Spanish undergraduates

The aim of this work was to examine the relationship between religious self-definition, attending Mass, the importance of God, and hopelessness under the hypothesis that these religious variables and hopelessness are negatively related. The participants were 273 Spanish undergraduates who were incidentally recruited. and who completed three religious items and the Spanish version of a Hopelessness Scale. The Chi-squared test and Bonferroni test were used in the statistical analysis. The results indicate that there were no statistically significant differences between the religious self-definition and attending Mass groups in relation to hopelessness, whereas there were differences between groups in the variable importance of God; this is not consistent with the findings of previous studies. We discuss the limitations of the study, offer suggestions for future research, and indicate the need to distinguish between the diverse aspects of religiosity to better explain their implications regarding hopelessness.

In recent years we have witnessed concerted efforts to achieve real equality between men and women through legislative reform in the European Union (i.e., EU Directives 2002/73/EC; 76/207/EEC), and nationwide in Spain (e.g., Law 3/2007, of 22 March, for Effective Gender Equality) as well as regional legislation (e.g., Law 7/2004, 16 July, Galician Law for the Equality of Women and Men). In view of the principle of equal rights enshrined in legislative reform, one would expect social change entailing the removal of existing inequalities on the grounds of sex. In order to explore the views of Spanish youth regarding gender equality, a pioneering field study was carried out to assess their knowledge of current legislation, and to examine their views towards gender equality, particularly in relation to specific issues such as family, divorce, separation, joint-custody, sexual relationships, education, and employment. Moreover, perceived or real models of equality were contrasted with ideal or desired models of equality. Thus, a total of 2071 Spanish undergraduates were administered an ad hoc questionnaire. The results reveal the vast majority of undergraduates favoured gender equality, and the equal participation of women and men in family and working life as well as joint-custody in cases of divorce or separation. Nevertheless, differences in gender were observed i.e., more women supported policies promoting the principle of equality than men. The findings underscore the need for implementing intervention strategies designed to foster shared responsibility and address different forms of discrimination based on sex in the family and the workplace and to combat them.

In recent years we have witnessed concerted efforts to achieve real equality between men and women through legislative reform in the European Union (i.e., EU Directives 2002/73/EC; 76/207/EEC), and nationwide in Spain (e.g., Law 3/2007, of 22 March, for Effective Gender Equality) as well as regional legislation (e.g., Law 7/2004, 16 July, Galician Law for the Equality of Women and Men). In view of the principle of equal rights enshrined in legislative reform, one would expect social change entailing the removal of existing inequalities on the grounds of sex. In order to explore the views of Spanish youth regarding gender equality, a pioneering field study was carried out to assess their knowledge of current legislation, and to examine their views towards gender equality, particularly in relation to specific issues such as family, divorce, separation, joint-custody, sexual relationships, education, and employment. Moreover, perceived or real models of equality were contrasted with ideal or desired models of equality. Thus, a total of 2071 Spanish undergraduates were administered an ad hoc questionnaire. The results reveal the vast majority of undergraduates favoured gender equality, and the equal participation of women and men in family and working life as well as joint-custody in cases of divorce or separation. Nevertheless, differences in gender were observed i.e., more women supported policies promoting the principle of equality than men. The findings underscore the need for implementing intervention strategies designed to foster shared responsibility and address different forms of discrimination based on sex in the family and the workplace and to combat them.