Effects of gender and sex role orientation on help-seeking attitudes

This study investigated the effects of gender and sex role orientation (masculinity and femininity) on attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help in a sample of 163 student trainee teachers (52 males and 111 females) in Singapore. The mean age of students was 25.39 years (SD = 3.80). ANOVAs revealed statistically significant main effects for gender and femininity on attitudes toward help-seeking. Specifically, females were reported to have more positive overall attitudes toward professional help-seeking and were more willing to recognize a personal need for professional help compared to males. Femininity significantly influenced students’ level of stigma tolerance. These findings suggest that both gender and sex role orientation play an independent role in influencing help-seeking attitudes. In addition, these variables appear to have a differential impact on different aspects of helpseeking.     

Effects of gender and sex role orientation on help-seeking attitudes

This study investigated the effects of gender and sex role orientation (masculinity and femininity) on attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help in a sample of 163 student trainee teachers (52 males and 111 females) in Singapore. The mean age of students was 25.39 years (SD = 3.80). ANOVAs revealed statistically significant main effects for gender and femininity on attitudes toward help-seeking. Specifically, females were reported to have more positive overall attitudes toward professional help-seeking and were more willing to recognize a personal need for professional help compared to males. Femininity significantly influenced students’ level of stigma tolerance. These findings suggest that both gender and sex role orientation play an independent role in influencing help-seeking attitudes. In addition, these variables appear to have a differential impact on different aspects of helpseeking.     

The impact of competition on intrinsic motivation and creativity: considering gender, gender segregation and gender role orientation

The present research investigated whether competition influences children's artistic creativity and intrinsic motivation toward an art activity. Study 1 tested the hypothesis that boys' creativity would be enhanced by competition, while girls' creativity would be undermined. Fifty children (aged 6–10) made paper collages in one of two conditions; half competed for prizes and half did not. Results supported our hypotheses, and further showed that when children self-segregated by gender, the impact of competition was much more pronounced. Study 2 was designed to clarify the unexpected gender-segregation finding from Study 1. The Children's Sex Role Inventory [Boldizar, J.P. (1991). Assessing sex typing and androgyny in children: the Children's Sex Role Inventory. Developmental Psychology, 27, 505–515] was administered to 143 children (aged 6–11). One week later, these children made paper collages in one of four conditions; in addition to manipulating competition, assigned seating ensured that half of children were segregated by gender and half were not. Following the collage activity, an intrinsic and extrinsic motivation questionnaire was administered. Masculine children reported higher levels of intrinsic motivation when competing and when segregated by gender; they also reported higher levels of extrinsic motivation, especially when segregated by gender. These findings demonstrate that gender role is an important factor in determining children's responses to competition.     

Correlates of a Taoist orientation

Using rating scales no associations were found between having a Taoist orientation to life, death anxiety, and the perception that one's self is unified (versus fragmented) in a sample of southeastern Asian students (18 women and 12 men).     

Gender-specific macro- and micro-level processes in the transmission of gender role orientation in adolescence: The role of fathers

Family represents a primary environment for the development and transmission of gender role orientation (GRO) in adolescence. Nonetheless, longitudinal approaches delineating the separate influences of fathers and mothers, including all possible same- and cross-sex parent–child dyads within one family are lacking. This article elucidates the process of adolescent gender role socialization in 244 German families (father, mother, son and daughter) utilizing a longitudinal design (two measurement points over 5 years). Direct transmission paths of GRO and gender-specific parenting (GSP) as a mediator were analysed focusing on fathers' contributions. In addition, the impact of parental workplace autonomy and socio-economic status on intra-familial socialization of GRO was examined. Results indicate that fathers and mothers play at least an equally important role in the transmission of gender role beliefs. A mediating effect of GSP was only evident when considering father–child dyads. Based on social cognitive and developmental systems approaches, the findings are discussed considering adolescents embedded within the family context.     

The relationship between gender role orientation and perceived self-competency in male and female adolescents

Sex Roles - Relationships among gender, gender role orientation, grade, and perceived self-competency were examined in this study. Subjects were almost entirely Caucasian and included one hundred...     

Care-oriented moral reasoning and prosocial behavior: A question of gender or sex role orientation

Sex Roles - The possibility that sex role orientation was a better predictor of care-oriented moral development than gender for both men and women was investigated in this study. Also, the...     

The relationship between social dominance orientation,gender role orientation and attitudes toward gay men and lesbians in a Turkish sample

Current Psychology - Sexual prejudice refers to negative attitudes towards individuals based on their sexual orientation. Scholars have shown an interest in identifying the factors that may...     

