Impact of gender role socialization on mental health

The impact that gender role socialization can have upon psychological functioning is wide-reaching but poorly investigated. The current study examined the impact that traditional gender role ideology and gender role stress have on anxiety, depression, alcohol use, and substance use among college men and women. Four hundred and ninety one participants (60% female) were recruited from the undergraduate body at a University in the Southeast using convenience sampling techniques. Each participant completed a battery assessing demographics, gender ideology, gender role stress, depression, anxiety, alcohol use, and substance use. Multivariate logistic regressions were conducted within each sex, controlling for demographic factors. For women, gender role stress was predictive of anxiety (OR = 1.8, p = 0.02) and gender role ideology was protective against drug use (OR = 0.6, p = 0.04). For men, gender role stress was predictive of depression and anxiety (OR = 4.2, p = 0.02; OR = 2.3, p = 0.03), and gender role ideology was predictive of alcohol abuse (OR = 3.2, p = 0.003). The varying relationships that emerged indicate that gender role socialization plays a complex role in anxiety, depression, alcohol use and substance use that merits further examination in community-based samples.