Influences of gender roles

The purpose of this study was to examine gender role traits and gender role beliefs, and how they influence depressive symptomatology and life satisfaction. Gender role norms have been slowly changing over the past century. This shift has been largely contributed to by feminism. As women gain more equal rights and opportunities the roles they take on in life change, so do men's. Today, traditional gender roles are no longer typical as men and women fulfill multiple roles, some of which would not be considered traditional for their sex, such as many women today being in the workforce, and men taking on more domestic duties. Gender role beliefs have also been changing, as views have been shifting to more feminist and less traditionalism. These changes are slow and usually subtle, as each generation grows up with different views of what is typical or appropriate conduct. There have been many studies examining gender role traits and their influences, including depression and life satisfaction. However, there are few studies on gender role beliefs, and there is a lack of research that examines both gender role traits and beliefs influences'. The purpose of this study was to examine whether gender roles influenced well-being, and specifically whether incongruent traits and beliefs have higher depressive symptomatology and lower life satisfaction. 150 participants were recruited for this study. Participants completed the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI), the Gender Role Beliefs Scale (GRBS), the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) online. Results show that gender roles and well-being are related, and that incongruent traits and beliefs relate to higher depressive symptomatology and perceived stress, but do not relate to life satisfaction.