Taxometric analyses of sexual orientation and gender identity

Taxa are nonarbitrary classes whose existence is an empirical question and not a matter of mere semantic convenience. Taxometric procedures detect whether numerical relations between purported indicators of conjectured taxa bear the hallmarks of true taxa. On the basis of theoretical considerations, the current study tested whether taxa underlie sexual orientation and related measures of gender identity. Two taxometric procedures, maximum covariance, making hits maximum (MAXCOV) and mean above minus below a cut (MAMBAC), were applied to Kinsey Scales and measures of childhood gender nonconformity and adult gender identity in a sample of nearly 5,000 members of the Australian Twin Registry. Results suggest that latent taxa underlie these measures. About 12-15% of men and 5-10% of women belong to latent taxa associated with homosexual preference. These percentages are greater than those of individuals who report homosexual preference, however, and hence it appears that an appreciable proportion of individuals in these taxa have heterosexual preference. An understanding of the origins of these latent taxa may be important to understanding the development of sexual orientation and gender identity.     

Emotional responses to work-family conflict: an examination of gender role orientation working men and women

The present study tested the effect of work-family conflict on emotions and the moderating effects of gender role orientation. On the basis of a multilevel design, the authors found that family-interfering-with- work was positively related to guilt, and gender role orientation interacted with both types of conflict (work-interfering-with-family and family-interfering-with-work) to predict guilt. Specifically, in general, traditional individuals experienced more guilt from family-interfering-with-work, and egalitarian individuals experienced more guilt from work-interfering-with-family. Additionally, a higher level interaction indicated that traditional men tended to experience a stronger relationship between family-interfering-with-work and guilt than did egalitarian men or women of either gender role orientation.     

Construct validity of the relationship profile test: impact of gender, gender role, and gender role stereotype

Research supports the construct validity of the Relationship Profile Test (RPT; Bornstein & Languirand, 2003), a 30-item, self-report measure of destructive overdependence (DO), dysfunctional detachment (DD), and healthy dependency. In this investigation, we assessed the relationships of gender, gender role, and gender role stereotype ratings to RPT subscale scores. In Study 1, we replicated earlier patterns of gender differences in RPT scores, assessed cross-sample consistency in gender difference effect sizes, and provided preliminary nonclinical norms for the RPT subscales. Study 2 showed that--as expected--DO items are perceived as stereotypically feminine, whereas DD items are perceived as stereotypically masculine. In Study 3, we examined the relationships of RPT subscale scores to masculinity, femininity, and androgyny scores. We discuss the theoretical, empirical, and clinical implications of these findings.     

How help during pregnancy can undermine self-efficacy and increase postpartum intentions to quit

Pregnancy reflects a common experience for women in today's workforce, yet recent data suggest that some women scale back or leave the workforce following childbirth. Considering these effects on women's careers, researchers have sought to understand the underlying dynamics of these decisions. Here, we explore a paradoxical reason for weakened postpartum career attitudes: help that women receive during pregnancy. We integrate stereotype threat and benevolent sexism theories to explain how the effects of help on postpartum intentions to quit may be transmitted through reductions in work self-efficacy. In doing so, we consider the role of perceived impact—or the extent to which help interferes with versus enables women's perceived ability to continue performing their work role. Results of a weekly diary study of 105 pregnant employees suggest that work-interfering help led to decreased self-efficacy for work during the following week. Furthermore, there was an indirect effect of average help received at work during pregnancy on postpartum intentions to quit the workforce through reductions in work self-efficacy that was stronger insofar as help was work-interfering versus work-enabling. Taken together, our results highlight unintended negative consequences that occur when others provide ineffective support to women at work during pregnancy.     

Situational shifts in sex role orientation: Correlates of work satisfaction and burnout among women in special education

A battery of instruments dealing with job stress and satisfaction and social role traits was administered to 78 female special educators. Social role orientation (instrumental, expressive, balanced, undifferentiated), as measured by a modified version of the Bem Sex Role Inventory, was determined for each teacher. The relationship between social role orientation and job stress and satisfaction was examined. Shifts in teachers' social role composition from off the job to on the job were examined regarding four indices of stress and satisfaction. A balanced social role orientation on the job was associated with higher levels of job satisfaction and lower levels of job stress. Higher levels of instrumentality on the job and off the job and higher levels of expressivity on the job and off the job were associated with higher levels of personal accomplishment and lower levels of depersonalization.     

The relation between well-being, impostor feelings, and gender role orientation among Canadian university students

A theoretical model of well-being identifies 6 key components that have been examined primarily in older adults (e.g., C. D. Ryff, 1989c, 1991): self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth (C. D. Ryff, 1995; C. D. Ryff & C. L. M. Keyes, 1995; C. D. Ryff & B. Singer, 1996). The authors examined them in a sample of 379 Canadian university students to determine how well-being was correlated with endorsement of stereotypic gender roles and with the impostor phenomenon. The participants completed Ryff's Scales of Psychological Well-Being (Ryff, personal communication, March 1996), the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (P. R. Clance & M. A. O'Toole, 1988), and the Extended Personal Attributes Questionnaire (J. T. Spence, R. L. Helmreich, & C. K. Holahan, 1979). The results supported the hypotheses that (a) people with higher scores for expressive traits score higher for well-being stemming from positive relations with others, (b) people with higher scores for instrumental traits score higher for well-being related to feelings of autonomy, (c) people with higher scores for impostor feelings (and lower scores for ability confidence) score lower for self-acceptance and (d) for environmental mastery.     

