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

Sélton Diniz Dos Santos,Márcia Aparecida Ferreira De Oliveira,Carlos Sequeira ,E Camargo ,Wilson Abreu,Tilson Nunes Mota,Hérica Emília Félix De Carvalho ,Iracema Lua,Luciano Garcia Lourenção,Isabella Félix Meira Araújo,Josielson Costa Da Silva,Evanilda Souza De Santana Carvalho,Jules Ramon Brito Teixeira,Emanuel Missias Silva Palma,Anderson Reis De Sousa,Milena Bitencourt Santos,Aline Macêdo De Queiroz,Tânia Maria De Araújo,Richardson Augusto Rosendo Da Silva,Raíssa Millena Silva Florêncio ,Wanderson Carneiro Moreira,Sônia Barros,Magno Conceição Das Mercês ,Álvaro Pereira,Éric Santos Almeida

doi:10.3390/ijerph19010350

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 1006 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.

Highlights

The health crisis caused by COVID-19 exerted a negative impact on the mental health of the world’s population
The results of this study point out the high prevalence of Common Mental Disorders (CMDs) in men in the pandemic context and reinforce the need to assess the factors that precede this disease and to replicate the study with women. They endorse the importance of constructing latent variables to measure subjective aspects since three important latent constructs were revealed to be better studied, namely socioeconomic status, intolerance to uncertainty, and social support
The study allowed identifying a higher prevalence of CMDs among younger men, with lower schooling, black-skinned, without a partner, who lived alone, did not work, with high levels of stress and intolerance to uncertainty, and who received low social support

Summary

Introduction

The health crisis caused by COVID-19 exerted a negative impact on the mental health of the world’s population. The experience of unknown situations and the fear of contamination imposed by the burden of the disease and its repercussions produced new daily stressors and exacerbated previous ones already structurally present in societies [1–4] Together, these factors generate continuous situations of suffering and contribute to the increase in psychological distress, as evidenced by indicators of Common Mental Disorders (CMDs) and perceived stress [5–7]. The deleterious effects caused by the pandemic have been measured and show a reduction in life expectancy at birth, in the ability to work, and in absenteeism and presentism in addition to growth in unemployment and informality These situations install contexts that culminate in massive mental ailments in the male population [9–13]

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