Page 113 - IJPS-10-3

International Journal of
Population Studies Gender differences in mental health outcomes

the complexity of reporting differences between males and 4.1. Public health recommendations
females, with males being more likely to report violence Implementing adequate early surveillance programs is
when they considered it of minor importance (Chan, warranted to capture the burden of gender differences and
2011). Although many factors related to social desirability, domestic violence on mental health during this pandemic
culture, and religion have been suggested to explain the (Galea et al., 2020). Enhanced surveillance would provide
asymmetry in reporting between males and females, targeted support and help develop intervention strategies
further studies are necessary to elucidate this finding.
for the most vulnerable groups. This study holds particular
In this study, domestic violence was found to be importance as it is the first attempt to describe and analyze
associated with higher levels of distress and insomnia, mental health-associated factors, specifically focusing on
with borderline results for anxiety and mental well- gender differences and domestic violence, in the absence
being. However, the recorded rates were lower than of surveillance and evaluation of effective interventions
those reported in the previous studies conducted in to support people at risk during this pandemic (Chandan
Lebanon (Rahme et al., 2020; Usta et al., 2007). This et al., 2020). The lack of such evaluations underscores the
difference is likely due to the fact that most participants urgency of our findings.
had a university level of education. While prior research
has explored the relationship between interpersonal Moreover, this contextual human rights analysis
violence and these factors, the present study adds a novel took into account gender and violence as social and
dimension by examining these associations in the specific economic determinants of health. Acknowledging and
context of the COVID-19 pandemic (Gallegos et al., 2019; addressing these factors could inform future studies and
Ophuis et al., 2018). This result is expected in times of the development of interventions aimed at effectively
crisis and lockdown as it represents a direct consequence managing mental health problems.
of being forcibly confined with a violent partner. In poor- 4.2. Limitations and strengths
resource settings, confinement enhances psychological
stress, increases unfavorable coping mechanisms (such Our study has some limitations. First, it relies on a single
as alcohol or smoking), and reduces the ability to access cross-sectional analysis of a small non-random sample,
usual support (Anurudran et al., 2020; Bradbury-Jones making it difficult to draw any conclusions about the
& Isham, 2020; Chandan et al., 2020; Neil, 2020; van combined effect of COVID-19 and the economic crisis
Gelder et al., 2020; WHO, 2020). A national survey in without a baseline assessment of the situation before the
the United Kingdom prioritized mental health issues pandemic. The response rate could not be calculated due to
during the COVID-19 pandemic, reporting several the snowball technique used to collect the data. Moreover,
concerns, including mental illness, financial difficulties, this sampling method resulted in a selection bias since
family breakdown, and increased domestic violence. most participants were university graduates (while the
Interestingly, respondents were relatively less worried percentage of university graduates among Lebanese adults
about becoming physically ill, consistent with our results is around 19% (Central Administration of Statistics [CAS],
(Holmes et al., 2020). 2021), with adequate computer literacy and internet
access. The sample distribution might have resulted in an
Furthermore, our results showed no association underestimation of the prevalence of economic hardship
between domestic violence and PTSS, a stressor-related and domestic violence (Ackerson et al., 2008). Hence,
psychiatric disorder occurring after experiencing or it might not be representative of the whole population.
witnessing events involving physical injury, death, or Nevertheless, appropriate adjustments were made in the
other threats to physical integrity (American Psychiatric multivariate analysis, taking into consideration several
Association DSM-5 Task Force, 2013). As PTSD is one of sociodemographic, economic, and COVID-19-related
the most common long-term psychiatric disorders, the
absence of correlation could be related to insufficient time factors that can be potential confounders, including
education level. Furthermore, the sample size had adequate
for the effects to appear. Even when the lockdown is over, power to assess correlations and potential confounding,
the consequences would still be detected months or even although residual confounding might still be possible.
years after the COVID-19 pandemic ends (Brooks et al.,
2020). Moreover, as the economic situation deteriorates, Finally, the information related to domestic violence
abusers would be more likely to exert their power and was self-reported and might not be accurate or credible,
aggression in the aftermath of a crisis and significant especially among women who might fear to report any
financial setbacks (Chbaro, 2020), further relating to category of violence. The complexity of defining domestic
mental health outcomes, especially PTSS. violence and the diverse perceptions of what constitutes

Volume 10 Issue 3 (2024) 107 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.1985