Gender Differences in Psychological Well-Being and Health Problems among European Health Professionals: Analysis of Psychological Basic Needs and Job Satisfaction

Diego Gómez-Baya, Ana M. Lucia-Casademunt and José A. Salinas-Pérez
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Diego Gómez-Baya: Department of Social, Developmental and Educational Psychology, Universidad de Huelva, 21007 Huelva, Spain
Ana M. Lucia-Casademunt: Department of Business Management, Universidad Loyola Andalucía, 14004 Córdoba, Spain
José A. Salinas-Pérez: Department of Quantitative Methods, Universidad Loyola Andalucía, 41014 Sevilla, Spain

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-17

Abstract: Background : The aim was to examine the mediating role of basic psychological needs and job satisfaction in the relationship between the gender effect on health problems and psychological well-being for health professionals in Europe in 2015. Methods : Two multiple partial mediation analyses were conducted in order to test the partial mediation of both basic needs and job satisfaction, with gender as the independent variable and health problems or well-being, respectively, as the dependent variables, with a sample of health professionals. Results : Women reported lower psychological well-being and more health problems than men. The total effect of gender on both well-being and health problems was found to be significant. Regarding multiple mediation analyses: (a) the effect of gender on well-being was fully mediated by global basic need satisfaction and job satisfaction, such that gender did not present a significant direct effect and (b) the effect of gender on health problems was partially mediated by global basic need satisfaction and job satisfaction, such that the direct effect remained significant. Conclusions : The fulfillment of basic needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, as postulated within self-determination theory, was hypothesized to play a mediating role in the relationship between gender and well-being. Since significant gender differences in basic need satisfaction were observed, such a mediator should be controlled in order to achieve a significant relationship between gender and well-being when basic needs comes into play. The current study adds to the research emphasizing the need for satisfaction as a promising mechanism underlying for female health professionals’ well-being.

Keywords: health professionals; job satisfaction; well-being; physical health; self-determination theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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