Wollast, Robin, Lüders, Adrian, Nugier, Armelle, Guimond, Serge, Phillips, Joseph, Sutton, Robbie M., Douglas, Karen, Sengupta, Nikhil K., Lemay, Edward P., Zand, Somayeh, and others. (2025) Gender inequality and cultural values in explaining gender differences in positive and negative emotions: A comparison of 24 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Current Psychology, 44 . pp. 7584-7602. ISSN 1046-1310. E-ISSN 1936-4733. (doi:10.1007/s12144-024-06989-0) (KAR id:108418)
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| Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06989-0 |
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Abstract
The coronavirus pandemic posed a major challenge to mental health. Existing evidence shows that COVID-19 is related to poor emotional well-being, particularly among women. However, most work on the subject uses single-country samples, limiting the ability to generalize the disparity or explain it as a function of societal variables. The present study investigates the expression of positive and negative emotions during the pandemic as a function of gender and across 24 countries (N = 49,637). Strong gender differences emerged across countries, with women reporting more negative emotions (anxious, depressed, nervous, exhausted) and less positive emotions (calm, content, relaxed, energetic) than men. The gender gap in positive emotions was significantly wider in countries higher in individualism and narrower in countries higher in power distance. For instance, differences in emotions were larger in Western countries high in individualism, such as the USA, the UK, Italy, and France, and smaller in countries with higher collectivism and power distance, such as China, Malaysia, and South Korea, with a few exceptions like Japan and Brazil. These gender differences across countries were not explained by country-level gender inequalities indicators (GGGI and GII). Interestingly, the national severity of the pandemic, an epidemiological factor, reduced gender differences in positive emotions. These results underscore the importance of considering cultural and national factors when assessing gender differences in well-being.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| DOI/Identification number: | 10.1007/s12144-024-06989-0 |
| Uncontrolled keywords: | COVID-19; mental health; gender; emotions culture; well-being |
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology |
| Institutional Unit: | Schools > School of Psychology > Psychology |
| Former Institutional Unit: |
Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
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| Funders: | University of Kent (https://ror.org/00xkeyj56) |
| Depositing User: | Cassidy Rowden |
| Date Deposited: | 16 Jan 2025 09:48 UTC |
| Last Modified: | 22 Jul 2025 09:22 UTC |
| Resource URI: | https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/108418 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes) |
University of Kent Author Information
Wollast, Robin.
| Creator's ORCID: |
 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5395-9969
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| CReDIT Contributor Roles: |
Phillips, Joseph.
| Creator's ORCID: |
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0084-4601
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| CReDIT Contributor Roles: |
Sutton, Robbie M..
| Creator's ORCID: |
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1542-1716
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| CReDIT Contributor Roles: |
Douglas, Karen.
| Creator's ORCID: |
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0381-6924
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| CReDIT Contributor Roles: |
Sengupta, Nikhil K..
| Creator's ORCID: |
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5694-353X
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| CReDIT Contributor Roles: |
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