BACKGROUND: Stress levels in working and nonworking women have previously been studied, but few studies used cortisol to measure stress or examined how coping strategies affect stress levels.
METHODS: We employed a cross-sectional design with a convenience sample of women aged 20-65 years. Information on women\'s sociodemographic characteristics, perceived stress (using the Perceived Stress Scale) and coping strategies (using the Brief-COPE) was collected. Participants\' morning (07:00-08:00) and evening (19:00-20:00) cortisol levels were measured using unstimulated saliva samples.
RESULTS: In total, 417 working and 403 nonworking women participated in this study. More nonworking women reported high stress levels than working women (14.1% vs. 4.1%, p = .001). Working women reported more use of informational support and venting to cope with stress compared with nonworking women (94.0% vs. 88.1%, p = .001). More nonworking women had impaired morning (<0.094 mg/dl) and evening (>0.359 mg/dl) cortisol compared with working women (58.1% vs. 28.5% and 41.7% vs. 18.0%, respectively). Compared with working women, nonworking women had 3.25 (95%CI: 2.38, 4.47) and 3.78 (95%CI: 2.65, 5.43) times the odds of impaired morning and evening cortisol, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: Nonworking women exhibited higher levels of stress than working women. There is an urgent need to support nonworking women to manage stress through appropriate awareness campaigns and public health policies.
UNASSIGNED: Policymakers and community leaders should consider the mental health of nonworking women as a priority in planning public health policies and programmes. Nurse managers must have a voice in reforming public health policy to support early assessment and management of stress among nonworking women.
背景:以前已经研究了在职和非在职女性的压力水平,但是很少有研究使用皮质醇来测量压力或检查应对策略如何影响压力水平。
方法:我们采用了横断面设计,并以20-65岁的女性为样本。关于妇女社会人口特征的信息,收集了感知压力(使用感知压力量表)和应对策略(使用Brief-COPE)。参与者早上(07:00-08:00)和晚上(19:00-20:00)使用未刺激的唾液样本测量皮质醇水平。
结果:总计,417名工作和403名非工作妇女参加了这项研究。非工作女性的压力水平高于工作女性(14.1%vs.4.1%,p=.001)。与非工作妇女相比,工作妇女报告更多地使用信息支持和发泄来应对压力(94.0%vs.88.1%,p=.001)。与工作女性相比,更多的非工作女性早上(<0.094mg/dl)和晚上(>0.359mg/dl)皮质醇受损(58.1%vs.28.5%和41.7%与18.0%,分别)。与职业女性相比,不工作的女性有3.25(95CI:2.38,4.47)和3.78(95CI:2.65,5.43)的早晚皮质醇受损的几率,分别。
结论:非工作女性比工作女性表现出更高的压力水平。迫切需要通过适当的宣传运动和公共卫生政策来支持非工作妇女管理压力。
UNASSIGNED:政策制定者和社区领导人应将非工作妇女的心理健康作为规划公共卫生政策和计划的优先事项。护士管理人员必须在改革公共卫生政策方面发表意见,以支持对非工作妇女压力的早期评估和管理。