Showing papers in "Psychology of Women Quarterly in 2003"

Poverty, Inequality, And Discrimination As Sources Of Depression Among U.S. Women

Abstract: Poverty, inequality, and discrimination endanger women's well-being. Poverty is one of the most consistent predictors of depression in women, probably because it imposes considerable stress while attacking many potential sources of social support. Economic inequalities within societies are associated with reduced life expectancy and a variety of negative physical health outcomes. Parallel research on economic inequalities and depression has just begun. Discrimination maintains inequalities, condemns women to lives of lessened economic security, and exposes them to unmerited contempt. Although the mental health impact of poverty is documented and largely understood, the implications of inequality and discrimination are less well known. Much important work remains to be done, particularly research that connects individuals' mental health to ecological characteristics of the communities and societies in which they live.

Calling it Rape: Differences in Experiences of Women Who do or do not Label Their Sexual Assault as Rape

Abstract: Past research had found that one-half or more of all women who have had an experience that might meet the definition of rape do not label themselves rape victims. The present study examined the actual rape experiences of 33 women who labeled their assault experience as rape and 56 women who did not label their assault experience as rape through questionnaires and open-ended descriptions of what happened during their assault. Quantitative findings replicated past research, finding that acknowledged victims, compared to unacknowledged victims, were older, knew their assailant less well, experienced more forceful assaults, and had stronger negative emotional reactions to the experience. Qualitative analysis revealed that women were mostly likely to acknowledge their experience as rape when the assailant was not their boyfriend and they woke up with a man penetrating them or the assailant used force and dominated them to obtain intercourse. Women assaulted as children also acknowledged their experience as rape. However, when the assault involved a boyfriend, or if the woman was severely impaired by alcohol or drugs, or if the act involved oral or digital sex, the women were unlikely to label their situations as constituting rape.

Toward a Typology of Abusive Women: Differences between Partner-Only and Generally Violent Women in the Use of Violence.

Abstract: Based on previous typologies of domestically violent men (Holtzworth-Munroe & Stuart, 1994), women who were referred to a treatment agency for abusive behavior (N= 52) were categorized into two groups based on the breadth of their use of violence: Partner-Only (PO) and Generally Violent (GV). PO women were hypothesized to use reactive violence, for example, out of fear or in self-defense, whereas GV women were hypothesized to use instrumental violence, that is, in order to exert control. Self-defense was assessed in three different ways and convergent validity was demonstrated for these three new measures. GV women reported using instrumental violence more than PO women, in a variety of situations. GV women tended to report more traumatic symptoms than PO women, although they did not experience significantly more abuse. GV women were more likely to witness their mothers' physical aggression. Thus, we theorize that GV women have been socialized to believe that it is acceptable for women to use violence to resolve conflict. Trauma history and violent socialization should be addressed clinically.

Depression and PTSD in survivors of male violence: Research and training initiatives to facilitate recovery

Abstract: Male violence is an enduring feature of women's lives from childhood through old age. The review covers child sexual abuse, rape, and partner violence with emphasis on the prevalence of violence, its mental health consequences, the course of recovery, and mediators and moderators of traumatic impact. The primary focus is depression and posttraumatic stress disorder, the two major diagnostic entities through which postassault emotions and behaviors have been conceptualized and measured. The effects of psychiatric conceptualizations of victimization and patterns of individual recovery are critically reviewed. The PTSD paradigm as the sole foundation for most victimization research is also debated. Following the review, mental health services for victimized women are examined. The article concludes with public policy recommendations to improve the availability and accessibility of mental health services with emphasis on reaching those survivors who are less likely to consult the formal system.

Sexual Assault History and Health-Related Outcomes in a National Sample of Women

Abstract: This study examined correlates of past-year chronic medical conditions and lifetime contact with health care professionals for mental health and substance abuse problems in women with differing his...

Making Gender Comparisons More Meaningful: A Call for More Attention to Social Context.

Abstract: We challenge researchers to consider sex and gender as a marker for possible social contextual differences. Disappointed by both philosophical and empirical attempts to find coherence in research making gender comparisons, we selectively review studies showing both context-specific similarities between women and men where overall comparisons found differences as well as context-specific differences where general patterns of similarity existed. These examples cut across embedded levels of social context, ranging from those immediately proximal to the individual (interpersonal) to organizational and broad societal structures. They suggest that seemingly identical contexts can have sweepingly different impacts on women and men and that effective social interventions be gender-sensitive.

