Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
Department of Economics and Management, Sophia University Institute, Figline e Incisa Valdarno, Italy.
PLoS One. 2021 Nov 16;16(11):e0259989. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259989. eCollection 2021.
This study used a subsample of a household panel study in Italy to track changes in mental health before the onset of COVID-19 and into the first lockdown period, from late April to early September 2020. The results of the random-effects regression analyses fitted on a sample of respondents aged 16 years and older (N = 897) proved that there was a substantial and statistically significant short-term deterioration in mental health (from 78,5 to 67,9; β = -10.5, p < .001; Cohen's d -.445), as measured by a composite index derived from the mental component of the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12). The findings also showed heterogeneity in the COVID-related effects. On the one hand, evidence has emerged that the pandemic acted as a great leveller of pre-existing differences in mental health across people of different ages: the decrease was most pronounced among those aged 16-34 (from 84,2 to 66,5; β = -17.7, p < .001; Cohen's d -.744); however, the magnitude of change reduced as age increased and turned to be non-significant among individuals aged 70 and over. On the other hand, the COVID-19 emergency widened the mental health gender gap and created new inequalities, based on the age of the youngest child being taken care of within the household.
本研究使用了意大利一项家庭面板研究的子样本，以追踪 2020 年 4 月下旬至 9 月初 COVID-19 爆发前和首次封锁期间心理健康状况的变化。对年龄在 16 岁及以上的受访者样本（N=897）进行随机效应回归分析的结果表明，心理健康状况出现了实质性和统计学上显著的短期恶化（从 78.5 降至 67.9；β=-10.5，p<.001；Cohen's d=-.445），这是通过 12 项简短健康调查（SF-12）心理成分得出的综合指数来衡量的。研究结果还显示 COVID-19 相关效应存在异质性。一方面，有证据表明，大流行使不同年龄段人群的心理健康方面先前存在的差异趋于均等化：降幅最大的是 16-34 岁人群（从 84.2 降至 66.5；β=-17.7，p<.001；Cohen's d=-.744）；然而，随着年龄的增长，变化幅度减小，70 岁以上人群的变化变得不显著。另一方面，COVID-19 紧急情况扩大了心理健康方面的性别差距，并根据家庭中照顾的最小孩子的年龄造成了新的不平等。
