Gender Differences Flashcards
What coping methods do men use?
Problem focused coping
What is problem focused coping?
More likely to try to deal with stress themselves or to reduce its effects through physical activity like sport. They are less likely to seek professional help and are more reluctant to perceive or admit that stress affects them negatively
What coping methods do women use?
Emotion focused coping
What is emotion focused coping?
They express their emotions more openly and have higher stress levels than men. They reduce stress indirectly by tackling the anxiety associated with a stressor. Ways of doing this include various forms of avoidance such as distraction and keeping busy. Females are more likely to seek professional help to deal with their anxiety too
Who researched the gender differences in coping with stress?
Peterson et al
What was the method of the study into gender difference?
Studied infertility stress in men and women and assessed the coping strategies of men and women who had been diagnosed as infertile
What were the findings of the study into gender differences in coping with stress?
Women were more likely to accept blame and use various avoidance tactics. Men were more likely to use problem solving a feature of a problem focused approach
What is a strength of gender differences in coping with stress?
Males and females have different types of stressors to deal with as perhaps females use emotion focused strategies more as the type of stressors they deal with have more of an emotional content and impact
What are four limitations of gender differences in coping with stress?
- self report measures are prone to bias
- women use emotion focused strategies can have negative effects as it delays dealing with the problem
- dividing genders is simplistic and may create self fulfilling prophecies
- difficulty in making clear distinctions between the two coping methods as men and women may use both methods depending on the stressor