“If Only I were Thin Like Her, Maybe I Could be Happy Like Her”: The Self-Implications of Associating a Thin Female Ideal with Life Success

Abstract: Women often feel dissatisfied with their appearance after comparing themselves to other females who epitomize the thin-ideal standard of beauty. The current study posits that women associate a thin-ideal female body type with positive life-success, and that it may be this psychological link that drives feelings of negativity toward the self after such upward social comparisons. The results revealed that women reported more self-dissatisfaction and less optimism about their possible future life outcomes after exposure to a thin-ideal female target that ostensibly had a successful life than when the target ostensibly had an unsuccessful life.

Shades of Gray: A Qualitative Study of Terms Used in the Measurement of Sexual Victimization:

Abstract: Methodological analyses of sexual victimization research are still rare, despite the explosion of interest in this topic and widely varying rates across studies. In-depth analysis of the meaning of differences in rates is especially lacking. A series of five ethnically and geographically diverse focus groups were held to explore how wording in sexual victimization surveys affects the reporting of various types of negative sexual experiences. Participants provided rich formulations about sexual intercourse that suggest there is a wide range of coercion, from peer pressure to lose one's virginity to partner pressure to demonstrate one's commitment to stereotypical forced rape. Focus group participants asserted that many terms that are often used synonymously, such as unwanted, nonvoluntary, and forced, have distinct meanings. They also described how different social pressures on women and men, and differences in physical size lead to inevitable differences in perceptions of coerciveness. Although recent sexual victimization surveys have increased the specificity of descriptions of sexual acts, these findings suggest that it is equally important to be precise in communicating what is meant by coercion.

Decision to Leave Scale: Perceived Reasons to Stay in or Leave Violent Relationships.

Abstract: The 30-item Decision to Leave Scale (DLS) was developed with 631 college women and 420 college women and women in shelters. Seven DLS subscales emerged for concerns in deciding to stay or leave: Fear of Loneliness, Child Care Needs, Financial Problems, Social Embarrassment, Poor Social Support, Fear of Harm, Hopes Things Change. Mean internal reliability was .73, mean test-retest reliability was .70. Discriminant validity was demonstrated by expected associations between DLS concerns and self-esteem, children, and violence. Criterion validity was demonstrated by greater DLS concerns for women in shelters than for college women. Women in violent relationships who decided to stay reported more Fear of Loneliness than women who decided to leave.

The Use of Self-Pleasure: Masturbation and Body Image Among African American and European American Women

Abstract: The current investigation examined the relationship between masturbation and body image among 96 women seeking services at a local family planning clinic in a mid-southern U.S. city. Participants completed a questionnaire that assessed body image and masturbatory practices. Ethnic differences were found with European American women reporting greater masturbation frequencies and higher rates of body dissatisfaction than African American women. Among European American women, there was a positive relationship between women's sexual self-pleasuring and positive body image. For African American participants, body image was not related to masturbation practice or frequency.

Factors Associated with Jealousy Over Real and Imagined Infidelity: An Examination of the Social-Cognitive and Evolutionary Psychology Perspectives:

Abstract: Three hundred fifty-eight undergraduates completed anonymous questionnaires regarding jealousy over a mate's infidelity. More men than women predicted that sexual infidelity would be worse than emotional infidelity when given the forced-choice hypothetical measures used in previous work. When some of the implications of hypothetical infidelity were controlled, the gender difference disappeared. One hundred twenty-seven participants reported having actual experience with a mate's infidelity. The two genders did not differ in degree of focus on the sexual versus emotional aspects of a mate's real betrayal. Sexual jealousy was correlated with having a greater number of sexual relationships and, for men but not women, with placing higher importance on sex in dating relationships. The results are discussed from a social-cognitive perspective.

On the Content and Structure of the Gender Role Self-Concept: Including Gender-Stereotypical Behaviors in Addition to Traits

Abstract: The present study introduces a conceptualization of gender role self-concept that implies not only the commonly measured socially desirable expressive and instrumental traits (F+ and M+) but also f...

Gender-Role Attitudes in University Students in the United States, Slovenia, and Croatia.

Abstract: Determinants of gender-role attitudes were examined in samples of university students from Pittsburgh in the United States, Ljubljana in Slovenia, and Osijek in Croatia. Surveys including items from the Attitudes Toward Women Scale and the Neosexism Scale were administered to a total of 1,544 U.S. students, 912 Slovene students, and 996 Croatian students between the years of 1991 and 2000. As predicted, men held less egalitarian or more sexist attitudes about the appropriate roles for women and men, and those with more frequent attendance at religious services held more sexist attitudes. No changes in attitudes were found for women over time, but Slovene males were found to become more traditional over time.

