Women in engineering and positive mental health, a comparative gender analysis with university students.

Abstract

The Positive Mental Health (PMH) is considered a fundamental part of Psychological well-being and emotional health. The current study approaches this f r o m t h e c o n t e x t of t h e w o r k s i t u a t i o n of future emineering graduates, with a focus on women in engineering. The objective of the study is to analyze the Positive Mental Health (PMH) in female engineering students in a work-place, evaluating the significant differences of gender between m e n a n d w o m e n . The population is located in an Institution of Higher Education (IHE) of the Northeast of Mexico, with a total sample of 2,132 students, formed by 636 women (29.8%) ans 1,496 men (70.2%). The sample is non-probabilistic for convenience, without random selection of it. The research focus is quantitative a n d a n d transversal with descriptive statistics a s type of research. The instrument used Positive Mental Health (Mty-Mx) by Hernández-Garza (2024) which consists in a survey of 102 items, on a Likert scale. The variables contained in the factors are six: F1 self-consciousness, F2 growth and self-actualization, F3 autonomy F4 stress resilience, F5 reality perception, F6 environmental domain.The findings reveal that women obtained a significant higher score in 53of the items in comparison with men who obtained a higher score only in 18 items the rest of the items do not present significant differences.