Gender and the Mental–Physical Health Connection Among U.S. Adults

Using data from the 1995, 1998, and 2001 panels of Aging, Status, and Sense of Control (ASOC) Survey, we examine gender differences in the relationship between self‐rated physical health and mental health over time (n = 2,543). Gender‐stratified path models highlight how the nature of the mental–physical health relationship changes when we use indicators of mental health that have traditionally been labeled as female sensitive (depression) or male sensitive (heavy drinking). Results show that women and men are similar in that mental health has a stronger effect on physical health than the reverse. However, this is only the case when we use gender‐sensitive measures of mental distress: Men who drink heavily and women who are depressed report poorer self‐rated physical health over time, while heavy drinking for women and depression for men have no significant effects on their self‐rated physical well‐being. These results provide evidence of a health process that is gendered in its expression but more universal in its outcome—the exact measure might vary, but men and women alike are physically harmed by mental health problems.     

Marital Quality,Gender, and Markers of Inflammation in the MIDUS Cohort

Marital quality is an important factor for understanding the relationship between marriage and health. Low‐quality relationships may not have the same health benefits as high‐quality relationships. To understand the association between marital quality and health, we examined associations between two indicators of marital quality (marital support and marital strain) and two biomarkers of inflammation (interleukin‐6 and C‐reactive protein) among men and women in long‐term marriages using data from the Survey of Midlife in the United States (N = 542). Lower levels of spousal support were associated with higher levels of inflammation among women but not men. Higher levels of spousal strain were weakly and inconsistently associated with higher levels of inflammation among women and men; the effects were diminished with the addition of psychosocial and behavioral covariates. These findings suggest marital quality is an important predictor of inflammation, especially among women.     

Marriage and Women's Health in Japan

In this study, we evaluate alternative hypotheses about the potentially harmful or beneficial effects of marriage on women's health and examine the factors underlying observed relationships between marriage and health. Using data from the Japanese Panel Survey of Consumers, an annual survey of a nationally representative sample of Japanese women (N = 1,610), our study advances current scholarship on marriage and health by focusing on a context characterized by a high degree of gender inequality. Results from models employing different approaches to the potential role of health‐related selection into marriage consistently indicate that marriage is associated with better mental and physical health and that the lower levels of employment among married women play an important role in explaining this relationship. Our findings highlight the importance of considering how the specific pathways linking marriage and health may vary across societies with different gender and institutional contexts.     

Lesbian Health

ABSTRACT

Health care research suggests that lesbians may face unique physical and mental health risks, yet few studies make use of gender and sexuality theories to explain lesbian health. In this study, a social constructionist view of sexuality is used to examine the impact of lesbian identity on well-being. Drawing from nineteen intensive interviews with women who self-identify as lesbians, the results show that individuals' sexual identities change over time and are affected by their social environments. The data also demonstrate that sexual identity and social context have implications for well-being. Specifically, hostile environments, which are characterized by animosity toward gay men, lesbians, and others who do not conform to heteronormative gender expectations, are associated with distress over lesbian identity and with physical and mental health problems. By contrast, supportive environments, which many women report finding through feminism, facilitate the construction of a positive lesbian identity and enhance well-being.     

Everyday Racial Discrimination,Everyday Non-Racial Discrimination,and Physical Health Among African-Americans

ABSTRACT

Past research has identified a link between discrimination and health outcomes among people of color. Perceptions of the cause of discrimination (racial versus other) seem to be important for mental health; however, this relationship has not been fully examined for physical health. Using data from the National Survey of American Life, we find that, among African-Americans, racial discrimination and overall discrimination regardless of attribution are associated with negative health outcomes while non-racial discrimination is not. The results suggest that racial discrimination has a unique adverse effect on physical health for African-Americans that practitioners need to better understand.     

The Effects of Sexual Orientation,Gender Identity,and Gender Role on the Mental Health of Women in Taiwan's T-Po Lesbian Community

SUMMARY

We obtained via the Internet a convenience sample of Taiwanese heterosexual (n = 287) and sexual minority females (n = 260). A significantly greater percentage of sexual minorities (lesbian and bisexual females) than heterosexuals reported they had used tobacco or alcohol. Relative to heterosexuals, sexual minorities were significantly more likely to report a serious suicide attempt. Overall, gender identity (masculine, feminine, and androgynous) and gender role (butch, femme, and pure or undifferentiated) were poor discriminators of lesbian mental health. Differences between sexual minorities and heterosexuals were more robust than were the variations in gender identities and gender roles among lesbian and bisexual women. We discuss the implications of these findings for further clinical research.     

