Femininity and mental health in female caregivers Stress and Anxiety Research Society International Conference Palma de Mallorca, 2 - 4 th July 2012 Femininity and mental health in female caregivers Authors: Isabel Cuéllar-Flores, (Universidad Complutense de Madrid y Hospital Universitario de Getefe, Spain), Dra. María del Pilar Sánchez-López, (Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain) and Raquel Rívas-Díez (Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain) UNIVERSIDAD COMPLUTENSE DE MADRID. E-mail: icuellarflores@gmail.com Grupo de Investigación Estilos Psicológicos,Género y Salud Research Group Psychological Styles, Gender and Health Introduction Family caregivers have higher levels of depression and stress (Pinquart & Sorensen, 2003). The majority of family caregivers are women, and they are more likely than men to report worse mental health. Cultural and personal factors have been proposed to explain the differences found (López & Crespo, 2008). The aim of this study is to test the predictive capability of feminine gender norms regarding mental health.  Method Participants 63 Spanish women, caregivers of a dependent family member Age range: 35-86 years Mean age = 58.73, SD = 13.84 Instruments Socio-demographic characteristics Sex, age and caregiver characteristics Femininity Conformity to Feminine Norms Inventory (Mahalik et al., 2005) Menthal health Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (Zigmond & Snaith, 1983 –Spanish adaptation Caro & Ibáñez, 1992). Key words Caregivers, mental health, femininity, feminine norms Table 1. Multiple regression analysis Results The results indicate that the majority of the caregivers were in risk of anxiety and depression (62.1 and 51.6, respectively, cut-off point = 7 –Carroll et al. 1993). Three femininity norms retained unique predictive variance in a multiple regression analysis, explaining 39% of variance of depression and 22% of anxiety. The norm Nice in relationships predicted less anxiety and depression, whereas Domestic and Sexual Fidelity predicted higher depression. Discussion and Conclusions Similar to preceding research in caregivers (Rodríguez et al., 2002), an important percentage of the caregivers were in risk of depression and anxiety. Socialization of gender is significantly related to mental health in female caregivers, but there are specific risks and benefits for each gender norm.  References López, J. & Crespo, M. (2008). Cuidadoras y cuidadores: el efecto del género en el cuidado no profesional de los mayores. Boletín sobre el envejecimiento. IMSERSO. Pinquart, M. y Sorensen, S. (2003). Differences between caregivers and noncaregivers in psychological health and physical health: A meta-analysis. Psychology and Aging, 18(2), 250–267. Rodríguez, (2002). Síntomas de ansiedad y depresión en un grupo de pacientes oncológicos y en sus cuidadores. Eur. J. Psychiatry, 1, 27-38.