Gender Differences in the Course and Outcome of Psychosomatic Rehabilitation

Purpose:The aim of this study is to determine the importance of gender in the course and outcome of psychosomatic rehabilitation. Methods:The sample consists of 401 individuals in inpatient psychosomatic rehabilitation (72% women, 28% men, average age 49 years). They were interviewed at the beginning, at the end and 12 months after the rehabilitation. The response rate for follow-up was 74%. Results:The outcome data show significant improvements in almost all variables studied, most notably in resource-related and clinical features (self-regulatory ability, resilience, symptom severity) and the objective return-to-work indicator of rehabilitation success. However, the studies of other work-related variables showed only very slight improvements (subjective prognosis of employment) or a reduction (work motivation) regardless of gender. The effect sizes for the improvements of the resource-related and clinical characteristics are slightly higher for women (d=0.67 to 1.35) than for men (d=0.55 to 0.93), although the return-to-work rate for men is slightly higher (78 vs. 71%). Subgroup analysis support the conclusion that for both genders a below-average symptom severity and a high resilience are beneficial for returning to work. Conclusions: Job-related characteristics should be given even greater prominence in psychosomatic rehabilitation for both women and men.