The relationship between the perceived gender difference and the mental health of women working in Tabriz medical science

Abstract

One of the sustainable development goals of the United Nations is for countries to achieve gender equality in various fields. According to previous studies, gender gaps have an effect on women's health, especially their mental health. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of perceived gender differences on the mental health of women working in Tabriz Medical Sciences University and Hospitals. Materials and methods: This study was conducted on 100 working women in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and 100 working women in affiliated hospitals. The basic characteristics of the participants were collected. Gender discriminatory events questionnaire (SSE) and depression, anxiety and stress scale questionnaire (DASS-21) were completed by the participants. After scoring, the results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation test. Findings: The two clinical and non-clinical groups did not have significant differences in terms of most of the basic characteristics. Among the areas of gender discrimination, discrimination in close relationships during life had a higher standardized average (27.31) of 32.20%. The comparison of gender discrimination scores did not show a statistically significant difference between the two groups. About half of the participants had some degree of mental health disorders. The clinical group experienced significantly more anxiety and stress (P < 0.05). There was a significant positive correlation between perceived gender discrimination during life and depression 0.268, anxiety 0.261, and stress 0.320 (P<0.01). The highest correlation was related to discrimination in close relationships during life and depression (0.351 and P<0.01).