Refaeli Tehila, Krumer-Nevo Michal
The Charlotte Jack Spitzer Department of Social Work, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Dec 23;19(1):124. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19010124.
Based on Pearlin's stress process model and the social inequality approach to health, this study used a social lens to explore the role of socioeconomic inequities in mental distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel. Specifically, we examined people's pre-pandemic sociodemographic characteristics and economic situation, and the economic effects of the pandemic itself on mental distress. A real-time survey was conducted in May 2020 among 273 adults (ages 20-68), and hierarchical linear models were employed. Findings indicated that groups vulnerable to mental distress in routine times (e.g., women, people with economic difficulties) showed the same pattern during the pandemic. Not only was unemployment related to mental distress, so too was a reduction in work hours. The pandemic's economic effects (e.g., needing to take out loans, having a worsening financial situation) were also associated with increased mental distress. This study is one of very few studies to explore a wide range of socioeconomic factors and their association with mental distress during the current crisis. The findings call for broader interventions to alleviate the economic distress caused by the pandemic to promote mental health, especially for groups that were vulnerable before the crisis and those most affected economically following the pandemic.
基于皮尔林的压力过程模型和健康领域的社会不平等方法，本研究运用社会视角，探讨以色列在新冠疫情期间社会经济不平等在精神困扰中所起的作用。具体而言，我们考察了人们疫情前的社会人口特征和经济状况，以及疫情本身对精神困扰的经济影响。2020年5月对273名成年人（年龄在20至68岁之间）进行了一项实时调查，并采用了分层线性模型。研究结果表明，在正常时期易出现精神困扰的群体（如女性、经济困难者）在疫情期间呈现出相同的模式。不仅失业与精神困扰有关，工作时长的减少也与之相关。疫情的经济影响（如需要贷款、财务状况恶化）也与精神困扰加剧有关。本研究是极少数探讨当前危机期间广泛社会经济因素及其与精神困扰之间关联的研究之一。研究结果呼吁采取更广泛的干预措施，以缓解疫情造成的经济困境，促进心理健康，特别是针对危机前就处于脆弱状态以及疫情后受经济影响最大的群体。
