Ambivalent sexism of nursing students in Turkey and South Korea: A cross‐cultural comparison study

Abstract

Culture has become increasingly important concepts in nursing in the era of globalization. Nurses' cultural biases and prejudices are huge obstacles to their caring for patients from diverse cultural backgrounds. Therefore, this study examined sexism among nursing students from two patriarchal societies: Turkey influenced by Islam, and South Korea influenced by Confucianism. For this comparative study, we used the survey data from the sample of 560 nursing students, 309 from Turkey and 251 from South Korea. The findings showed that both samples showed high levels of sexism, both hostile and benevolent. When comparing the two samples, Turkish nursing students showed significantly higher sexism than did Korean students. Additionally, in both countries, male participants showed higher scores on sexism, especially hostile sexism. In terms of age, older students in Turkey showed lower levels of benevolent sexism. We hope the findings of this study can provide evidence to develop customized transcultural nursing education content in the context of different ethnicities and to help nurses and nursing students from specific cultural backgrounds in becoming aware of their own cultures.

Do Gender Role Stereotypes and Patriarchal Culture Affect Nursing Students’ Major Satisfaction?

“…A previous study on nurses [1] showed that male nurses perceived managerial roles in nursing professions according to gender stereotypes; more specifically, they associated managerial roles more closely with men than women compared to female nurses. Moreover, in a previous study in Turkey and Korea, two countries with patriarchal cultures [14], male nursing students showed more sexist attitudes than female nursing students. Such gender stereotyping suggests the possibility of another form of gender segregation and that medical institutions should ensure gender equality in managerial roles.…”

“…In the era of globalization, culture is an essential concept in nursing [14]. Traditionally, Korea has been under the influence of Confucianism with moral and philosophical rather than religious meanings [9].…”

“…Traditionally, Korea has been under the influence of Confucianism with moral and philosophical rather than religious meanings [9]. Korea is one of the main patriarchal countries in the world [14], with a cultural atmosphere that distinguishes men and women from each other and favors men in families. This patriarchal social structure has an important influence on determining the role of gender [15], and those raised in a patriarchal family environment have a strong stereotypical idea of gender roles.…”

Male Nurses’ Experiences of Workplace Gender Discrimination and Sexual Harassment in South Korea: A Qualitative Study

“…This aligns with the other findings of this study regarding stereotypes about men and the stereotypical perception that nursing is a female job. Korea has been strongly influenced by Confucianism, in which the patriarchal system is deeply rooted, and men who choose jobs perceived as "females' jobs" tend to be stigmatized, and doing so is seen as taboo [37]. This social prejudice has also been reported as an issue in other Asian countries [38,39].…”

The Effect of Ambivalent Sexism to Menstrual Attitude in Nursing Students

“…[8] çalışmasında, sağlık yüksekokulu kadın öğrencilerinde korumacı cinsiyetçilik puan ortalaması çalışmamızdan daha düşük bulunmuştur. Tekkaş ve ark., [24] çalışmalarında 309 hemşirelik öğrencisi ile yaptıkları analizde öğrencilerin korumacı cinsiyetçilik alt boyutundan aldıkları puanların eğitim süresi uzadıkça düştüğünü saptamışlardır. ÇDCÖ ile MTÖ puanları arasındaki ilişki incelendiğinde; ÇDCÖ alt boyutları ile MTÖ toplam puanları arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir korelasyon bulunmamıştır (p>.05).…”