ABSTRACT

Background and objectives: Anxiety and depression are prevalent psychopathologies that affect twice as many women than men. Although the role of biological factors has been investigated, it has been argued that gender roles – defined by the feminine and masculine characteristics that society attributes to men and women – should also be considered. Gender roles are dynamic and shaped by life experiences. To date, most studies investigating the impact of gender roles on depressive and anxiety symptoms have recruited students. Here, we examined the impact of gender roles on depression and anxiety in healthy students and workers.

Methods: Pooled data combining the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, State and Trait Anxiety Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory-II from 108 students (50 men) and 151 workers (75 men) aged 18–65 years old were analyzed. Gender roles were operationalized using continuous and categorical methods.

Results: Higher masculinity predicted lower anxiety and depressive symptoms. The relationship between masculinity and anxiety was however only present for students. Higher feminity was associated with higher anxiety and lower depressive symptoms, and these relationships were not moderated by the student/worker status.

Conclusion: Gender roles may relate to mental health differently according to the student/worker status.

摘要

背景和目标：焦虑和抑郁是普遍的精神病理学，影响女性的人数是男性的两倍。尽管已经研究了生物因素的作用，但有人认为，性别角色——由社会赋予男性和女性的女性和男性特征定义——也应该考虑在内。性别角色是动态的，由生活经历塑造。迄今为止，大多数调查性别角色对抑郁和焦虑症状影响的研究都招募了学生。在这里，我们研究了性别角色对健康学生和工人的抑郁和焦虑的影响。

方法：对 108 名学生（50 名男性）和 151 名工人（75 名男性）的年龄在 18-65 岁之间的 Bem 性别角色量表、状态和特质焦虑量表和贝克抑郁量表-II 相结合的汇总数据进行了分析。性别角色使用连续和分类方法进行操作。

结果：较高的男性气质预示着较低的焦虑和抑郁症状。然而，男性气质和焦虑之间的关系只存在于学生身上。较高的女性气质与较高的焦虑和较低的抑郁症状相关，并且这些关系不受学生/工人身份的影响。

结论：根据学生/工人的身份，性别角色与心理健康的关系可能不同。