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International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction

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01-02-2022 | Coronavirus | Original Article

Gender and Fear of COVID-19 in a Cuban Population Sample

Authors: Yunier Broche-Pérez, Zoylen Fernández-Fleites, Elizabeth Jiménez-Puig, Evelyn Fernández-Castillo, Boris C. Rodríguez-Martin

Published in: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction | Issue 1/2022

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health emergency that could potentially have a serious impact on public health. Fear has been one of the most frequent psychological reaction in the population during the current pandemic. The aim of this study was to compare fear of COVID-19 between genders and to examine whether the differences between genders may be predictors of fear of COVID-19 scores. A cross-sectional web-based survey design was adopted. The sample comprised 772 Cuban participants. The Fear of COVID-19 Scale was used to explore fear reactions in the sample. An independent-samples t test was conducted to compare the fear of COVID-19 scores between genders, and multinomial logistic regression was modeling to identify variables independently associated with fear of coronavirus. In our sample, on average, female participants experienced significantly greater fear of COVID-19 than men. The gender of participants significantly predicted the level of fear of COVID-19. Being female was a predictor of medium and high levels of fear of COVID-19. The odds of a female with middle fear levels compared to low fear was 3.13 times more than for a male, and the odds of a female with high fear levels compared to low fear was 3.45 times more than for a male. Our results corroborate international research that indicate a greater psychological vulnerability in women during the COVID-19 pandemic. This result points to the need to design interventions that reduce the negative impact of the current outbreak on women’s mental health.

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Title: Gender and Fear of COVID-19 in a Cuban Population Sample
Authors: Yunier Broche-Pérez
Zoylen Fernández-Fleites
Elizabeth Jiménez-Puig
Evelyn Fernández-Castillo
Boris C. Rodríguez-Martin
Publication date: 01-02-2022
Publisher: Springer US
Keywords: Coronavirus
COVID-19
Anxiety
Published in: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction / Issue 1/2022
Print ISSN: 1557-1874
Electronic ISSN: 1557-1882
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00343-8

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