Determining the Attitudes of the Students of Inonu University, Faculty of Medicine, on Social Gender Roles [Inonu Universitesi Tip Fakultesi Ogrencilerinin Toplumsal Cinsiyet Rollerine Iliskin Tutumlarinin Belirlenmesi

Abstract

Social gender tells about the personality traits, roles and responsibilities defined socially for women and men in the society. Social gender roles, on the other hand, tell about the roles that are considered to be related with men and women in a traditional way. Social gender role includes the personality traits and behaviors that are considered to be proper for men and women in a cultural manner. The aim of this study is to determine the attitudes of the students at Inonu University, Faculty of Medicine, on social gender roles, and examine the factors that are effective on these attitudes. The study was designed as a cross-sectional study, and was conducted at Inonu University, Faculty of Medicine between the dates December 2014 - March 2015. Written approval was received from Malatya Clinical Researches Ethics Board and Inonu University, Faculty of Medicine in order to conduct the study. The minimum sampling size formula was calculated for the 1298 students studying at Inonu University, Faculty of Medicine. The minimum sampling size was found as 328. Half of the students were selected randomly from the class lists at the beginning of the study. 684 students were included in the study. The questionnaire form which included the “Attitude Scale on Social Gender Roles” (ASGR), whose first part was developed by the socio-demographic properties of the participants, and the second part developed by the researcher, was used as the data collection tool. This scale consists of 38 Items. The highest points that may be received from the scale is 190 and the lowest is 38. Receiving high points means having an egalitarian attitude. There are five sub-dimensions of the scale and they are; egalitarian gender, woman gender, gender at marriage, traditional gender and male gender roles. In statistical analyses of the data for the independent variables, the Man Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis Test (Post Hoc Bonferroni) were used. The mean age of the participant students was 22±2,23. 40, 8% of the participants were male, and 59,2% were female. The average of the total points of the students received from the Attitude Scale on Social Gender Roles was found as 139 (min 53-max 185). It was determined that female students had meaningfully more egalitarian attitude with 146 median points (p=0.001). While the median points received in the 17-19 age group was 143, it was 135 in people over 25 years of age 135 (p=0,027). The median points of the students whose mothers worked was found to be 146, and of those whose mothers did not work was found as 137 (p=0,001). When the median points of the students received from the scale in terms of their families were compared, it was determined that it was 127 in students who lived in a wide family, and 140 in those who lived in an elementary family (p=0.004). When the median points of the ASGR were considered according to the educational status of the mothers, it was determined that the median points of those students whose mothers were not educated was 133; and the median points of those whose mothers were university graduates was found as 145 (p=0,010). When the points received from the social gender roles sub-dimensions were considered, it was observed that female students had meaningfully more egalitarian attitudes when compared with the male students (p=0,001). In this study, which was conducted to determine the attitudes of the students of faculty of medicine on social gender roles, it was determined that the students showed a more egalitarian attitudes when compared with other employees. Female students, younger students, those living in elementary families, those whose mothers are working and have higher educational status show more egalitarian attitudes. It may be recommended that classes on social gender may be added to the curriculum in medicine faculties, and peer trainings may be organized with the participation of especially male students.