Male Chauvinism Among Peruvian Medical Students: Related Socio-Educational Factors in 12 Peruvian Universities

Introduction: Male chauvinism is rooted in certain populations, but it has not been measured among those who will be responsible for healthcare. Objective: To determine the factors associated with male chauvinism among the medical students of 12 Peruvian universities. Methods: Cross-sectional multicentre analytical study, with previously collected data, which used validated tests to measure male chauvinism and strong religious beliefs. In addition, other social and educational factors were analysed and the data was crossed. Descriptive and analytical statistics were obtained. Results: In the multivariate analysis, we found an association between male chauvinism and religious non-believers (RP=1.88; 95% CI, 1.47–2.40), as well as being female (RP=0.35; 95% CI, 0.27–0.46). Of the 12 universities evaluated, the least chauvinistic university was in Lima. Using this university as a comparison category, the statistically more chauvinistic universities were a private university in Chiclayo (α=3.63; p<0.001), followed by a university in Huancayo (α=3.20; p=0.001), Huancayo national university (α=2.79; p<0.001) and the public university of Ica (α=2.32; p=0.006); the crossed data were adjusted for age. Conclusions: It was found that male chauvinism is greater among non-religious believers, men and in some universities, with a predominance of universities in the central highlands of Peru or that had migrants from the mountains. This is important, since it gives us an overview about this trait in those who will be responsible for the future healthcare of Peruvians.