HIV Prevention,Gender and Sexual Health

Abstract

Drawing on a review of relevant literature as well as global experience, this paper focuses on aspects of the growing feminisation of the HIV epidemic, especially the combination of age and gender which makes young women particularly vulnerable to HIV. It also briefly touches upon the gender-constructed vulnerability of young men. The linkages between gender, sexual health and HIV-and what works to forge these linkages-have now been well established. Not acting on the basis of this knowledge in order to avert millions of infections and deaths due to HIV, is no longer an option.     

Der Einfluss der Gesundheit und des Gesundheitsverhaltens auf die Entstehung von Partnerschaften

This paper examines the influence of physical and mental health and health behavior on the formation of intimate relationships. Data were obtained from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) for the years 2002–2014 and contain information about 6071 individuals and 4194 newly formed partnerships. For men, better mental health increasingly accelerates partnership formation in middle and later adulthood. For women, better physical and mental health reduce the transition rate into partnership at a young age and increase the transition rate into partnership at an older age. Physical inactivity and overweight reduce the likelihood of partnership formation for both women and men, whereas smoking is positively associated with partnership formation for women. The findings help to better understand how health and health behavior affect the formation of intimate relationships. Moreover, the results contribute to explaining health disparities between individuals with or without a partner.     

Race,Gender, and Social Exchange in Young Adult Unions

Abstract

Social scientists often conceptualize romantic partner selection as an asymmetric exchange in which partners of different race or gender offer different desired qualities. For example, white women might leverage racial status into upward mobility by marrying socioeconomically advantaged minority men, or minority women might exchange beauty, sexual access, and domestic services for white men’s higher racial status and income. However, such approaches frequently assume gender and race asymmetry in preferences—for example, that men attach greater value to potential partners’ physical attractiveness than women do. These assumptions may be unwarranted, especially among contemporary young couples. In turn, assuming asymmetry in exchange can generate misleading results if partnering patterns are actually symmetric. Accordingly, we use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), including a supplementary sample of romantic partners, to reconsider recent findings with an emphasis on evaluating (a)symmetry.     

Gender differences in the experience of violence,discrimination, and stress hormone in African Americans: Implications for public health

Violence is more prevalent in African American communities than in other American communities. This has impacts not only on criminal justice interventions but also on the physical and mental health of these communities including their risk for acquiring life-threatening diseases. While many studies have focused on the effects of violence on African American males, we sought to understand the relative gender effects that violence has on African American females. This is of particular interest given the wide array of scientific literature suggesting maternal health has inter-generational health effects. Understanding gender differences associated with exposure to violence, depression, and immune function is an important step in understanding how young women perceive and internalize societal violence directed toward and around them. We analyzed a cohort of 557 young African American adults aged 18–25 years old from the Washington, DC area. We use sociological, epidemiological, mental health, computational biology, and quantitative genetics approaches to build a predictive portrait of the effects of violence on African American health. This study demonstrates that African American males and females experience different constellations of societal violence, that African American women report greater perception of racial and gender bias, and that cortisol, an indicator of stress response, is correlated to perceived discrimination. This work contributes to current understandings of how violence contributes to negative health outcomes and lays the foundation for a predictive model for sociological, health, and behavior risk that young African Americans encounter.     

American College Health Association

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this cross-sectional investigation was to examine (1) gender differences in osteoporosis-related knowledge and beliefs and (2) if these beliefs could predict vigorous physical activity behavior in university students. Participants: Male (n = 176) and female (n = 351) university students participated in the study. Methods: Participants completed self-report measures of osteoporosis knowledge and health beliefs and vigorous physical activity. Results: Regardless of gender, osteoporosis knowledge was relatively poor. Women reported higher knowledge, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, and calcium barriers, and lower exercise self-efficacy than men. Regression analyses showed that for women, perceived susceptibility, health motivation, and exercise self-efficacy predicted vigorous physical activity, whereas for men, exercise barriers was the only predictor. Conclusions: Gender differences in osteoporosis health beliefs appear to be greater in older adults than college-aged students. Interventions designed to increase vigorous physical activity may want to target different beliefs for men and women.     

