The Role of Marital Status in Mental Health One Year After the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Gendered Analysis of Perceived Stress and Nervousness Across Sociodemographic and National Contexts

The COVID-19 pandemic caused people worldwide to have continuous mental distress over the years due to ongoing uncertainty, economic instability, and changes in the living environment. However, the perceived stress of individuals is not uniform due to many factors such as their biological differences, gendered social roles, living conditions, and experiences. This study investigates the gendered impact of marital status on mental health, specifically, feelings of nervousness or stress, one year after the COVID-19 pandemic, while controlling sociodemographic variables: age, education, employment, family size, and national-level happiness scores using responses from over 24 countries from COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey II data and explainable machine learning models. Our results revealed that age, gender, and national happiness were the strongest predictors of stress, with relationship status also playing a moderate but meaningful role. Notably, women in dating or cohabitating relationships indicated significantly higher model-inferred stress levels, while marriage appeared more protective, especially for women. These findings highlight the complex interplay between relational, personal, and national factors in shaping mental health outcomes and call for gender-sensitive mental health policies in the post-pandemic period or public health crisis.