摘要：The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to anxiety and depression that may be experienced differently by sex/gender. Critically, the chronicity of these psychiatric symptoms might promote the development of psychopathology over time. As a result, it is important to explore individual differences associated with the maintenance of anxious and depressive symptoms. Beyond sex differences, psychosocial gender roles contribute to the prevalence of these psychiatric symptoms. To date, studies that have examined the associations among masculine/feminine gender roles were all crosssectional and assessed overall symptoms without considering a specific stressor. This study aims to determine the effects of sex and gender roles on anxious and depressive symptom trajectories in adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Following the confinement measures of March 2020 in Montreal, anxiety, and depression were assessed every 3 months with the DASS-21 (from June 2020 to March 2021) in 104 women and 51 men. Data were analyzed using growth curve models. Femininity and masculinity scores were assessed with the Bem Sex Role Inventory before the pandemic and were added as predictors along with sex. Results: Results showed that women with high feminine traits had fewer anxiety symptoms across the different timepoints compared to men with high feminine traits. Also, women with high masculine traits had lower depression scores relative to men with high masculine traits. Conclusions: Results demonstrate a protective effect of high femininity and masculinity traits only in women. These findings suggest that sex and gender contribute to heterogeneous trajectories of anxiety and depressive symptoms in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
