to higher levels of emotional regulation, lower levels of socioemotional awareness and/or societal norms and pressures for males to suppress negative emotions more so than girls ( Deckert et al, 2020 ; Giel & Derntl, 2021 ; Hagler et al, 2016 ; Pollastri et al, 2018 ). Scholars have also questioned whether males may be more likely to respond to COVID-19 related stressors via externalizing behaviors that this investigation did not address, such as substance use ( Giel & Derntl, 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prior research suggests boys’ delayed response may be related to higher levels of emotional regulation, lower levels of socioemotional awareness and/or societal norms and pressures for males to suppress negative emotions more so than girls ( Deckert et al, 2020 ; Giel & Derntl, 2021 ; Hagler et al, 2016 ; Pollastri et al, 2018 ). Scholars have also questioned whether males may be more likely to respond to COVID-19 related stressors via externalizing behaviors that this investigation did not address, such as substance use ( Giel & Derntl, 2021 ). Research examining adolescent externalizing disorders during COVID-19 could deepen understanding of the sex differences identified by the current study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The acute and persisting impact of COVID-19 on trajectories of adolescent depression: Sex differences and social connectedness

Liu¹,

Davis²,

Palma³

et al. 2022

Journal of Affective Disorders

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The acute and persisting impact of COVID-19 on trajectories of adolescent depression: Sex differences and social connectedness

Liu¹,

Davis²,

Palma³

et al. 2022

Journal of Affective Disorders

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Secondly, sampling effects could influence data as especially in convenience samples, a significant larger group of participants is female ( 7 ). Third, population-based surveys are usually brief and cover the most common mental health outcomes, and while women might just be more likely to endorse symptoms of anxiety and depression, surveys potentially neglect symptoms that are more common experienced in males under stressful conditions ( 27 ). Finally, elevated rates of anxiety and depression in females early in the pandemic might partly reflect common gender roles rather than biological sex differences, for instance, women juggling employment and care work under lockdown conditions ( 27 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal development of depression and anxiety during COVID-19 pandemic in Germany: Findings from a population-based probability sample survey

Giel¹,

Martus²,

Guichonnet

et al. 2022

Front. Psychiatry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The stress response to the COVID-19 pandemic might differ between early and later stages. Longitudinal data on the development of population mental health during COVID-19 pandemic is scarce. We have investigated mental health trajectories and predictors for change in a probability sample of the general population in Germany at the beginning and after 6 months of the pandemic. We conducted a longitudinal survey in a population-based probability sample of German adults. The current study analyzed data from a first assessment in May 2020 (T1; N = 1,412) and a second in November 2020 (T2; N = 743). Mental health was assessed in terms of anxiety and depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4). Mental health outcomes at T1 were compared with PHQ-4 norm data. Trajectories over time were investigated based on outcome classifications of PHQ-4 scores. Predictors of mental health outcomes and change were identified using multiple regression analysis. In spring 2020, participants showed significantly higher PHQ-4 scores as compared to the norm data, however, overall anxiety and depression remained low also 6 months later. 6.6% of respondents showed a mental health deterioration in autumn 2020, entering subclinical and clinical ranges, outweighing the proportion of people with improved outcomes. Sociodemographic variables associated with mental distress at T1 were mainly not predictive for change at T2. Even under prolonged pandemic-related stress, mental health remained mainly stable in the general population. Further development of the considerable subgroup experiencing deterioration of depression and anxiety should be monitored, in order to tailor prevention and intervention efforts.

show abstract

“…It should be mentioned that T1 anxiety/depression was both included as the covariate in separated four models to control for intercept effects. Considering that males and females respond differently under stress (Giel & Derntl, 2021; Hodes & Epperson, 2019), sex was treated as a covariate. We also added childhood stress as a covariate to adjust the distal effect of early‐life stress and perceived stress scores measured at the previous time point (T1 for the reactivity model and T2 for the recovery model) to adjust chronic stress effects.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Blunted reward responsiveness prospectively predicts emotional distress when exposed to a naturalistic stressor

Yan

Kohn

Wei

et al. 2022

British J of Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Both stress and blunted reward responsiveness have been identified as core risk factors of depression. Whether blunted reward responsiveness increases psychological vulnerability to real‐life stress from a dynamic perspective (from stress reactivity to recovery) has not been investigated. By utilizing a real‐world stressful event (i.e. the final examination), this study aimed to explore the role of reward responsiveness in the stress‐emotional distress relationship during stress reactivity and recovery phases. We followed 57 undergraduates with three assessments, from six weeks before examination weeks (T1, baseline), one day before the examinations (T2) to two weeks after the examinations (T3), therefore, covering stress reactivity (T1 to T2) and recovery (T2 to T3) phases. At baseline, reward responsiveness was measured as the Reward Positivity (RewP) in the doors task. Stress and emotional distress (anxiety and depression) were reported at T1, T2 and T3 to capture their dynamic changes. Results showed that self‐report stress levels significantly increased from T1 to T2 (stress reactivity phase) and decreased from T2 to T3 (stress recovery phase). Furthermore, blunted reward responsiveness at baseline prospectively predicted emotional distress during the stress reactivity phase but not the recovery phase. Specifically, during the stress reactivity phase, higher perceived stress was associated with greater anxiety and depression only in participants with relatively smaller residual RewP amplitudes but not in participants with relatively larger residual RewP amplitudes. Our study demonstrated that a blunted reward responsiveness is a vulnerable factor of depression, especially when exposed to stress. Our findings provide insights into prevention and intervention for stress‐related disturbance.

show abstract

The weaker sex? What we can learn from sex differences in population mental health during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic

Cited by 11 publications

References 11 publications

The acute and persisting impact of COVID-19 on trajectories of adolescent depression: Sex differences and social connectedness

The acute and persisting impact of COVID-19 on trajectories of adolescent depression: Sex differences and social connectedness

Longitudinal development of depression and anxiety during COVID-19 pandemic in Germany: Findings from a population-based probability sample survey

Blunted reward responsiveness prospectively predicts emotional distress when exposed to a naturalistic stressor

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About