Gender Aspects of Cognitive Functioning in Former COVID-19 Patients

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative analysis of cognitive functioning in women and men after COVID-19. A comprehensive assessment covered coping behavior and life purpose orientation in their connection with cognitive functions. It involved 65 former COVID-19 patients (26 men and 39 women). The general cognitive state was assessed with the help of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) Scale while the Frontal Assessment Batter (FAB) Test made it possible to determine the level of self-control in planning behavior. The coping behavior was evaluated using R. Lazarus’s Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ). The semantic orientation of behavior was carried out using the Life Purpose Orientation technique developed by D. A. Leontiev. The research revealed some gender-related differences. The men demonstrated no connection between their coping behavior and the cognitive state. They had a lower sense of purpose and were mostly past-oriented. The women, on the contrary, showed a strong relationship between coping behavior, cognitive state, and life purpose orientation. In women, the restoration of cognitive functions led to a decrease in productive and unproductive behavioral responses to stressful situations, as well as to a greater sense of purpose and retrospective analysis.

Keywords

• cognitive functioning
• coping behavior
• life purpose orientation
• covid-19
• gender differences
• cognitive impairment