The Evolution of Psychological Distress Levels in University Students in Spain during Different Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Risk and Protective Factors.

The present study assesses the evolution of stressful events and psychological distress in male and female students over three different time periods of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain: the initial "lockdown", with no face-to-face teaching; the "new normality" period, when classes were resumed; and two years after the first wave of the pandemic. The participants were 1200 Spanish university students who were assessed for psychological distress, COVID-19-associated stressful events, social support, and self-esteem. Female students reported more stressful events and higher levels of psychological distress than male students during the "lockdown" and "new normality" time periods of the first wave of the pandemic. However, these differences disappeared in the third period tested, two years after the first wave of the pandemic, with female and male students showing no differences in psychological distress or in the number of stressful events. The main risk predictors of psychological distress during the first wave of the pandemic were lower self-esteem and having suffered a high number of stressful events. The last variable, number of stressful events associated with COVID-19, lost most its effect two years later, when only self-esteem presented a strong and highly significant predictive role.

Intimate Partner Violence and Breastfeeding Behaviors: Does the Source of Breastfeeding Information Affect the Associations Between Prepregnancy or Prenatal IPV and Breastfeeding Behaviors of Women in the United States? A PRAMS 2018 Study.

Background: Most countries do not meet World Health Organization's breastfeeding recommendations, and exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) hinders positive breastfeeding behaviors. One in four U.S. women (43.6 million women) experiences IPV. This study aims to assess relationships between IPV, and breastfeeding initiation, duration, and early cessation among women in 42 U.S. states; and to evaluate possible modifying effect(s) of different breastfeeding information sources. Methods: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2016-2018 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System data (n = 105,230) were used to assess relationships between prepregnancy/prenatal IPV and breastfeeding initiation, duration, and early cessation; and modify effects of various breastfeeding information sources on study associations using multilogistic regression models. Results: About 1.4% of women experienced prenatal IPV with reduced odds of breastfeeding for 6 months or more (odds ratio [OR] = 0.74; 95% confidence interval = 0.58-0.94). Receiving breastfeeding information from baby's doctor modified early cessation (0.37 [0.18-0.78]) (p for interaction = 0.009) with prenatal IPV exposure. Among women exposed to prenatal IPV, breastfeeding initiation was stronger in women who received breastfeeding information from family/friends (2.46, [1.24-4.88]) (p for interaction = 0.010) or from breastfeeding support groups (3.03 [1.17-7.88]) (p for interaction = 0.023) compared to those who did not. Breastfeeding information from family/friends modified association between prepregnancy IPV and breastfeeding duration (0.67 [0.45-0.99]) (p for interaction = 0.042). Conclusions: Prenatal IPV is a risk factor for short-duration breastfeeding. Receiving information from doctors, nurses, support groups, and family/friends may improve breastfeeding behavior among IPV-exposed women. Interventions promoting breastfeeding information dissemination by family/friends, support groups, and doctors/nurses during hospital visits are encouraged.

The Importance of Work-Related Events and Changes in Psychological Distress and Life Satisfaction amongst Young Workers in Spain: A Gender Analysis.

A relentless stream of social, technological, and economic changes have impacted the workplace, affecting young people in particular. Such changes can be a major source of stress and can cause a threat to health and well-being. The aim of this paper is to understand the importance of work-related events and changes in the psychological distress and life satisfaction of young workers in Spain. A transversal study was carried out on a sample comprising 509 men and 396 women aged between 26 and 35 years old. The results showed that there were no differences between the men and women in the number of work-related events and changes experienced in the last 12 months, nor in terms of job satisfaction. The results from the multiple regression analysis showed that a greater number of work-related events and changes experienced during the last 12 months were associated with increased psychological distress and reduced life satisfaction amongst men, but this was not the case for women. Although job satisfaction was independent from the men and women's psychological distress when self-esteem and social support was included in the regression equation, greater job satisfaction was associated with greater life satisfaction for both men and women. It concludes that work-related events and job satisfaction are important for the health and well-being of young people, even though a larger number of work-related events and changes is associated with increased psychological distress and reduced life satisfaction for men only.

Relevancia de la profesión en los usos del tiempo de mujeres y hombres / Relevance of the profession in the women and men time use

Para conocer las diferencias de género en los usos del tiempo y la relevancia que la profesión tiene en el empleo del tiempo diario de mujeres y hombres se hizo un estudio descriptivo de corte transversal. La muestra estuvo conformada por 927 mujeres y 929 hombres de la población general española de edades comprendidas entre 21 y 65 años y diferentes características sociodemográficas. Se encontró que las mujeres dedicaban más tiempo al día a la realización de tareas domésticas, de mantenimiento del hogar, al cuidado de hijos/as y de familiares enfermos mientras que los hombres dedicaban más tiempo diario a salir con amigos/as, a descansar y a realizar aquellas actividades que le resultaban satisfactorias, diferencias que eran estadísticamente significativas (p < .05). Los análisis de varianza mostraron que el género interactuaba con la profesión en el tiempo dedicado a las tareas domésticas, al mantenimiento del hogar, al cuidado de hijos/as y al estudio. Las mujeres con mayor cualificación laboral dedicaban más tiempo diario a estudiar y menos a las tareas del hogar y al cuidado de hijos/as que las que tenían trabajos menos cualificados. Pero, pese a ello, dedicaban más tiempo a las tareas del hogar y al cuidado de sus hijos que los hombres de su mismo nivel profesional.

In order to examine gender differences in time-use and the relevance of profession in the women and men’s use of their time, a cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted. The sample consisted of 493 women and 324 men from the general population, ages 21 to 65 years, and with different sociodemographic characteristics. The study revealed that women are engaged longer than men in daily domestic work, household maintenance, child care and nursing while men spend more daily time in socializing, resting and other activities described as satisfying; these differences were statistically significant (p < .05). Analysis of variance showed an interaction between gender and profession in time spent on housework, home maintenance, child care and study. Women with higher professional qualifications dedicated more of their daily time to study and less to household chores and child care than those with less qualified jobs. In spite of this, these high-qualified women professionals spent more time on household chores and the care of their children than similarly qualified men.