An Explanation of the Relationship between Gender Identity and Social Health of Young Men and Women in Tehran

In nowadays’ world, health, as a multi-dimensional and multi-layered phenomenon, is among the basic human’s rights, and as there is a clear and direct relationship between human’s progress and the status of society's health, broad definitions have been given for this concept throughout the history. According to World Health Organization, (WHO) health does not merely mean not being patient or not seeing any harm (injury), but, it includes enjoying from physical, psychological and social well-being. Social well-being means an assessment of the person's functions in society. According to Keyes's view (1988), quality of life and individual performance cannot be evaluated without social norms. In tune with this approach, we consider social well-being in terms of different functions. We assume an individual can function properly when he or she considers society as a meaningful, and understandable environment with potential forces for progress and development, and he or she feels that they belong to social groups. The importance of identity and the scope of its influence on the attitudes and interests of young people to accept social roles and responsibilities can prevent social problems from further expansion. While the physical and mental health status of women and men have been studied in the past, the social aspect of health and its relationship with well-being has been given little attention. The present paper is an attempt to determine the relationship between these variables. The method of this study is survey that research population includes the 18-29 year old men and women of Tehran, of whom 384 were selected as sample size using cluster sampling method. The unit of analysis is the individual and data-collection tool is a researcher-made questionnaire, which is based on a Likert scale. In order to validate the questionnaire, we used face validity and for reliability, we relied on Alpha Cronbach's reliability test.Discussion of Results & Descriptive findings indicate that the average gender identity is higher in women than in men. Perhaps the reason for this is of cultural developments, changes in income and increase in women's participation in economic and educational opportunities. When it comes to different dimensions of participation, namely, social integration and development, again women have a higher average than men. In fact, participation let women in today's society feel that they are part of the society, that their lives have purpose. Thus they become hopeful about the future and developments in society. When it comes to the range of variation in social adaptation and acceptance, men do have a higher average. This means that men have a positive view towards human nature. Other findings of the study indicate that social health varies by gender and marital status of women, but this does not apply to men. The main assumptions of this research are confirmed. The variable of trust as a mediator in the relationship between two main variables of the study plays a decisive role. The regression analysis revealed that six variables (personal gender identity, social gender identity, trust, gender, accountable education and age) are able to explain 43% of the variance of the dependent variable, which is social health. Our analysis showed that the variable of trust, in comparison to other variables, has a more influence on social health. A person with a high gender identity achieves social trust in relationships with others in the community and this will be a source of social health. Given the fact that most previous studies correspond with the findings of our study and support them, one could say that this is a powerful theoretical approach, whose results can be safely generalized to other populations.