Gender Roles Depression Us China Cultural Analysis

Lin, J., Zou, L., Lin, W., Becker, B., Yeung, A., Cuijpers, P. & Li, H. (2021). Does gender role explain a high risk of depression? A meta-analytic review of 40 years of evidence. Journal of Affective Disorders, 294, 261-278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.07.018

The systematic review of the previous literature from 1978 to 2021 has been included to reflect the association of depression with multiple gendered roles, encompassing masculinity, femininity, and respective traits. The results revealed that depression is protected by masculinity with the decrease in life expectancy with its highlighted dominance. Another significant finding was the weak relationship between femininity and depression in the previous scholarly works on females, especially in college students. The gender for androgynous individuals and its association with depression was the lowest, implying its representation of protection against depression.

Yu, C., Zuo, X., Blum, R.W., Tolman, D.L., Kagesten, A., Mmari, K., Meyer, S.D., Michielsen, K., Basu, S., Acharya, R. Lian, Q. & Lou, C. (2017). Marching to a different drummer: A cross-cultural comparison of young adolescents who challenge gender norms. Journal of Adolescent Health, 61, S48-S54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.07.005

The article talks about the challenge given by adolescent boys and girls in four urban areas concerning their cultural norms. Data was taken from the Global Early Adolescent Study (GEAS), for which in-depth interviews were conducted to gain a thematic analysis. The results showed that modernism was a more frequently accepted cultural norm for girls to wear boys’ clothes and boys’ games such as soccer and football. However, the same was not true for the boys. It was still felt awkward if the boys engaged in feminine activities or wore female clothes, creating a psychological differentiation and influence formed by gendered norms in societies.

Lin, K., Sun, I.Y., Wu, Y. & Liu, J. (2016). College students’ attitudes toward intimate partner violence: A comparative study of China and the US. Journal of Family Violence, 31, 179-189. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10896-015-9759-x

This study signified the comparison between attitudes towards intimate partner violence (IPV) in Western and non-Western societies. For this purpose, the US and Chinese college students were selected. The results revealed that Chinese students were less clear about the definition of IPV attitudes, male dominance, and taking IPV as a major crime. In contrast, American students depicted completely different attitudes than Chinese ones. It was markedly understood that youngsters of American culture knew their importance, and they unmistakably defined the cultural factors that shaped their attitudes towards IPV compared to Chinese youngsters.

Chen, Z., Fiske, S.T., & Lee, T.L. (2009). Ambivalent sexism and power-related gender-role ideology in marriage. Sex Roles, 60, 765-778. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9585-9

In this article, the hypotheses made by the researchers are men make mate selection based on the benevolent sexism (BS) characteristics related to females, such as women being the homemakers, women make mate selection based on the characteristics of male dominance mainly due to men’s capability to provide for the family, and hostile sexism (HS) would be used by men and women due to gender inequality felt in the society. The independent variable in this study was ambivalent sexism, and the dependent variable was mate selection by both genders based on HS or BS for marital relationships. The operational definition of the independent variable- ambivalent sexism- is the inculcation of two different sexist approaches, BS and HS, towards the opposite sex. The operational definition of the dependent variable- mate selection- is considered the selection of the partner for marriage, for which males prefer different traits in females compared to mate selection criteria of women. The independent variable was measured based on Glick and Fiske’s Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI) questionnaire along with the dependent variable measurement with power-related Gender-Role Ideology in Marriage (GRIM) questionnaire. The main findings of the study revealed that the first hypothesis was supported in both Chinese and American cultures that men look for BS traits in females when selecting a mate, the second hypothesis was also supported in both Chinese and American cultures that females look for dominating male features in their selection of a mate. The third hypothesis that HS is created when gendered roles in both cultures are unequal is supported.

Li, C., Wu, K. & Johnson, D.E. (2018). The impact of balance-focused attitudes on job stress: Gender differences evidenced in American and Chinese samples. International Journal of Psychology, 53(1), 31-39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12254

In this article, the hypotheses made by the researchers are balance-focused attitude is negatively related to family interference with work (FIW), FIW is greatly linked to job stress, FIW represents as a mediator between job stress and balance-focused attitude, men show a greater negative relationship between balance-focused attitude and FIW as compared to women. The mediating effect of balance-focused attitudes on job stress is greater for men as compared to women for self-comprehended FIW. The dependent variables were balance-focused attitude, job stress, and FIW, while the independent variable was gender. The operational definition of the independent variable was modified to gain relationships regarding gender perception of these variables and their inter-relationships for the initial hypotheses. Each one of them was measured through different 10-item or 5-item scales, with gender only being given the codes of 0 and 1. This was the operationalization of the independent variable to be explored for its relationship with dependent variables. The study’s main findings revealed that all hypotheses were supported for both American and Chinese cultures as the set gender differences for the dependent and independent variables stood true.