Abstract
It is commonly observed that women report higher levels of minor psychiatric morbidity than men. However, most research fails to control for the gendered distribution of social roles (e.g. paid work and domestic work) and so does not compare men and women in similar positions. In this short report, we examine the distribution of minor psychiatric morbidity (measured by the 12 item General Health Questionnaire) amongst men and women working in similar jobs within three white-collar organisations in Britain, after controlling for domestic and socioeconomic circumstances. Data from self-completion questionnaires were collected in a Bank (n = 2176), a University (n = 1641) and the Civil Service (n = 6171). In all three organisations women had higher levels of minor psychiatric morbidity than men, but the differences were not great; in only the Civil Service sample did this reach statistical significance. We conclude that generalisations about gender differences in minor psychiatric morbidity can be unhelpful, as these differences may vary depending on the context of the study.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 621-624 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Social Science and Medicine |
Volume | 54 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 14 Feb 2002 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Feb 2002 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Gender
- Mental health
- Psychiatric morbidity
- Social roles
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health(social science)
- History and Philosophy of Science