Gender,Marital Status and Social Support

Abstract

While many studies have examined the separate effects of gender and marital status on patterns of perceived social support, none have examined the simultaneous effects of these two variables while controlling for other relevant variables in a large, random sample. This paper responds to this lacuna by investigating the relationships among these variables for six specific types of problems that may elicit social support from others. Using data drawn from a representative sample of the United States population, results indicate that the perception of sources of social support is primarily shaped by differences in marital status as opposed to gender. However, gender is influential in some situations. While it is not significantly related to the perception of emotional support, gender is significantly related to the perception of instrumental support. (Women manifest a tendency to consider both spouse / partner and relatives as sources of instrumental support more than men, while men rely on friends as sources of instrumental support.) The suggestion that gender may find expression within categories of marital status is supported by findings indicating that, within each of the marital status categories, when men turn to relatives and / or friends for help they tend to be male and when women turn to relatives and / or friends for help they tend to be female. Suggestions for future research are offered.     

Do religiosity and spirituality really matter for social,mental, and physical health?: A tale of two samples

ABSTRACT

Some prior research has found that religiosity and spirituality can be related to health. However, the relationships are inconsistent, measures of religiosity and spirituality are often problematic and conflated with the health outcomes they are supposed to predict, and very little research on this topic specifies which aspects of health supposedly benefit from religiosity and spirituality. Using two sets of survey data (Sample 1 N = 347; Sample 2 N = 404), we examined whether religiosity and spirituality had direct or indirect effects on physical, mental, and/or social health. We found that spirituality, when conceptualized as belief and experience of the supernatural, had no direct or indirect effect on physical, mental, or social health. Religiosity had a small but significant direct effect on social health in one sample but not the other. We consider our findings in relation to religious privileging in the United States and how proreligious biases can lead to health inequalities.     

Self-rated Health in Relation to Rape and Mental Health Disorders in a National Sample of College Women

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to employ a multivariate approach to examine the correlates of self-rated health in a college sample of women, with particular emphasis on sexual assault history and related mental health outcomes. Participants: A national sample of 2,000 female college students participated in a structured phone interview between January and June 2006. Methods: Interview modules assessed demographics, posttraumatic stress disorder, major depressive episode, substance use, rape experiences, and physical health. Results: Logistic regression analyses showed that poor self-rated health was associated with low income (odds ratio [OR] = 2.70), lifetime posttraumatic stress disorder (OR = 2.47), lifetime major depressive episode (OR = 2.56), past year illicit drug use (OR = 2.48), and multiple rape history (OR = 2.25). Conclusions: These findings highlight the need for university mental health and medical service providers to assess for rape history, and to diagnose and treat related psychiatric problems in order to reduce physical morbidity.     

Personal Networks and Anomie: Exploring the Sources and Significance of Gender Composition

Abstract

The significance of gender in the study of social integration and well-being is well established; however, most research in this area focuses on patterns of individual differences rather than on contextual effects. Drawing on the network perspective, this paper examines both the social determinants of gender composition of personal networks and the effect of gender composition on feelings of anomie. Data come from the 1985 General Social Survey of Americans' personal networks (N = 1531). The findings indicate that both men and women tend to form networks composed mainly of same-gender persons, even after controlling for similar structural location. However, men and women are most likely to report the lowest feelings of anomie when their personal networks are composed of a relative balance of men and women.     

Untangling Inequalities: Gender,Race, and Socioeconomic Differences in Depression1

In their important paper, Link and Phelan (1995) argue that socioeconomic status is a fundamental cause of variation in well‐being and that the social resources associated with socioeconomic status constitute the fundamental cause of variation in well‐being. In this article, I elaborate on the fundamental cause perspective in three respects: by suggesting an expansion of the definition of resources, by examining how race and gender influence variation in the relationship between resources and mental health, and by developing a model of the relationship between social class, race, and gender that takes account of the potential asymmetry in the influence of resources across race and gender. Using the 2003 National Health Interview Survey and ordinary least squares regression, I find that black and white men are significantly less depressed than black and white women. However, women accrue greater mental health advantage from marriage, home ownership, and education. African‐American men experience less depression as a result of being unmarried and non‐Hispanic white women experience less benefit from full‐time employment, relative to African‐American women and men. Results are discussed in terms of implications for future research on race, class, and gender differences in health.     

