ArticlePloS one2023
The gender dimensions of mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic: A path analysis.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Gender differences and psychosocial stress in upper respiratory tract infections: insights from healthy and hematological cancer cohorts.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on antidepressant use in eleven European regions: a comparative time series analysis 2018-2022.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Article
- Socioeconomic determinants of protective behaviors and contact patterns in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era: A cross-sectional study in Italy.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Gender Mental Health Gap.Health services research · 2025Article
- Workers' well-being during viral pandemics and epidemics: A scoping review.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Review
- One-year ecological momentary assessment of alcohol use, mood, and stress among individuals with alcohol use disorder during SARS-CoV-2 pandemics: a gender-specific reflection.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2025Observational
- University students' thriving during remote and in-person instruction in the COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal evidence from two academic years.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Loneliness Across the COVID-19 Pandemic: Risk Factors in Norwegian Young People.Clinical psychology in Europe · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe Covid-19 pandemic has had a substantial population mental health impact, with evidence indicating that mental health has deteriorated in particular for women. This gender difference could be explained by the distinct experiences of women during the pandemic, including the burden of unpaid domestic labour, changes in economic activity, and experiences of loneliness. This study investigates potential mediators in the relationship between gender and mental health during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK.
methodsWe used data from 9,351 participants of Understanding Society, a longitudinal household survey from the UK. We conducted a mediation analysis using structural equation modelling to estimate the role of four mediators, measured during the first lockdown in April 2020, in the relationship between gender and mental health in May and July 2020. Mental health was measured with the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Standardized coefficients for each path were obtained, as well as indirect effects for the role of employment disruption, hours spent on housework, hours spent on childcare, and loneliness.
resultsIn a model controlling for age, household income and pre-pandemic mental health, we found that gender was associated with all four mediators, but only loneliness was associated with mental health at both time points. The indirect effects showed strong evidence of partial mediation through loneliness for the relationship between gender and mental health problems; loneliness accounted for 83.9% of the total effect in May, and 76.1% in July. No evidence of mediation was found for housework, childcare, or employment disruption.
conclusionThe results suggest that the worse mental health found among women during the initial period of the Covid-19 pandemic is partly explained by women reporting more experiences of loneliness. Understanding this mechanism is important for prioritising interventions to address gender-based inequities that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
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