Gender Self-Perception and Psychological Distress in Healthcare Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The aim of this study was to analyze university Health Sciences students' self-perception regarding gender stereotypes, and to explore whether there was any association between gender stereotypes and clinical/socio-demographic variables.


METHODS
This cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 252 university students who completed a self-administrated online questionnaire (18.3% males, 81.7% females). We evaluated the self-perception of gender stereotypes as determined using the BSRI-12 questionnaire and explored the association of this measure with the impact of perceived stress measured using a modified scale (PSS-10-C) as well as anxiety and depression according to scores on the Goldberg scale (GADS).


RESULTS
According to the students' self-perception of gender stereotypes, 24.9% self-perceived themselves as feminine, 20.1% as masculine, 24.9% as androgynous, and 30% as undifferentiated. The degree determines self-identification with gender stereotypes. Nursing and Occupational Therapy are studied mostly by women, 28.4% and 45%, respectively, while Physiotherapy is studied mainly by men (71.2%). Females indicated more anxiety (75.7%) and depression (81.7%) than males (52.9% and 67.3%, respectively). In contrast, males developed more stress (88.5%) than females (74.1%).


CONCLUSIONS
University degree, anxiety, depression, and stress determined self-identification with gender stereotypes. The results of this study indicate that gender roles influence the possibility of developing mental disorders and should be taken into account in future studies.
['Rodríguez-Roca|Beatriz|B|', 'Subirón-Valera|Ana Belén|AB|0000-0002-5676-4179', 'Gasch-Gallén|Ángel|Á|0000-0002-3087-8899', 'Calatayud|Estela|E|0000-0002-4307-796X', 'Gómez-Soria|Isabel|I|0000-0002-0061-3312', 'Marcén-Román|Yolanda|Y|0000-0001-5851-8855']
D001007:Anxiety D000086382:COVID-19 D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D003695:Delivery of Health Care D003863:Depression D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008297:Male D058873:Pandemics D000079225:Psychological Distress D000086402:SARS-CoV-2 D012649:Self Concept D013315:Stress, Psychological D013334:Students D014495:Universities
gender self-perception COVID-19 gender stereotypes physical activity university health students