Abstract
Nolen-Hoeksema's (1987) response style theory states that women ruminate on sadness more than men, and that men distract themselves from sadness more than women. These response styles are assumed to develop through the socialization of sex-appropriate behavior. The present study extended this argument by examining the relation of sex-role orientation to response styles in an adult sample. It was hypothesized that greater femininity is associated with more rumination and less distraction in response to sadness, and that greater masculinity is associated with less rumination and more distraction in response to sadness. Male and female undergraduates completed the short form of the BSRI and a coping measure. Consistent with expectations, subjects' sex-role scores were significant predictors of coping responses. Higher femininity was associated with more rumination, whereas higher masculinity was associated with more distraction. As in previous research, sex differences emerged. Female subjects relative to male subjects reported more rumination and less distraction in response to sadness. The sex-role findings are discussed in relation to current conceptualizations of femininity and masculinity measures, and in relation to sex-role differences in depression.
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This research was conducted by Constantina Giannopoulos in partial fulfillment of a Master of Arts degree of Concordia University, under the supervision of Michael Conway. This research was presented at the Eastern Psychological Association convention, Philadelphia, PA, 1990. This research was supported by research grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCC) and the Fonds pour la Formation de Chercheurs et l'Aide á la Recherche (FCAR) of Quebec awarded to Michael Conway, and was conducted while Constantina Giannopoulos held an FCAR fellowship.
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Conway, M., Giannopoulos, C. & Stiefenhofer, K. Response styles to sadness are related to sex and sex-role orientation. Sex Roles 22, 579–587 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288236
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288236