Explain how gender role factors may contribute to increased susceptibility to internalizing disorders among women. Include in your answer a discussion of response style theory and the expansion hypothesis (along with evidence relevant to each).

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

There are several ways that gender roles contribute to sex differences in internalizing disorders. Response style theory focuses on sex differences in the likelihood to ruminate, or to passively and persistently focus on one’s negative mood. Women score higher than men in the tendency to ruminate when distressed, which in turn predicts depression and other internalizing disorders. Furthermore, the expansion hypothesis argues that women become depressed more frequently than men because they occupy a narrower range of social roles. According to this theory, occupying multiple social roles helps to buffer against distress by imbuing one’s life with meaning. However, more recent studies have failed to replicate the relationship between the number of social roles women occupy and their susceptibility to internalizing disorders.