The Association Between Men’s Mental Health During COVID-19 and Deterioration in Economic Status

This study investigated associations among economic status deterioration, mental health, and gender during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 1,807 participants completed an online questionnaire that included demographic variables and questions measuring three mental health variables: psychological distress (as measured by symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress), adjustment disorder, and emotional eating. Results indicated that women reported higher mental health impairment than men. Men and women whose economic status significantly deteriorated because of the COVID-19 pandemic reported greater mental health impairment than those whose economic status did not significantly deteriorate. However, men whose economic status significantly deteriorated reported high mental health impairment (emotional eating and adjustment difficulties) similar to women in the same situation. This change in men’s reporting pattern suggests that the economic impact of COVID-19 severely impacted their mental health and affected how they view their masculinity, which, in turn, further impaired their mental health. As the COVID-19 outbreak has had a significant impact on mental health worldwide, it is important to identify individuals and groups who are at high risk of mental health impairment. The current study demonstrates that men’s distress, which is frequently complex to identify, can be detected using standardized measures and analyzing these according to changes in reporting patterns as opposed to simply examining means and frequencies. The results suggest that the COVID-19 crisis may provide an opportunity to understand more about mental health, in particular, that of men.