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Gender inequality and cultural values in explaining gender differences in positive and negative emotions: a comparison of 24 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Wollast, Robin and Lüders, Adrian and Nugier, Armelle and Guimond, Serge and Phillips, Joseph B. and Sutton, Robbie M. and Douglas, Karen M. and Sengupta, Nikhil K. and Lemay, Edward P. and Zand, Somayeh and Van Lissa, Caspar J. and Bélanger, Jocelyn J. and Abakoumkin, Georgios and Khaiyom, Jamilah Hanum Abdul and Agostini, Maximilian and Ahmedi, Vjollca and Almenara, Carlos A. and Atta, Mohsin and Bağcı, Çiğdem and Bernardo, Allan B. I. and Choi, Hoon Seok and Cristea, Mioara and Danyliuk, Ivan and Enea, Violeta and Fisher, Alexandra N. and Gómez, Angel and Greiff, Samuel and Gützkow, Ben and Hamaidia, Ali and Han, Qing and Hudiyana, Joevarian and Jeronimus, Bertus F. and Jiang, Ding Yu and Jovanović, Veljko and Kende, Anna and Keng, Shian Ling and Koc, Yasin and Kovyazina, Kamila and Kreienkamp, Jannis and Kurapov, Anton and Lantos, Nora Anna and Jaya Lesmana, Cokorda Bagus and Malik, Najma I. and Martinez, Anton P. and McCabe, Kira O. and Milla, Mirra N. and Molinario, Erica and Moyano, Manuel and Muhammad, Hayat and Mula, Silvana and Myroniuk, Solomiia and Nisa, Claudia and Nyúl, Boglárka and O’Keefe, Paul A. and Osuna, Jose Javier Olivas and Osin, Evgeny N. and Park, Joonha and Pierro, Antonio and Rees, Jonas and Reitsema, Anne Margit and Rullo, Marika and Ryan, Michelle K. and Samekin, Adil and Schumpe, Birga M. and Selim, Heyla A. and Stanton, Michael V. and Tseliou, Eleftheria and vanDellen, Michelle and Vázquez, Alexandra and Weaving, Morgan and Yahiiaiev, Illia and Yeung, Victoria W. L. and Zheng, Bang and Zúñiga, Claudia and Leander, N. Pontus (2025) Gender inequality and cultural values in explaining gender differences in positive and negative emotions: a comparison of 24 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Current Psychology, 44 (8). pp. 7584-7602. ISSN 1046-1310 (Print) 1936-4733 (Online)

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Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic posed a major challenge to mental health. Existing evidence shows that COVID-19 is related to poor emotional well-being, particularly among women. However, most work on the subject uses single-country samples, limiting the ability to generalize the disparity or explain it as a function of societal variables. The present study investigates the expression of positive and negative emotions during the pandemic as a function of gender and across 24 countries (N = 49,637). Strong gender differences emerged across countries, with women reporting more negative emotions (anxious, depressed, nervous, exhausted) and less positive emotions (calm, content, relaxed, energetic) than men. The gender gap in positive emotions was significantly wider in countries higher in individualism and narrower in countries higher in power distance. For instance, differences in emotions were larger in Western countries high in individualism, such as the USA, the UK, Italy, and France, and smaller in countries with higher collectivism and power distance, such as China, Malaysia, and South Korea, with a few exceptions like Japan and Brazil. These gender differences across countries were not explained by country-level gender inequalities indicators (GGGI and GII). Interestingly, the national severity of the pandemic, an epidemiological factor, reduced gender differences in positive emotions. These results underscore the importance of considering cultural and national factors when assessing gender differences in well-being.
Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: COVID-19; Culture; Emotions; Gender; Mental health; Well-being
Divisions: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Depositing User: Çiğdem Bağcı
Date Deposited: 29 Aug 2025 12:00
Last Modified: 29 Aug 2025 12:00
URI: https://research.sabanciuniv.edu/id/eprint/51997

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