Ruppanner Leah, Tan Xiao, Carson Andrea, Ratcliff Shaun
The University of Melbourne Research Ringgold Standard Institution Melbourne Victoria Australia.
La Trobe University Ringgold Standard Institution Melbourne Victoria Australia.
Gend Work Organ. 2021 Sep;28(5):1937-1955. doi: 10.1111/gwao.12727. Epub 2021 Jul 23.
During the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world witnessed major economic, school, and daycare closures. We sampled respondents in Australia and the US during the height of the first restrictions to understand how the first quarantine structured their emotional strain and financial worry (825 Australians and 835 Americans aged between 18 and 65; May 2-3, 2020; source YouGov). We apply structural equation modeling to demonstrate that the impacts of COVID-19 are not only gendered but also vary between childless people and parents. Specifically, we show that compared to Australians, Americans were more impacted by changes in their financial circumstances. Further, while the financial worry and emotional strain impacts were similar between childless people and parents in Australia, significant differences existed between the two groups in the United States. In particular, we identify American mothers as the most disadvantaged group-feeling the most anxious and financially worried about both employment and domestic changes under COVID-19. Policy wise, we argue that COVID-19 is exacerbating gender inequality in emotional health. To slow down this trend, more adequate mental health supports are needed, particularly for mothers.
在新冠疫情的最初几个月里，全世界目睹了经济活动、学校和日托中心的大规模关闭。我们在澳大利亚和美国首次实施限制措施的高峰期对受访者进行了抽样调查，以了解首次隔离如何构成了他们的情绪压力和经济担忧（825名澳大利亚人和835名年龄在18至65岁之间的美国人；2020年5月2日至3日；来源：舆观调查网）。我们运用结构方程模型来证明，新冠疫情的影响不仅存在性别差异，而且在无子女者和有子女者之间也有所不同。具体而言，我们发现，与澳大利亚人相比，美国人受财务状况变化的影响更大。此外，虽然澳大利亚无子女者和有子女者在经济担忧和情绪压力方面的影响相似，但在美国，这两组人之间存在显著差异。特别是，我们发现美国母亲是最弱势的群体——在新冠疫情下，她们对就业和家庭变化感到最为焦虑，经济上也最为担忧。从政策角度来看，我们认为新冠疫情正在加剧情绪健康方面的性别不平等。为了减缓这一趋势，需要提供更充分的心理健康支持，尤其是对母亲们的支持。
