Use of Social Support: Gender and Personality Differences

Sex differences in social support have been explained in terms of gender differences in socialization and personality. The current research focused directly on the link between social support and gender variables. An adult, largely Caucasian sample of both sexes reported an experience in which they had received support, and were assessed on masculinity, femininity, nurturance, affiliation, autonomy, and self-confidence. The results revealed that gender, but not sex, was significantly correlated with patterns of social support. Femininity (in both sexes) was associated with seeking and receiving emotional support, and with seeking and receiving support from women. Masculinity (in both sexes) was linked only with receiving tangible support. These findings argue for the significance of femininity in promoting a more social form of well-being, and underscore the importance of studying gender directly rather than relying on sex as a proxy variable.

[1]  Cal D. Stoltenberg,et al.  Psychological Separation of Older Adolescents and Young Adults from Their Parents: An Investigation of Gender Differences. , 1995 .

[2]  Harrison G. Gough,et al.  The adjective check list manual , 1983 .

[3]  S. Hobfoll,et al.  Gender Differences in Job Stress, Tedium and Social Support in the Workplace , 1994 .

[4]  Debra L. Nelson,et al.  Social support and newcomer adjustment in organizations: Attachment theory at work? , 1991 .

[5]  D. Streiner,et al.  Methodological issues in developing a scale to measure social support. , 1981, Schizophrenia bulletin.

[6]  C. Markstrom-Adams.  Androgyny and its relation to adolescent psychosocial well-being: A review of the literature , 1989 .

[7]  K. Shultz,et al.  Gender Differences in the Dimensionality of Social Support1 , 1994 .

[8]  N. Betz,et al.  Gender as a moderator of the relationships of stress and social support to physical health in college students , 1991 .

[9]  T. H. Holmes,et al.  The Social Readjustment Rating Scale. , 1967, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[10]  A. Nadler,et al.  Effects of helper's sex, subjects' androgyny, and self-evaluation on males' and females' willingness to seek and receive help , 1984 .

[11]  B. Thurston,et al.  The duality of human existence , 1966 .

[12]  S. Hobfoll,et al.  The process and mechanics of social support. , 1988 .

[13]  B. Ingersoll-Dayton,et al.  Supportive relationships in later life. , 1988, Psychology and aging.

[14]  A. Eagly,et al.  Gender and helping behavior: A meta-analytic review of the social psychological literature. , 1986, Psychological bulletin.

[15]  M. Lowenthal,et al.  Interaction and adaptation: intimacy as a critical variable. , 1968, American sociological review.

[16]  Alan Vaux,et al.  Social Support Resources , 1984 .

[17]  J. House.  Work stress and social support , 1981 .

[18]  Abdalla M. Soliman.  Choice of helpers, types of problems and sex of helpers of college students , 1993 .

[19]  L. Slavin,et al.  Gender differences in emotional support and depressive symptoms among adolescents: A prospective analysis , 1990, American journal of community psychology.

[20]  J. Stokes,et al.  The inventory of socially supportive behaviors: Dimensionality, prediction, and gender differences , 1984, American journal of community psychology.

[21]  B. Whitley,et al.  Sex-role orientation and psychological well-being: Two meta-analyses , 1985 .

[22]  R. Helmreich,et al.  Masculinity & femininity: Their psychological dimensions, correlates, and antecedents , 1978 .

[23]  R. Unger.  Toward a redefinition of sex and gender. , 1979 .

[24]  A. Constantinople.  Masculinity-femininity: an exception to a famous dictum? , 1973, Psychological bulletin.

[25]  A. Vaux.  Social Support: Theory, Research, and Intervention , 1988 .

[26]  B. Whitley.  Sex role orientation and self-esteem: a critical meta-analytic review. , 1983, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[27]  Daniel W. Russell,et al.  Type of social support and specific stress: Toward a theory of optimal matching. , 1990 .

[28]  N. S. Robinson,et al.  Evaluating the Nature of Perceived Support and Its Relation to Perceived Self-Worth in Adolescents. , 1995 .

[29]  T. Antonucci,et al.  An examination of sex differences in social support among older men and women , 1987 .

[30]  M. Windle,et al.  Continuity of difficult temperament in adolescence: Relations with depression, life events, family support, and substance use across a one-year period , 1995 .

[31]  B. Bloom,et al.  Social support: Its structure and impact on marital disruption , 1982, American journal of community psychology.

[32]  C. Fischer,et al.  To Dwell among Friends: Personal Networks in Town and City. , 1984 .

[33]  B. Whitley.  Masculinity, femininity, and self-esteem: A multitrait-multimethod analysis , 1988 .

[34]  Barton J. Hirsch,et al.  Psychological dimensions of social networks: A multimethod analysis , 1979 .

[35]  S. Bem.  The measurement of psychological androgyny. , 1974, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[36]  William A. Ashton,et al.  Effects of gender and gender role identification of participant and type of social support resource on support seeking , 1993 .

[37]  Alan Vaux,et al.  Variations in Social Support Associated with Gender, Ethnicity, and Age , 1985 .

[38]  S. Fiske,et al.  The Handbook of Social Psychology , 1935 .