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Relationship quality in couples related to mental health of women and men during the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

L. Shaigerova ,
O. Vakhantseva ,
O. Almazova ,
R. Shilko  and
A. Dolgikh
L. Shaigerova*
Affiliation:
Faculty Of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation
O. Vakhantseva
Affiliation:
Faculty Of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation
O. Almazova
Affiliation:
Faculty Of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation
R. Shilko
Affiliation:
Faculty Of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation
A. Dolgikh
Affiliation:
Faculty Of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The data on gender differences in mental health make the investigation of the specific impact of the pandemic and of the stay-at-home orders on men and women relevant.

Objectives

The study focuses on the quality of the relationship in couples and mental health in men and women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

The study was conducted through an online survey a few weeks after the pandemic was declared and the stay-at-home order was introduced in Russia. 274 participants (50 men and 224 women) engaged in long-term relationships aged from 18 to 62 (M=34.2; SD=9.1) took part in the research. The instruments included the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, the Perceived Relationship Quality Components, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales.

Results

Women show a considerably higher level of stress (t=3.805; p<0.001), depression (t=3.76; p<0.001) and anxiety (t=2.959; p=0.003). The quality of relationship for women is significantly connected with mental wellbeing (r=0.423; p<0.001) and negatively correlated with the stress level (r= -0.60; p<0.001), depression (r= -0,381; p<0,001) and anxiety (r=-0,313; p<0,001). Meanwhile for men, the quality of the relationship is connected to mental wellbeing (r=0.280; p=0.049), opposed to stress levels (r= -0.316; p=0.025) and is neither connected to depression (r= -0.210; p=0.144) nor to anxiety (r= -0.126; p=0.383).

Conclusions

During the pandemic, a favorable partnership has a positive effect on the mental health of both men and women. However, while the relationship quality affects all investigated indicators of mental health in women, in men the relationship quality is only connected to the level of mental wellbeing and stress. The reported study was funded by RFBR, project number 20-04-60174.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

mental healthCOVID-19Gender differencesrelationship quality
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 64 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 29th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2021 , pp. S92
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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