Infidelity Goes Online: Communicating About Sexual Health in Personal Ads When Seeking Extra-Dyadic Relationships on Craigslist

Abstract

Objectives: The present study explored married and partnered individuals’ ads on Craigslist seeking extra-dyadic sexual relationships. An analysis of the ads containing words related to health and safety was conducted to better understand the ways that individuals communicate about safe sex when seeking extra-dyadic relationships online. Methods: A total of 819 ads containing 6,279 words were analyzed. Thematic analysis revealed that the words used in the ads fell into 8 unique categories, with one category comprising words related to health and safety. Results: The results revealed that men seeking men used more words related to health and safety than men seeking women, women seeking men, and women seeking women, though ads within all 4 groups noted health and safety concerns. For men seeking women, broader issues of safety (often pertaining to meeting up) were also expressed, and for women seeking men, issues of discretion arose. Lastly, women seeking women were the only group to mention polyamorous or nonmonogamous relationships, in addition to expressing concerns about sexual safety. Conclusions: The findings revealed that partnered or married men seeking sexual activity with other men posted the most ads and had the largest percentages for several key words related to safe sex, though such concerns were also prevalent in the ads of men seeking women, women seeking women, and to a limited degree (given the small sub-sample), women seeking men. These results suggest that interventions should aim at encouraging individuals who seek relationships online to not only state safe sex preferences and concerns, but also to continue such conversations and implement safe sex behaviors in offline contexts.     

Flourishing: Exploring Predictors of Mental Health Within the College Environment

Abstract

Objective: To explore the predictive factors of student mental health within the college environment. Participants: Students enrolled at 7 unique universities during years 2008 (n = 1,161) and 2009 (n = 1,459). Methods: Participants completed survey measures of mental health, consequences of alcohol use, and engagement in the college environment. Results: In addition to replicating previous findings related to Keyes’ Mental Health Continuum, multiple regression analysis revealed several predictors of college student mental health, including supportive college environments, students’ sense of belonging, professional confidence, and civic engagement. However, multiple measures of engaged learning were not found to predict mental health. Conclusions: Results suggest that supportive college environments foster student flourishing. Implications for promoting mental health across campus are discussed. Future research should build on exploratory findings and test confirmatory models to better understand relationships between the college environment and student flourishing.     

Gender and the 'New Paradigm' of Health

This article provides a critical review of literature on the relationship between gender and the 'new paradigm' of health. An overview of the feminist critique of health is given, from the Women's Health Movement of the late 1960s and early feminist debates about medicalisation, to more recent discussions about structural inequalities between men and women, eating disorders, and AIDS. I then go on to explore the feminist response to the so-called 'new paradigm' of health (an approach that emphasises health promotion, individual responsibility for health, and body-monitoring). Arguments that health promotion initiatives target women and confirm their position as principal guardians of health within the family are considered, as well as literature on the breast cancer awareness campaign. I then explore the growing body of literature on masculinity and health, and its account of the relationship between gender and current ideas about healthiness. Finally, I offer up some suggestions for the direction a new feminist critique of health might take.     

Mental Health Implications of Same-Sex Marriage

SUMMARY

Marriage is a mental health protective factor and homosexuality is sometimes a risk factor. The combined effect of these factors on mental health was examined in this study. We conducted a secondary analysis of an international, cross-sectional survey completed in 2000 (N = 7,616). We examined risks of suicide ideations and attempts, behavioral problems, and treatment histories for male and female participants from Canada and the United States. We found significant relations between sexual orientation and suicidality in all four gender-country groups. We found significant associations between relationship status and suicidality for men but not women in both countries. Behavioral problems and treatment histories were equivocal. We discuss the mental health implications of these findings for same-sex marriage.