Mental Health before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Partnership and Parenthood Status in Growing Disparities between Types of Families

Nicole Hiekel*, Mine Kühn

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

Abstract

This study investigates mental health inequalities by family type and gender during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Using data from the German Family Panel, we compared three dimensions of mental health (i.e., self-reported stress, exhaustion, and loneliness) one year before the pandemic and in spring 2020. First, two-parent families emerged as a vulnerable group, as the levels of stress and exhaustion they reported during the pandemic converged with those experienced by single parents. Second, a gender gap emerged during this global health crisis, with women, and particularly mothers, reporting significantly worse mental health compared to men in the same family type. Our findings underline the substantive value of studying mental health inequality from a multidimensional perspective and over time. Based on these findings, we urge policy makers to consider more seriously the disproportionate burdens that families, and women in particular, have been carrying due to the pandemic both directly and indirectly.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)594
Number of pages609
JournalJournal of Health and Social Behavior
Volume63
Issue number4
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2022
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • COVID-19 pandemic
  • family types
  • gender inequality
  • mental health inequalities

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