Gender differences in mental health: evidence from three organisations

Carol Emslie*, Rebecca Fuhrer, Kate Hunt, Sally MacIntyre, Martin Shipley, Stephen Stansfeld

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

60 Citations (Scopus)

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 languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)621-624
Number of pages4
JournalSocial Science and Medicine
Volume54
Issue number4
Early online date14 Feb 2002
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2002
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Gender
  • Mental health
  • Psychiatric morbidity
  • Social roles

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Health(social science)
  • History and Philosophy of Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Gender differences in mental health: evidence from three organisations'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this