The Role of Hostile and Benevolent Sexism in Women's and Men's Perceptions of the Menstruating Woman

Abstract: Perceptions of menstruating women were studied in a sample of 244, predominantly European American, college freshmen. Both women and men rated the menstruating woman, as compared with the average w...

Empathy, Ways of Knowing, and Interdependence as Mediators of Gender Differences in Attitudes Toward Hate Speech and Freedom of Speech:

Abstract: Women are more intolerant of hate speech than men. This study examined relationality measures as mediators of gender differences in the perception of the harm of hate speech and the importance of f...

The Feminist Supervision Scale: A Rational/Theoretical Approach

Abstract: This article reports the development and psychometric properties of the Feminist Supervision Scale (FSS), a new scale designed to assess feminist supervision practices in clinical supervision. This...

Do You See What I See? Effects of Group Consciousness on African American Women's Attributions to Prejudice

Abstract: This study examined the effects of three types of group consciousness among African American women (ethnic, feminist, and womanist) on prejudice attributions and appraised personal significance (ce...

The Role of Status in Producing Depressed Entitlement in Women's and Men's Pay Allocations

Abstract: Extensive empirical evidence confirms a depressed entitlement effect wherein women pay themselves less than men for comparable work and believe the allocation fair The present study tests the hypothesis that status subordination linked to being female underlies at least some of this effect A 2 × 3 design crossed 180 undergraduates' gender with a control condition, which successfully established the depressed entitlement effect, and two experimental conditions In one, women's status was enhanced through legitimation of women's task abilities; in the other, both women's and men's status was enhanced by adding educational credentials relevant to task ability Follow-up analyses of the significant interaction revealed that the gap in self-pay demonstrated in the control condition disappeared when women's status was enhanced such that higher-status women's self-pay equaled that of men and exceeded that of control women Although these findings confirm that status plays a role in producing depressed entitlem

Effects of Gender, Age, and Education on Assertiveness in a Nigerian Sample

Abstract: Two hundred fourteen (214) married persons, 101 men and 113 women aged 20–60, with at least high school education, participated in the study which investigated the effects of gender, age, and educa...

Women and Depression: Introduction:

Abstract: Although women's 2 to 1 likelihood of developing a depressive disorder is a well-established fact, research over the last decade has expanded our knowledge of risk factors and issues of treatment and service delivery. The American Psychological Association convened an interdisciplinary Summit in 2000 on Women and Depression to examine these findings and to make recommendations on future research and policy needs, and to highlight treatment implications. This special section contains five articles from the Summit addressing a range of issues, including the relationship between women's depression and their lesser power and status in society (resulting in physical and sexual abuse and poverty), and the menstrual cycle and depression. Additionally, the special section includes articles on the rehabilitation of women with depression and treatment of depressed women in primary care settings.

Contextual Variations in Young Women's Gender Identity Negotiations:

Abstract: This article explores young women's strategies for seeking personal power and resisting gender-based stereotypes in a wealthy, suburban, White community and a working-class, urban, community of color. Semi-structured interviews with 27 young women were used to examine contextual variations in these gender identity negotiation processes. Both groups of young women were acutely aware of women's subordinate social and cultural position and this awareness contributed to some negative feelings about being female. However, their strategies for locating strength in their identities varied by social contexts. Moreover, the two groups of young women encountered distinct sets of stereotypes in their respective communities. Forms of resistance to these stereotypes led to significantly different behavior patterns. These comparisons build a richer theoretical understanding of the contextual dimensions of young women's gender identity negotiations.

Depression During the Menopausal Transition

Abstract: The perception that menopause leads to mood disturbances such as depression has a long history. How did these beliefs come about, and are they supported by the scientific literature? This article r...

Undermining Reasonableness: Expert Testimony in a Case Involving a Battered Woman Who Kills

Abstract: Student participants (N= 316) viewed a videotaped simulated case involving a woman who had entered a self-defense plea in the shooting death of her abusive husband. As successful claims of self-defense rest on the portrayal of a defendant who has responded reasonably to his/her situation, the implications of various forms of expert testimony in constructing this narrative were examined. Jurors were presented with either expert testimony regarding the battered woman syndrome (BWS), the BWS framed within post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) nomenclature, or a no-expert control condition. As the BWS classification may support a stereotypical victim, the degree to which the defendant fit the stereotype in terms of her access to a social support network (family, friends, employment outside of the home) was varied within the expert testimony conditions to reflect either a high or low degree of stereotype fit. Although jury verdicts failed to differ across expert testimony and stereotype fit conditions, perceptions of her credibility and mental stability did. Although affording jurors a framework from which the defendant's experiences as a battered woman may be acknowledged, this portrayal, as advanced within PTSD nomenclature, endorsed a pathological characterization of the defendant. Implications of this discourse for battered women within the context of self-defense are discussed.

