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Publication Date

Fall 2025

Degree Type

Thesis - Campus Access Only

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

Advisor

Jess Chong; Sean Laraway; Susan Snycerski

Abstract

Past research has identified important gender differences in stress management and mental health-seeking behavior between men and women. Yet it is unclear whether previous observations would be replicated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine gender differences in psychological stress, coping strategies, and mental health-seeking behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were college students living in the United States of America who were 18 years or older. Data were collected online using Qualtrics and hosted on Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Women reported slightly higher perceived stress compared to men. Men were more likely to use recreational substances (e.g., alcohol, tobacco, cannabis) as a coping method compared to women. However, no gender differences were observed in the increased consumption (e.g., using social media, snacking) or positive coping methods (e.g, meditation, exercise). We did not find evidence of gender differences in reasons for not seeking mental health treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both men and women were similar in their reporting of their reasons for not seeking mental health services. Implications from the study suggest that gender differences should be considered when developing more effective mental health outreach programs.

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