Perceived Stress in a Gender Perspective: A Survey in a Population of Unemployed Subjects of Southern Italy

Frontiers in Public Health

Chiara Costa¹  Stefania Mondello²  Concettina Fenga³  Michele Teodoro³  Giusi Briguglio³  Manuela Pollicino³  Sebastiano Italia³  Andrea Canalella³  Francesca Verduci³ 

[1] Clinical and Experimental Medicine Department, University of Messina, Messina, Italy;Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy;Occupational Medicine Section, Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy;

关键词: perceived stress;    unemployment;    gender;    PSS;    work-related stress;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2021.640454

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Stressful life events, are differently handled by women and men. This study evaluates gender differences in perceived stress and health status among a sample of subjects going through a transition period from unemployment to work. This cross-sectional study enrolled 395 participants, 245 men (62%) and 150 (38%) women, between 19 and 67 years, that were going to be hired for a 6-month contract. Before being employed, all participants underwent a mandatory protocol consisting in a general medical check. Stress assessment was performed by using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Most of the participants (68%) showed normal to low perceived stress level. But dividing the sample by gender, out of the remaining 32% with medium to high stress level, 11% male subjects and 22.7% females reported high perceived stress values. We found mean PSS values that are overlapping with those in the general population of developed countries. This study does not suggest an association between perceived stress and health or social parameters. However, our results highlight that the female gender is associated with higher stress level, pointing out the relevance of specific and designed interventions in the context of health promotion programs, especially in order to mitigate stress in more susceptible subjects.

【 授权许可】

CC BY