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 R. Lüders A. Nugier A. Guimond S. Phillips J.B. Sutton R.M. Douglas K.M. Sengupta N.K. Lemay E.P. Zand S. Van Lissa C.J. Bélanger J.J. Abakoumkin G. Khaiyom J.H.A. Agostini M. Ahmedi V. Almenara C.A. Atta M. Bagci S.C. Bernardo A.B.I. Choi H.-S. Cristea M. Danyliuk I. Enea V. Fisher A.N. Gómez A. Greiff S. Gützkow B. Hamaidia A. Han Q. Hudiyana J. Jeronimus B.F. Jiang D.-Y. Jovanović V. Kende A. Keng S.-L. Koc Y. Kovyazina K. Kreienkamp J. Kurapov A. Lantos N.A. Jaya Lesmana C.B. Malik N.I. Martinez A.P. McCabe K.O. Milla M.N. Molinario E. Moyano M. Muhammad H. Mula S. Myroniuk S. Nisa C. Nyúl B. O’Keefe P.A. Osuna J.J.O. Osin E.N. Park J. Pierro A. Rees J. Reitsema A.M. Rullo M. Ryan M.K. Samekin A. Schumpe B.M. Selim H.A. Stanton M.V. Tseliou E. vanDellen M. Vázquez A. Weaving M. Yahiiaiev I. Yeung V.W.L. Zheng B. Zúñiga C. Leander N.P.
April 2025 Springer

Current Psychology
2025 #44 Issue 8 7584 - 7602 pp.

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.

COVID-19 , Culture , Emotions , Gender , Mental health , Well-being

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Stanford University, Stanford, United States
Université Clermont Auvergne & CNRS, Clermont-Ferrand, France
University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
University of Maryland, College Park, United States
University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands
Carnegie Mellon University Qatar, Ar-Rayyan, Qatar
University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece
International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
University of Prishtina, Pristina, Kosovo
Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Lima, Peru
University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan
Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey
De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea
Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Iași, Romania
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid, Spain
Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
URDRH Setif 2 University, Sétif, Algeria
University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Universitas Indonesia, Kota Depok, Indonesia
National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan
University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia
ELTE Eötvös Loránd University Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
Sunway University, Selangor, Malaysia
Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
Udayana University, Denpasar, Indonesia
University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, United States
University of Cordoba, Córdoba, Spain
University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan
University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
Duke Kunshan University, Suzhou, China
University of Exeter Business School, Exeter, United Kingdom
University of Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France
Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
La Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
University of Siena, Siena, Italy
Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
M. Narikbayev KAZGUU University, Astana, Kazakhstan
University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
California State University, East Bay, Hayward, United States
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences, OK, United States
Lingnan University, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong
Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Wayne State University, Detroit, United States

Stanford University
Université Clermont Auvergne & CNRS
University of Kent
Université catholique de Louvain
University of Hohenheim
Cardiff University
University of Maryland
University of Milano-Bicocca
Tilburg University
Carnegie Mellon University Qatar
University of Thessaly
International Islamic University Malaysia
University of Groningen
University of Prishtina
Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas
University of Sargodha
Sabanci University
De La Salle University
Sungkyunkwan University
Heriot Watt University
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University
University of Edinburgh
Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED)
Technical University of Munich
URDRH Setif 2 University
University of Oxford
Universitas Indonesia
National Chung Cheng University
University of Novi Sad
ELTE Eötvös Loránd University Budapest
Sunway University
Nazarbayev University
Paris Lodron University of Salzburg
Udayana University
University of Sheffield
Carleton University
Florida Gulf Coast University
University of Cordoba
University of Peshawar
University of Cagliari
Duke Kunshan University
University of Exeter Business School
University of Paris Nanterre
Kyoto University
La Sapienza University of Rome
Bielefeld University
Utrecht University
University of Siena
Australian National University
M. Narikbayev KAZGUU University
University of Amsterdam
King Saud University
California State University
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences
Lingnan University
Imperial College London
Universidad de Chile
Wayne State University

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