Parents can use some extra support during an epidemic, both emotional and rational.
According to a new survey by the American Psychological Association, fathers are significantly more likely to say they need an epidemic than mothers.
Overall, 75% of parents with children under the age of 75 said they could use more emotional support, including having a friend, family member, or mental health professional to go when you are anxious or upset. .P.A. “Stress in America” report released on Thursday.
More specifically, 82% of fathers said they needed more support than they had since the epidemic began, while 68% of mothers surveyed said the same.
So, what’s with this discrepancy?
For starters, a lot of research shows that men have smaller social support networks than women, says Dr. L. Lynn Buffa, senior director of the APA at Practice Transformation and Quality, to CNBC.
“A lot of men’s social support and social connections usually come from work and their partners,” says Buffka.
Many people work remotely during epidemics, with fewer opportunities to communicate with friends in the workplace.
Women are also less available to their partners during this time, as data suggests that women have accepted more responsibilities during epidemics, Buffka says.
In fact, a recent study of 31,141 people in five countries found that women, especially mothers, spent more time on “necessities” such as child care and household chores than men during epidemics.
Part of this, Buffka says, is socializing men and women to share home roles “inside and out”. He says other writers have shown that a couple’s person who is supposed to have a more flexible job accepts more responsibilities, he says. (It is not clear how many of the 1,000,000 American adults included in the APA survey, conducted in mid-February, were gay or lesbian.)
“When you put it together, you’ve got men who trust their female partners, who have now taken on a lot more responsibilities during the epidemic,” says Buffka. “And men have less access to sources of support through work.”
On the other hand, mothers were more likely than mothers to say that their mental health had deteriorated compared to before the epidemic, according to the study. About half of the mothers (47%) who have given their children a home education by remote learning have reported poor mental health, while 30% of fathers with children at home have said so.
A separate survey published in December found that working mothers experience 28% more burnout than fathers.
After all, a very thin spread comes with real life results. The epidemic has forced pediatric treatment and the closure of schools, forcing many women to quit their jobs due to increasing demand in homes. The total number of women leaving the labor force after the outbreak began reached more than 2.3 million in January.
Buffka encourages people who are in a situation (who do not have young children at home) to help them reach out to parents.
“Recognize that people who have young children who may struggle may not know that you are available to play with the children for a while,” he says.
For people with children, “Really think: is there someone who can support us a little bit? What will it look like? What will really make a difference?” It suggests.
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