A UZ study shows that confinement increases stress in women and intensifies the gender gap

Mothers have higher education and in greater numbers than fathers. However, this fact is not reflected in the employment situation of them, who have higher rates of temporary employment, unemployment and occupation in household chores.

A study by the University of Zaragoza (UZ) has indicated that confinement due to covid-19 has increased stress and anxiety in women and has intensified the gender gap in Aragonese families.

As reported by the educational institution, the work carried out by researchers Alberto Quílez, Raquel Lozano, Tatiana Íñiguez and Alejandra Cortés on the social, educational and psychological impact on families and university students in the autonomous community of Aragón derived from the state of alarm has shown that Women, better educated, but with a higher rate of unemployment and job insecurity than men, have increased their burden of stress and anxiety during confinement, by assuming almost exclusively the care of elderly people or sick relatives and the control of schoolwork. of their children.

However, according to the study, the maternal figure is reinforced as an element of unity and support for the family when it comes to overcoming difficulties, and with an increase in cognitive empathy, as a reference for the children who live at home. regardless of age.

The research, which began in mid-March, has analyzed the sociodemographic variables - type of family, employment, housing, help with schoolwork, household chores, TV and Internet consumption - and their possible effects on levels of anxiety and empathy that have occurred during this period.

The sample was random and had a total of 522 participants, who were coded as family, teacher or university students. Questionnaires of three types have been used for the research; of self-developed 'ad hoc' demographic and socio-educational data, the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the EQ Empaty Quotiente Cognitive Empathy Scale.

The sociodemographic study of families during the state of alarm has revealed that mothers have higher education and in greater numbers than fathers. However, this fact is not reflected in the employment situation of them, who have higher rates of temporary employment, unemployment and employment in household tasks. On the other hand, both teleworking and being in an ERTE are distributed equally.

HOMEWORK DISTRIBUTIONS

Parental control or attention to the children's schoolwork falls mostly on the mother, which, together with the performance of household chores and despite the fact that in this situation the distribution has increased, produces an increase in anxiety and improves empathy in the female figure.

Added to these variables are the habitable meters of housing, the existence of a garden or terrace, the increase in television and internet consumption and the increase in family conflicts as a consequence of the type of coexistence to which they have been forced during confinement.

The analysis of anxiety and empathy is consistent with what was obtained in the sociodemographic study and has indicated that there is an increase in anxiety levels, especially in the female sex, both in families and in university students.

Within families, anxiety is explained by the increase in Internet consumption, family conflicts and help with children's homework, while in university students it is due to the type of home and the increase in TV consumption. As for empathy, it increases within the home and in university students depending on the mother's teleworking hours and helping people outside the home.

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

University students are one of the populations that has suffered the most from psychosocial disorders. In this situation, the maternal figure has been a fundamental anchor and family communication has been improved, generating a flow of empathy towards the parents with greater physical permanence in the home.

However, students who have, in turn, acquired the role of caregiver have shown high anxiety and less empathy. On the other hand, the increase in anxiety levels in university students is possibly due to a greater involvement in household chores and caring for siblings and elders.

The findings of the research carried out highlight the vulnerability of society in the face of an emerging situation such as the covid-19 pandemic. Families and students have had to adapt and reinvent themselves to face this situation.

As a whole, Aragonese families have responded by combining parenting tasks with those of caring for the sick and providing educational support for their children and have shown their solidarity with the most vulnerable population while coping with anxious symptoms. The study also reveals the need to establish family conciliation plans and accelerate the implementation of measures to achieve a greater proportion of gender equality.

'BOOKS THAT UNITE'

On the other hand, the researchers who have carried out this study are part of another of the 'anti-covid' initiatives that emerged in Aragon, such as 'LibrosQueUnen', dialogic gatherings to bridge the digital divide in Aragonese families.

The University of Zaragoza collaborates in this project together with other companies, institutions and faculties such as the Government of Aragon, AEDIPA, Plena Inclusion Aragón and the Aragón Volunteer Platform among others.