Color preferences according to gender and sexual orientation

The present study was undertaken to verify findings surrounding sex differences in color preferences, and to extend this realm of inquiry by looking for possible differences in color preferences associated with sexual orientation. Based on a large sample of North American college students, significant gender differences were found, with the main difference being a greater preference for shades of blue by males than by females. Females, on the other hand, tended to be more evenly divided than males between preferring both green and blue. Regarding sexual orientation, we found no significant differences between heterosexuals and homosexual/bisexuals of either gender. In other words, male and female homosexuals/bisexuals exhibited essentially the same configuration of color preferences as did their heterosexual counterparts.     

Self‐perception of cognitive changes during pregnancy and the early postpartum: salience and attentional effects

The reports from 198 pregnant women of changes experienced during pregnancy suggested that cognitive changes are not salient since only 2% of women spontaneously mentioned such changes. When asked specifically about cognitive changes, the majority reported no change although most who reported a change indicated it was for the worse. In this respect they differed from a group of 132 students who had recently left home. In a second study, 13 women were asked to rate a range of cognitive functions during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Their ratings for certain aspects of cognition were lower than those of a group of non‐pregnant women. They also reported more cognitive failures and readily provided examples of perceived impairments in cognition. It would appear that cognitive deficits are of low salience to pregnant women but, if prompted, impairments in memory, concentration, clarity of thought and attention will be reported by women both during pregnancy and the first‐year postpartum. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of gender and gender role similarity in readers' identification with story characters

This study tested the hypothesis that adult readers would identify with story characters who display a similar gender role orientation. Male and female readers rated their identification with male and female characters who acted in either a masculine or feminine manner in short story vignettes. The primary finding was an interaction between gender role of reader and gender role behavior of character: as predicted, androgynous and undifferentiated readers identified equally with both masculine and feminine characters, masculine readers identified more strongly with masculine characters than feminine characters, and feminine readers identified more strongly with feminine characters than masculine characters. Further, androgynous readers identified somewhat more strongly with both types of characters than undifferentiated readers. However, the predicted effect of gender similarity between reader and character did not exert a strong influence on the identification process. In addition, feminine subjects reported greater identification across all four stories than masculine and undifferentiated subjects. Finally, of three questionnaire measures of empathy tested, only Davis's (1983) Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Empathic Concern subscale) significantly predicted general level of identification; as expected, these scores were significantly correlated with femininity gender role scores.     

Gender role conflict: The interaction of gender,gender role,and occupation

One hundred forty-nine middle class individuals (69 males and 80 females), approximately 80% of whom were Caucasian, participated in the present study. The study was designed to test the hypothesis that individuals whose gender role and occupation did not match (i.e., feminine individuals in predominantly male occupations or masculine individuals in predominantly female occupations) would experience more gender role conflict than individuals whose gender role and occupation matched. The hypothesis was supported. A feminine gender role predicted higher gender role conflict in predominantly male occupations, and lower gender role conflict in predominantly female occupations than a masculine gender role. A masculine gender role predicted the lowest gender role conflict scores in predominantly male occupations, and the highest in predominantly female occupations. Furthermore, higher masculinity scores were related to greater gender role conflict for females than males in more predominantly male occupations.     

Negative emotional responses to motherhood-related support receipt during pregnancy predict postpartum depressive symptoms

Background and Objectives: Prenatal stress increases risk for postpartum depression. While social support availability may attenuate this risk, little research has examined support receipt during pregnancy, which has been linked to increased distress in other domains. This study assesses the implications of motherhood-related and motherhood-unrelated support receipt for daily distress during pregnancy and tests whether negative responsiveness to motherhood-related support predicts postpartum depression risk. Design and Method: Thirty-one pregnant women were recruited from the community for a 3-wave study (beginning at approximately 26 weeks gestation, 34 weeks gestation, and 4 weeks postpartum). Each wave included a survey of general characteristics (e.g. depressive symptoms) and a two-week diary period measuring mood, stress, and support. Results: A multilevel model analysis suggested that motherhood-related support predicted greater increases in daily distress than motherhood-unrelated support. Follow-up regression analysis showed that those who responded more negatively to motherhood-related support reported higher postpartum depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Although preliminary due to the sample size, the results suggest that how women interpret and respond to support may contribute to postpartum depression risk. Future research should focus on how mothers can more positively construe the support they receive in addition to how to increase the support available to them.