Changing gender roles and attitudes and their implications for well-being around the new millennium

Helen Sweeting,Frank Popham,Kate Hunt,Abita Bhaskar,Michaela Benzeval

doi:10.1007/s00127-013-0730-y

Abstract

PurposeGiven evidence that gender role attitudes (GRAs) and actual gender roles impact on well-being, we examine associations between GRAs, three roles (marital status, household chore division, couple employment) and psychological distress in working-age men and women. We investigate time-trends reflecting broader social and economic changes, by focusing on three age groups at two dates.MethodsWe used British Household Panel Survey data from 20- to 64-year-olds in heterosexual couple households in 1991 (N = 5,302) and 2007 (N = 6,621). We examined: levels of traditional GRAs according to gender, age, date, household and employment roles; associations which GRAs and roles had with psychological distress (measured via the GHQ-12); whether psychological distress increased when GRAs conflicted with actual roles; and whether any of these associations differed according to gender, age or date.ResultsGender traditionalism was lower among women, younger people, those participating in 2007 and in ‘less traditional’ relationships and households. Psychological distress was higher among those with more traditional GRAs and, particularly among men, for those not employed, and there was some evidence of different patterns of association according to age-group. There was limited evidence, among women only, of increased psychological distress when GRAs and actual roles conflicted and/or reductions when GRAs and roles agreed, particularly in respect of household chores and paid employment.ConclusionsAlthough some aspects of gender roles and attitudes (traditionalism and paid employment) are associated with well-being, others (marital status and household chores), and attitude-role consistency, may have little impact on the well-being of contemporary UK adults.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00127-013-0730-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Highlights

Over the latter part of the twentieth century and into the first decades of the twenty-first century, societal gender role attitudes ( GRAs, termed gender role beliefs or ideology) have become more egalitarian among both men and women [1], paralleling broader social and economic changes
Purpose Given evidence that gender role attitudes (GRAs) and actual gender roles impact on well-being, we examine associations between GRAs, three roles and psychological distress in working-age men and women
We examined: levels of traditional GRAs according to gender, age, date, household and employment roles; associations which GRAs and roles had with psychological distress; whether psychological distress increased when GRAs conflicted with actual roles; and whether any of these associations differed according to gender, age or date

Summary

Introduction

Over the latter part of the twentieth century and into the first decades of the twenty-first century, societal gender role attitudes ( GRAs, termed gender role beliefs or ideology) have become more egalitarian among both men and women [1], paralleling broader social and economic changes. Men’s involvement in domestic work rose from the 1960s, it reached a plateau in the mid 1990s, changing little in the following decade [1] The implications of these changes in attitudes and roles for other aspects of life are not well understood. In this paper we focus on how GRAs and indicators of men’s and women’s actual roles in the home and the labour market are associated with psychological distress. Inclusion of both GRAs and roles means we can investigate the relative importance of each. Analyses are based on data from the UK British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) which allows us to look at men and women from three different working age groups (20–34, 35–49 and 50–64) at two different dates (1991 and 2007)

Methods

Results

Conclusion