Gender and Health in Spanish Nurses / Gênero e Saúde em Enfermeiras Espanholas / Género y Salud en Enfermeras Españolas

Abstract gender exercises a powerful effect on determining health status: it may limit different rates of exposure to certain risks, different patterns in the quest for treatment or differential impacts of the social economic determinants of health. The object of this study has been to discover the relationships between gender and health in a special group of the Spanish population, male/female nurses. Spanish male (n = 98) and female (n = 98) nurses completed measures of gender norms, and health behavior variables. The analysis of correlations between health variables and gender norms indicates that registering a higher score in gender norms correlates with lower scores in physical and mental health and lifestyles. The logistical regression equations (self-perceived health, mental health and the number of illnesses suffered) identify differences between male and female nurses, with the only common variable being the level of perceived stress.

Resumo O gênero exerce um efeito poderoso na determinação do estado de saúde. Ele pode limitar diferentes níveis de exposição a certos riscos, diferentes padrões na busca por tratamento ou diferentes impactos de determinantes socioeconômicos na saúde. Este estudo teve por objetivo descobrir as relações entre gênero e saúde em um grupo especial da população espanhola, enfermeiros e enfermeiras. Enfermeiros (n = 98) e enfermeiras (n = 98) completaram medidas de normas de gênero e comportamentos de saúde. A análise das correlações entre variáveis de saúde e normas de gênero indicaram que um alto escore nas normas de gênero se correlaciona com baixos escores de saúde física/mental e estilos de vida. As equações de regressão logística (saúde auto percebida, saúde mental e número de dolências) identificaram diferenças entre enfermeiros e enfermeiras; estresse percebido foi a única variável em comum.

Resumen el género ejerce un efecto poderoso en la determinación del estado de salud y puede limitar diferentes niveles de exposición a ciertos riesgos, diferentes patrones en la búsqueda por tratamiento o diferentes impactos de determinantes socioeconómicos en la salud. El objetivo de este estudio fue descubrir las relaciones entre género y salud en un grupo especial de la población española, enfermeros y enfermeras. Enfermeros (n = 98) y enfermeras (n = 98) completaron medidas de normas de género y comportamientos de salud. El análisis de las correlaciones entre variables de salud y de género indicaron que un alto escore en las normas de género se correlaciona con bajos escores de salud física/mental y estilos de vida. Las ecuaciones de regresión logística (salud autopercibida, salud mental y número de dolencias) identificaron diferencias entre enfermeros y enfermeras; estrés percibido ha sido la única variable en común.

The impact of gender roles on health.

The present research focused on a sample of Spanish undergraduate women and men to evaluate whether gender was related to substance use and chronic illness. This research examined the associations of conformity to masculine norms for men and conformity to feminine norms for women with substance use in chronic illnesses. Spanish male (n = 226) and female (n = 234) college undergraduates completed measures of chronic diseases, alcohol and tobacco consumption, and conformity to gender norms. Multivariable regression analyses demonstrated that being female was related to lower alcohol and cigarette consumption but a greater rate of chronic illnesses. Although masculinity did not explain the rate of chronic illnesses, specific feminine and masculine gender norms were related to alcohol and tobacco use and prevalence of chronic diseases. The present study provides insights for further cross-cultural psychological studies on the mediating effect of self-reported conformity to gender norms (rather than only sex) on health. Limitations and implications are discussed.

The 12-Item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12): reliability, external validity and factor structure in the Spanish population.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the internal consistency and the external and structure validity of the 12-Item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) in the Spanish general population. A stratified sample of 1001 subjects, ages between 25 and 65 years, taken from the general Spanish population was employed. The GHQ-12 and the Inventory of Situations and Responses of Anxiety-ISRA were administered. A Cronbach's alpha of .76 (Standardized Alpha: .78) and a 3-factor structure (with oblique rotation and maximum likelihood procedure) were obtained. External validity of Factor I (Successful Coping) with the ISRA is very robust (.82; Factor II, .70; Factor III, .75). The GHQ-12 shows adequate reliability and validity in the Spanish population. Therefore, the GHQ-12 can be used with efficacy to assess people's overall psychological well-being and to detect non-psychotic psychiatric problems. Additionally, our results confirm that the GHQ-12 can best be thought of as a multidimensional scale that assesses several distinct aspects of distress, rather than just a unitary screening measure.