Dispositional Hardiness and Women's Well-Being Relating to Gender Discrimination: the Role of Minimization:

Abstract: Three studies examined whether personality-based hardiness would be associated with mental health benefits in contexts of gender discrimination. Hardy women encountering both a laboratory simulation and a hypothetical scenario of discrimination showed greater self-esteem and less negative affect than low hardy women. However, these benefits were mediated by the use of specific attributions, suggesting that well-being in hardy women may have been achieved through minimizing the pervasiveness of discrimination. The third study showed this mediation pattern occurred only for participants exposed to higher threat scenarios versus lower threat scenarios of discrimination. Thus, minimizing the pervasiveness of discrimination may have been a threat-reducing tool for high hardy women. Bandura's (1997) self-efficacy theory was used as a possible explanation for this finding.

Improving Services for Women with Depression in Primary Care Settings

Abstract: Women have a higher prevalence of depressive disorders compared to men. The current system of care for women with depressive disorders provides significant financial barriers for patients with lower incomes to access mental health services. Primary care systems are used extensively by women and have the potential to diagnose patients at early stages of mental illness and to provide evidence-based treatments, but this potential is largely unfulfilled because of significant system-level barriers inherent in primary care. Recent effectiveness research provides an excellent framework for cost-effectively improving care of depression using stepped care principles and strategies effective for improving care of other chronic conditions. Psychologists have the potential to help implement stepped care models by providing training, consultation and ongoing quality assurance, as well as by delivering collaborative care models of acute-phase treatment and relapse prevention interventions.

2002 Carolyn Sherif Award Address: Gender, Race, and Generation in a Midwest High School: Using Ethnographically Informed Methods in Psychology.

Abstract: Abigail Stewart Sherif Award Citation. For your exceptional contributions to feminist psychology, the Society for the Psychology of Women presents to you the Carolyn Wood Sherif Award. Your entire career has been marked by distinction; you have been as prolific in publishing as you have been in mentoring. You have illuminated women's lives, their personalities, their development, and their adaptation to change. You have advanced feminist theory, and your academic leadership has created the opportunity for students to do graduate work in feminist psychology. We honor you and your work with gratitude.In this essay I make two arguments. First, I argue for the value of ethnographically informed methods in psychology in general and particularly for the psychology of women. Second, I argue for the importance of the role of generation in psychology, perhaps particularly in the study of values and social identities. In advancing these arguments, I draw on evidence from an ongoing, ethnographically informed study ...

Depression, Disability, and Rehabilitation Services for Women:

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to review scientific evidence for the co-occurrence of major depressive illness and disability, and to examine this phenomenon specifically for women in the United Stat...

Students' Quality of Experience and Perceptions of Intolerance and Bias in the Women's and Gender Studies Classroom:

Abstract: Student evaluations of the quality of their women's and gender studies (WGS) experience and predictors of experience quality were studied in a sample of 326 students from 23 WGS classes. Higher initial appreciation/acceptance of diversity, capacity for interpersonal relationships, and class expectations predicted more positive experience ratings. These relationships were mediated by students' alliance with their teacher and cohesion with classmates. A small proportion of students (11.6%), spread across 14 classes, did not rate their experience positively. Perceptions of teacher and classmate intolerance and bias were assessed in this subset of students. Average ratings of intolerance were slightly positive for teachers and neutral for classmates. Implications of the findings for understanding students' WGS experiences are discussed.

Perceptions of Sexual Intent: The Impact of Condom Possession

Abstract: This study examined whether knowing that a victim of a sexual assault was carrying a condom influenced perceptions of her sexual intention and subsequent judgments of the sexual assault. Participants (N = 165) read a vignette describing a date that culminated in an alleged sexual assault. Condom possession (carrying a condom, not carrying a condom) of both the female and male target was systematically varied. When the woman was carrying a condom, the woman was perceived as more sexually willing and the sexual assault claim perceived as less valid. In contrast, the male target's condom possession had little impact on judgments.