Responses to Stress: Investigating the Role of Gender, Social Relationships, and Touch Avoidance in Italy

Marcello Passarelli, Laura Casetta, Luca Rizzi and Raffaella Perrella
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Marcello Passarelli: Institute of Educational Technology, National Research Council of Italy, 16149 Genova, Italy
Laura Casetta: Associazione Centro di Psicologia e Psicoterapia Funzionale, 35131 Padova, Italy
Luca Rizzi: Associazione Centro di Psicologia e Psicoterapia Funzionale, 35131 Padova, Italy
Raffaella Perrella: Department of Psychology, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 2, 1-13

Abstract: Stress is a physiological response to internal and external events we call “stressors”. Response to the same daily stressors varies across individuals and seems to be higher for women. A possible explanation for this phenomenon is that women perceive sociality, relationships, and intimacy—important sources of both stress and wellbeing—differently from how men experience them. In this study, we investigate how gender, attachment, and touch avoidance predict stress responses on a sample of 335 Italians (216 females; age = 35.82 ± 14.32). Moreover, we analyze the network of relationships between these variables through multiple linear regression and exploratory network analysis techniques. The results recontextualize the role of gender in determining stress responses in terms of (lack of) confidence and touch avoidance toward family members; attitudes toward relationships seem to be the main determinants of stress responses. These results have implications for reducing stress in both clinical settings and at a social level.

Keywords: stress response; gender differences; social behavior; attachment; touch avoidance; network analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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