Relationship between gender roles, motherhood beliefs and mental health

Abstract

Gender roles, as social constructs, play a significant role in shaping individuals’ beliefs and attitudes, influencing various aspects of life, including perceptions and expectations surrounding motherhood. These beliefs, acquired through culture and society, can have an impact on our mental well-being. This research consists of three independent studies conducted in the Mexican population. In the first and second studies, we extended the Attitudes Towards Gender Roles Scale and Motherhood Beliefs Scale and performed psychometric validation through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The aim of including additional items in both scales was to update these attitudes and beliefs in Mexican culture to avoid the traditionalist bias in both instruments. Finally, the third study examined the relationship between the new versions of both scales and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and Positive Psychological Functioning as indicators of mental health in women and men with and without children. Our findings revealed a significant association between higher levels of traditional attitudes towards gender roles and traditional motherhood beliefs, as well as between non-traditional attitudes towards gender roles and non-traditional beliefs about motherhood. Interestingly, we observed that traditional attitudes toward gender roles were associated with lower anxiety and depression scores, while non-traditional attitudes were associated with higher levels of depression. Furthermore, individuals who embraced non-traditional attitudes towards both gender roles and motherhood beliefs tended to exhibit better psychological well-being in all subsamples. Additionally, women generally showed lesser alignment with traditional attitudes towards both gender roles and motherhood beliefs compared to men. However, women reported higher rates of depression and anxiety, along with lower psychological well-being scores, than their male counterparts. This highlights the significant influence that traditional cultural norms about gender roles and motherhood have on women’s mental health, underscoring the need for a deeper understanding and reevaluation of these traditional constructs in society.

Time Use, Health, and Well-Being across the Life Cycle: A Gender Analysis

“…Beyond Sustainable Development Goal 5, gender equality is also necessary to achieve other United Nations goals, including Goal 3 to "ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for at all ages" (Langer et al 2015;Manandhar et al 2018;Weber et al 2019) and other goals that affect health outcomes (Manandhar et al 2018). Research has found differences between men and women on some health indicators, and there is evidence that the social roles traditionally ascribed to women and men are relevant to gender differences in health and well-being (Delgado-Herrera et al 2024;Matud 2017;Matud et al 2022Matud et al , 2023. Epidemiologic surveys have consistently documented differences between men and women in mental disorders, including higher rates of externalizing and substance use disorders among men than women and higher rates of anxiety and mood disorders among women than men (Seedat et al 2009;Boyd et al 2015), although a substantial narrowing of intercohort differences in major depression was found related to changes in traditional female gender roles (Seedat et al 2009).…”