Relação entre as atitudes perante os papéis de género, o sexismo ambivalente e a felicidade na população adulta portuguesa

Abstract

Nowadays, there are still fundamental inequalities between women and men in politics, health, work and personal life. The perception of these inequalities related to happiness has been the focus of research due to the greater attention and importance that these topics have received in recent times. Little is known about the consequences of the confrontation between sexism and women's happiness. Although the world has become more gender equal, unequal gender relations and the division of labor still persist in many societies. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between attitudes towards gender roles, ambivalent sexism and happiness in the adult Portuguese population. A quantitative methodological approach of a descriptivecorrelational nature was used and the following instruments were used: Sociodemographic Questionnaire, Subjective Happiness Scale, Pacific Attitudes Scale towards Gender and the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory. The sample consisted of 244 adults of Portuguese nationality aged between 18 and 64, with an average age of 28.1 (SD=8.1), mostly single (77.9%), with regard to education, the majority have secondary education (78.3%) and the majority of participants are female (79.1%). The results revealed a statistically significant correlation between Subjective Happiness and Hostile Sexism (r= .172, p= .007), indicating that higher levels of Subjective Happiness are related to more hostile attitudes towards gender. There is a statistically significant positive correlation between Subjective Happiness and gender in the Portuguese adult population (r= .152, p= .017), that is, men tend to report higher levels of subjective happiness compared to women. Furthermore, a statistically significant negative correlation was also found between gender and Traditional Division (r= -.260 p= < .001) indicating that female participants tend to have more traditional attitudes towards gender roles than than male participants. These results highlight the importance of understanding what is associated with the persistence of sexist attitudes and highlight the continued need for education and awareness on gender issues.

Date of Award	18 Mar 2024
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Armanda Gonçalves (Supervisor)