Clinical and Experimental Medicine Department, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
Occupational Medicine Section, Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
Front Public Health. 2021 Apr 1;9:640454. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.640454. eCollection 2021.
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.
生活中的压力事件，女性和男性的应对方式不同。本研究评估了处于失业到工作过渡阶段的受试者样本中，感知压力和健康状况的性别差异。这项横断面研究纳入了 395 名参与者，其中 245 名男性（62%）和 150 名女性（38%），年龄在 19 岁至 67 岁之间，他们将获得为期 6 个月的合同。在被雇佣之前，所有参与者都接受了一项强制性的协议，包括一般的体检。使用感知压力量表（PSS）进行压力评估。大多数参与者（68%）表现出正常或低水平的感知压力。但是，通过性别划分样本，在剩余的中高水平压力的 32%参与者中，11%的男性和 22.7%的女性报告了高水平的感知压力值。我们发现的平均 PSS 值与发达国家的一般人群重叠。本研究并未表明感知压力与健康或社会参数之间存在关联。然而，我们的结果强调了女性性别与更高的压力水平相关，指出了在健康促进计划背景下进行特定和有针对性干预的重要性，特别是为了减轻更易感人群的压力。
