A new study shows men are less likely than women to wear a face covering because it’s “shameful” and a “sign of weakness.”
Men were also found to be less likely to believe they would be impacted by coronavirus, according to a study published Monday by researchers at Middlesex University London and the Mathematical Science Research Institute.
“The fact that men less than women intend to wear a face covering can be partly explained by the fact that men more than women believe that they will be relatively unaffected by the disease,” the researchers found.
“Men are more likely to be hospitalized, get very sick with it and die.” Studies from around the world show more men than women are dying from coronavirus. https://t.co/y4ytNGXdmk
— KDKA (@KDKA) May 13, 2020
Meanwhile, men seem to be affected by the virus at a higher rate than women, according to a report published by the Washington Post.
“It seems there are more men coming in with really severe illness,” emergency physician Kaedrea Jackson told the Post. “In general, I’ve seen more male patients. And when they do come in, they are at a sicker state.” (RELATED: These Are The Most Outrageous Coronavirus Restrictions)
Men were also likely to think wearing a mask was “shameful,” “not cool” and a “sign of weakness.”
“Men more than women agree that wearing a face covering is shameful, not cool, a sign of weakness and a stigma; and these gender differences also mediate gender differences intentions to wear a face covering,” the researchers concluded.
The study conducted by the researchers sampled 2,459 Amazon Mechanical Turk recruits. Men were overrepresented in the study 51 percent vs. 48 percent women and people aged 25 to 54 were also overrepresented, the researchers noted.
Other studies have found similar results. A Gallup poll published Wednesday showed 29% of men claimed they “always” wore a mask when leaving their home compared to 44% of women who “always” wore a mask or face covering.