8- Gender Differences in Stress Flashcards
which gender has greater exposure to chronic stress ?
women
which gender rates stress more intensely ?
women
what are the 2 traumatic events usually reported by women ?
childhood sexual abuse and adult sexual assault
who is more likely to experience traumatic effects ?
men, 36% more likely
what are the traumatic events usually reported by men?
accidents, etc
what is the difference between tasks that stress men and women?
men: achievement tasks
women: socially oriented tasks
what are engagement strategies ?
reduce likelihood of maladaptive response to stress (problem solving, positive thinking, etc)
problem-focused response
what are disengagement strategies ?
mediate relationship between perceived stress and psychopathology (avoidance, denial, wishfull thinking)
emotion focused response
what is the socialization hypothesis ?
attributes associated with gender roles influence types of socially acceptable responses to stress and therefore the coping strategy used
what is the role-constraint hypothesis ?
gender roles increase/decrease likelihood of occupying different societal roles
what did the Sontag study show
girls: engagement coping, symptoms of anxiety depression
boys: overt aggression in reaction to stress
in the Sontag study, what was disengagement associated with?
decreased overt aggression, therefore may serve a protective purpose
in the Sontag study, what is the problem for men in using engagement methods ?
conflict with social conventions
what did the Tamers study find ?
women have more coping strategies across all stressors
what are gender differences in physiological responses to stress ?
men: increased BP
women: increased HR
how does hippocampus volume depend on gender
women: hippocampus volume associated with birth weight and maternal care : emotionality, warmth, friendliness
men: associated with high locus of control
measure of personal competency
what does hippocampus volume relate to ?
magnitude of stress response
how do oral contraceptives influence cortisol levels ?
decrease cortisol lvl
body compensates with cortisol increase
what pituitary hormone is higher in women? what pituitary hormone higher in men? what are their roles ?
oxytocin higher in women, dampens stress response
vasopressin higher in men, stimulates stress response
what do the difference in gender & pituitary hormone levels explain in psychosocial stress situations?
women: tend to befriend
men: fight or flight
what is a main risk factor in CHD ?
low control over domestic conditions, but only FOR WOMEN (3x more CHD)
men, no difference
what acts as a protective mechanism against CHD in women?
estrogen
what may contribute to higher rate of depression in women?
higher prevalence of childhood sexual abuse in women
what is a main risk factor for depression in men and women?
childhood sex abuse
what gender 2x more likely to get PTSD ?
women
