Gender and Well-Being

Gender is an important social determinant of health and well-being across the life course. Gender refers to the roles, attitudes, feelings, activities, behaviors, attributes, and opportunities that any society considers appropriate for boys, girls, men, and women. Gender is a complex social system that defines women and men as different and structures the life experience of all people. Gender norms are the collective spoken and unspoken rules and expectations about how girls, boys, women, and men should behave, feel, think, and interact in a given society. Gender norms include descriptive norms (i.e. collective beliefs about what people do) and normative expectations (i.e. what others think they should do) that are internalized and enacted throughout the life course.

This Research Topic aims to improve the knowledge of gender and gender norms as a social driver of well-being. The analysis of the relationship between gender norms and gender expression with well-being will also be addressed, with an emphasis on mediator and/or moderator variables that could influence these relationships. Moreover, these variables should be explored throughout the life cycle, from adolescence to old age. Different aspects of well-being are welcome, including; subjective well-being, life satisfaction, happiness, positive affect, psychological well-being, eudaimonic well-being, and social well-being. Authors from different research fields are welcome to contribute innovative thoughts to advance the knowledge about gender and well-being. Therefore, scholars from psychology, medicine, psychiatry, public health, sociology, and educational backgrounds are welcomed.

Therefore, the scope of this Research Topic is, broadly speaking, the crosstalk between gender and well-being. This includes the interrelationships between gender and cultural, demographic, and social factors as they contribute to well-being. Research focused on well-being of transgender and gender non-conforming people is also included. Original Research articles, Systematic Reviews of the literature, and Conceptual Analysis papers would be welcome.

Some of the specific topics that could be addressed are (but are not limited to):

. Gender differences in well-being;
. Gender roles and well-being;
. Gender norms and well-being;
. Gender identity and well-being;
. Masculinities and well-being;
. Femininities and well-being;
. Gender inequity and well-being;
. Gender expression and well-being.