Sex differences in self‐reported coronary‐prone factors

Abstract

The FABA self-report questionnaire on coronary-prone behaviour was applied to 628 GDR subjects (343 males, 285 females), who included students, blue-and whitecollar workers, and hypertensive patients, all split into three age groups (18±30, 31±50, and 51±65 years). Four scales had been previously established by factor analysis: Work Obsession (WO), Dominance/Competition (DC), Reactive Uncontrol (RU), and Need for Planning (PN). Two-tailed MANOVA and ANOVA were applied to analyse the eects of sex, age, and type of respondent (i.e. student, worker, or hypertensive) on scale means, using the de®ned sub-groups. No signi®cant sex dierences on WO and PN were found. With regard to DC, males of all sub-groups consistently rated themselves as more dominant and competitive than females. These dierences were highly signi®cant. RU was higher only in female students and female hypertensives. There was a signi®cant age eect on DC and PN: the older the workers and hypertensives of both sexes, the more dominant and obsessed with planning they were. No in¯uence of the type of respondent was apparent. Results are discussed in the light of cross-cultural research on gender dierences and the particular socio-economic situation of the former GDR.

A double‐edged sword: understanding vanity across cultures

“…Set in this background, men have rated achievement drive as higher in importance for becoming a successful leader as compared to women for whom relationship building is more important (Richmonds et al, 2004). Also, men consider themselves as significantly more achievement driven in terms of competition/dominance than women (Rotheiler et al, 1998). We can conclude from the available body of knowledge that men are more likely than women to be achievement driven and have greater concern for their personal achievements.…”