Sociodemographic, psychological and health-related factors associated with poor mental health in Spanish women and men in midlife.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this work was to examine the sociodemographic, psychological, and health-related factors (considered jointly) associated with poor mental health in midlife and to analyze whether risk and protective factors differed in men and women. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a middle-class sample of 252 women and 189 men between 45 and 65 years of age from Spanish rural areas. Mental health status was measured with the 12-Item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12; Goldberg & Williams, 1988). Multiple logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios with confidence intervals of 95%, adjusting for confounding variables. RESULTS: The percentage of women (14.3%) with poor mental health was twice that of the men (7.4%). In women, the following variables were significantly and positively related to poor mental health: consumption of psychoactive drugs, physiological and cognitive anxiety; self-esteem and family satisfaction were protective factors. For men, physical complaints and cognitive anxiety were significant risk factors, and job satisfaction was a protective factor. CONCLUSIONS: In general, the psychological variables were more clearly related to poor mental health. Women had a more unfavorable profile, and the variables related to poor mental health differed for men and women, perhaps due to social roles associated with gender. To facilitate diagnosis and take preventive measures, men's and women's risk factors for poor mental health should be differentiated.

[Anxiety, self-esteem and self-perceived satisfaction as predictors of health: differences between men and women]. / Ansiedad, autoestima y satisfacción autopercibida como predictores de la salud: diferencias entre hombres y mujeres.

The main objective of this research is to analyze whether there are differences in physical health between men and women when considering their working situation. Three psychological variables are analyzed (anxiety, self-esteem and satisfaction) as well as several indicators of physical health for different working situations. The results seem to indicate that although women have worse health than men (when the group is analyzed in general), these differences vary when we take into account the working condition of the participants, and the differences even disappear. The psychological variables used in this survey only explain the variance of the subjective indicators of physical health, most of all, the Physiological Anxiety, which is responsible for the highest rate of the explained variance. The psychological variables predict women's physical health more than men's, what seems to indicate that women's physical health is closely related to psychological health.

Diferencias de personalidad entre matutinos y vespertinos / Differences in personality between morning and evening types

The aim of this study was to attempt to answer the question of whether subjects with different circadian typology (morningness-eveningness) have a differential personality profile, going beyond the aim of relating the circadian typology with isolated and more general personality variables, such as Extraversing-Introversing. The research has been carried out with 804 participants, university students from a university in the South of Brazil (Novo Hamburgo-RS/ BR) of 33 different degree courses, using the MIPS- Millon Index of Personality Styles (Millon, 1994) and the CS-Composite Scale (Smith, Reilly and Midkiff, 1989) as a measurement of Personality Styles and the chronotype, respectively. The findings point to a personality profile which is more socially desirable for Morningness (higher mark in the Enhancing, Systematizing and Conforming scales), whereas those for Eveningness are characterised by being less adapted to their environment (higher mark in Preserving, Innovating; Hesitating, Dissenting and Agreeing scales). That confirms the usefulness of having a more flexible, detailed frame of reference, such as that of Theodore Millon.

El objetivo de este estudio era determinar si los sujetos con distinta tipología circadiana (matutinidad-vespertinidad) tenían un perfil de personalidad diferencial, trascendiendo el intento de relacionar la tipología circadiana con variables de personalidad aisladas y más generales, como Extraversión-Introversión. La investigación se llevó a cabo con 804 participantes, universitarios de una universidad del sur de Brasil (Novo Hamburgo-RS/BR) de 33 carreras distintas, utilizándose el MIPS - Inventario de Estilos de Personalidad de Millon (Millon, 1994) y la CS - Escala Compuesta (Smith, Reilly y Midkiff, 1989) como medida de los estilos de personalidad y cronotipos, respectivamente. Los resultados apuntaron a un perfil de personalidad más deseable socialmente para los matutinos (mayor puntuación en las escalas Expansión, Sistematización y Conformismo), mientras que los vespertinos se caracterizaron por estar menos adaptados a su entorno (mayor puntuación en las escalas Preservación, Innovación, Indecisión, Discrepancia y Descontento).