GENDER-LINKED SELF-ATTRIBUTIONS AND MENTAL-HEALTH AMONG MIDDLE-AGED PARENTS

Middle-aged mothers (n = 149) and fathers (n = 127) completed self-report measures of gender-linked attributes (the PRF-Andro), self-esteem (Rosenberg), sense of mastery, and psychosomatic symptom distress (the SCL-90), as part of a larger interview study of inter generational relations. Factor analyses revealed three major factors in the masculinity and three in the femininity scales. Factor scores were significantly related to sex and occupational status; some factor scores were associated with age. Mental health measures were related to the gender factors, with distinctive relationships for each group defined by sex, occupational status, and age. Gender-linked attributoons were most predictive of mental health measures among older (55+), upper status "gender sensitive" men. The older upper status women seemed most "gender-transcendent," since none of the gender factor scores significantly predicted their mental health scores. © 1991.