Gender Role Internalization, Multiple Roles, and Chinese Women's Mental Health

Abstract

The influence of gender role internalization as a moderator in the relationship between women's multiple roles and psychological distress was investigated. Study 1 identified three components of gender role internalization, which were labeled "Traditional Ideal Person," "Self-Sacrifice," and "Competence Without Complaint," and found that it did not, overlap with existing gender-typed measures among 128 female Chinese university students. The multidimensionality of gender role internalization was confirmed in Study 2 among a sample of 225 women in the paid Hong Kong workforce. As expected, role quality was a better predictor of psychological distress than role quantity. Gender role internalization accounted for significant portions of explained variance even after taking role quality into account. Internalization of Traditional Ideal Person and Competence Without Complaint messages exacerbated distress in certain areas when role quality was low. However, internalization of Self-Sacrifice messages mitigated distress for Chinese women with low work quality.

Sexual Issues and Concerns: Tales of Chinese Women with Spinal Cord Impairments

“…Once while internalized, this inability to fulfil all these roles seemed to alter negatively their perception of their own sexuality (48). The data suggest that the women interviewed suffered from a painful dilemma.…”

“…Feeling of uselessness, frustration, and self-pity were not uncommon among the informants. These manifest themselves particularly strongly in the context of the traditional Chinese cultural requirement for a female to take up a caring role for the whole family (38,48,49). However, being a disable person meant that the woman considered herself to be useless and dependent on others.…”

“…Also, the disability altered her role from nurturing and caregiving to dependency and longterm care receiving, which is unacceptable for most women in this culture (50). This kind of role dilemma might create substantial psychological strains and stresses for the women, or lead to marital dissatisfaction and divorce (37,48,51), and even suicide.…”

Theory and Practice of Positive Feminist Therapy: A Culturally Responsive Approach to Divorce Therapy with Chinese Women

“…Throughout history, Confucian principles have served as the protocol for proper womanhood in Chinese society (Tang and Tang 2001). Chinese women are traditionally expected to fulfill various domestic roles and to submit to their fathers, husbands, and sons (Huang and Charter 1996;Yick 2001).…”

Gender role strain, core schemas, and psychotic experiences in ethnically diverse women: A role for sex‐ and gender‐based analysis in psychosis research?

“…A robust literature in the fields of social, personality, and developmental psychology has emphasized the effects of gender on mental health; for example, in investigations demonstrating associations between internalized gender‐role expectations and psychological distress (depression, low self‐esteem, and substance abuse) for both men and women (Ballou & Brown, ; Berke, Reidy, & Zeichner, ; Eisler & Skidmore, ; Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997; Good & Mintz, ; Levant, ; Mahalik, ; O'Neil, ; Pleck, , ; Szymanski, Moffitt, & Carr, ; Tang & Tang, ; Tolman, Impett, Tracy, & Michael, ; Zamarripa, Wampold, & Gregory, ). As a consequence, governmental health policies worldwide are incorporating SGBA into both service planning and research (Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Gender and Health, ; Department of Health, ; Nowatzki & Grant, ; Johnson, Greaves, & Repta, ; World Health Organization, ).…”