Profile of women with anxiety symptoms during the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7213/psicolargum.42.118.AO03

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the profile of females with greater vulnerability to the presence of anxious symptoms during the pandemic in Brazil. The sample included 1255 women from all regions of the country, with a mean age of 38.2 years (SD = 13.37). The instruments used were the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 (GAD-7), the Fear of Covid-19 scale-19 (FCV-19) and a sociodemographic questionnaire. A Multinomial Logistic Regression was performed adopting as outcome variable the levels of anxious symptoms (no symptoms, mild, moderate and severe). Age, skin color, educational level, geographic region and fear of Covid-19 were adopted as explanatory variables.  The results showed that the younger the participants and the more pronounced the fear of Covid-19, the greater the likelihood of having reported anxiety symptoms. In addition, participants belonging to the North and Central-West regions were more frequent among people with anxious symptoms, when compared to the Northeast region. Given the higher risk of psychological illness in the female population, these findings can assist the elaboration of preventive actions for this group in the post-pandemic scenario. Thus, we also emphasize the importance of continuous screening to monitor the changes and needs of this population at different stages of the Covid-19 public health crisis.

Keywords: Women; Anxiety; COVID-19; Fear of Covid-19; Health Psychology

 

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Author Biographies

Beatriz Oliveira-Santos, Universidade Federal de Sergipe

Graduanda em Psicologia pelo Departamento de Psicologia da Universidade Federal de Sergipe

Luanna dos Santos Silva, Universidade Federal de Sergipe

Doutoranda em Psicologia pelo Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia da Universidade Federal de Sergipe

André Faro, Universidade Federal de Sergipe

Professor no Departamento de Psicologia da Universidade Federal de Sergipe

Published

2024-09-17

How to Cite

Oliveira-Santos, B., dos Santos Silva, L., & Faro, A. (2024). Profile of women with anxiety symptoms during the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil. Psicologia Argumento, 42(118). https://doi.org/10.7213/psicolargum.42.118.AO03