iBet uBet web content aggregator. Adding the entire web to your favor.
iBet uBet web content aggregator. Adding the entire web to your favor.



Link to original content: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011930128829
Use of Social Support: Gender and Personality Differences | Sex Roles Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Use of Social Support: Gender and Personality Differences

  • Published:
Sex Roles Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Sex differences in social support have been explained in terms of gender differences in socialization and personality. The current research focused directly on the link between social support and gender variables. An adult, largely Caucasian sample of both sexes reported an experience in which they had received support, and were assessed on masculinity, femininity, nurturance, affiliation, autonomy, and self-confidence. The results revealed that gender, but not sex, was significantly correlated with patterns of social support. Femininity (in both sexes) was associated with seeking and receiving emotional support, and with seeking and receiving support from women. Masculinity (in both sexes) was linked only with receiving tangible support. These findings argue for the significance of femininity in promoting a more social form of well-being, and underscore the importance of studying gender directly rather than relying on sex as a proxy variable.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Allen, S.F., & Stoltenberg, C.D. (1995). Psychological separation of older adolescents and young adults from their parents: An investigation of gender differences. Journal of Consulting and Development, 73, 542-546.

    Google Scholar 

  • Antonucci, T. C., & Akiyama, H. (1987). An examination of sex differences in social support among older men and women. Sex Roles, 17(11/12), 737-749.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashton, W. A., & Fuehrer, A. (1993). Effects of gender and gender role identification of participant and type of social support resource on support seeking. Sex Roles, 28(7/8), 461-476.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakan, D. (1966). The duality of human existence. Chicago: Rand McNally.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belle, D. (1982). The stress of caring: Women as providers of social support. In L. Goldberger & S. Breznitz (Eds.), Handbook of stress: Theoretical and clinical aspects (pp. 496-505). New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bem, S. L. (1974). The measurement of psychological androgyny. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42(2), 155-162.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burda, P. C., Jr., Vaux, A., & Schill, T. (1984). Social support resources: Variation across sex and sex role. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 10(1), 119-126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell, R. A., & Bloom, B. L. (1982). Social support: Its structure and impact on marital disruption. American Journal of Community Psychology, 10(6), 647-667.

    Google Scholar 

  • Constantinople, A. (1973). Masculinity-femininity: An exception to a famous dictum. Psychological Bulletin, 80, 389-407.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, E. P. (1985). Psychological androgyny. New York: Pergamon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cramer, L. A., Riley, P. J., & Kiger, G. (1991). Support and antagonism in social networks: Effects of community and gender. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 6(4), 991-1005.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cutrona, C., & Russell, D. (1990). Type of social support and specific stress: Toward a theory of optimal matching. In I. G. Sarason, B. R. Sarason, & G. R. Pierce (Eds.), Social support: An interactional view (pp. 319-366). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deaux, K., & LaFrance, M. (1998). Gender. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology, (Vol. 1, 4th ed., pp. 788-827). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Depner, C. E., & Ingersoll-Dayton, B. (1988). Supportive relationships in later life. Psychology and Aging, 3(4), 348-357.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eagly, A. H., & Crowley, M. (1986). Gender and helping behavior: A meta-analytic review of the social psychological literature. Psychological Bulletin, 100(3), 283-308.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, C. (1982). To dwell among friends: Personal networks in town and city. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geller, P. A.,& Hobfoll, S. E. (1994). Gender differences in job stress, tedium and social support in the workplace. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 11, 555-572.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gough, H. G., & Heilbrun, A. B., Jr. (1965). Manual for the Adjective Check List and the Need Scales for the ACL. Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gough, H. G., & Heilbrun, A. B., Jr. (1980). The Adjective Check List manual. Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirsch, B. J. (1979). Psychological dimensions of social networks: A multimethod analysis. American Journal of Community Psychology, 7(3), 263-277.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobfoll, S. E., & Stokes, J. P. (1988). The process and mechanics of social support. In S. Duck, D. F. Hay, S. E. Hobfoll, W. Ickes, & B. M. Montgomery (Eds.), Handbook of personal relationships: Theory, research, and interventions (pp. 497-517). Chichester, England: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, T. H., & Rahe, R. H. (1967). The social readjustment rating scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 11, 213-218.

    Google Scholar 

  • House, J. S. (1981). Work stress and social support. Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lowenthal, M. F., & Haven, C. (1968). Interaction and adaptation: Intimacy as a critical variable. American Sociological Review, 33, 20-30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Markstrom-Adams, C. (1989). Androgyny and its relation to adolescent psychosocial wellbeing: A review of the literature. Sex Roles, 21, 325-340.

    Google Scholar 

  • McFarlane, A. H., Neale, K. A., Norman, G. R., Roy, R. G., & Streiner, D. L. (1981). Methodological issues in developing a scale to measure social support. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 7, 90-100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nadler, A., Maler, S., & Friedman, A. (1984). Effects of helpers' sex, subjects' androgyny, and self-evaluation on males' and females' willingness to seek and receive help. Sex Roles, 10(5/6), 327-339.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, D. L., & Quick, J. C. (1991). Social support and newcomer adjustment in organizations: Attachment theory at work? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 12, 543-554.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olsen, D. A., & Shultz, K. S. (1994). Gender differences in dimensionality of social support. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 24, 1221-1232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, N. S. (1995). Evaluating the nature of perceived support and its relation to perceived self-worth in adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 5(2), 253-280.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarason, I. G., & Sarason, B. R. (Eds.). (1985). Social support: Theory, research, and interventions. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slavin, L. A., & Rainer, K. L. (1990). Gender differences in emotional support and depressive symptoms among adolescents: A prospective analysis. American Journal of Community Psychology, 18(3), 407-421.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soliman, A. M. (1993). Choice of helpers, types of problems and sex of helpers of college students. International Journal for the Advancement of Counseling, 16, 67-79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spence, J. T., & Helmreich, R. L. (1978). Masculinity & femininity: Their psychological dimensions, correlates, and antecedents. Austin: University of Texas Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spence, J. T., Helmreich, R., & Stapp, J. (1974). The Personal Attributes Questionnaire: A measure of sex role stereotypes and masculinity-femininity. JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 4, 43 (MS No. 617).

    Google Scholar 

  • Spence, J. T., & Sawin, L. L. (1985). Images of masculinity and femininity: A reconceptualization. In V. E. O'Leary, R. K. Unger, & B. S. Wallston (Eds.), Women, gender, and social psychology (pp. 35-66). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stokes, J. P., & Wilson, D. G. (1984). The inventory of socially supportive behaviors: Dimensionality, prediction, and gender differences. American Journal of Community Psychology, 12(1), 53-69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tubman, J. G., & Windle, M. (1995). Continuity of difficult temperament in adolescence: Relations with depression, life events, family support, and substance use across a one-year period. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 24(2), 133-153.

    Google Scholar 

  • Unger, R. K. (1979). Toward a redefinition of sex and gender. American Psychologist, 34(11), 1085-1094.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaux, A. (1985). Variations in social support associated with gender, ethnicity, and age. Journal of Social Issues, 41(1), 89-110.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitley, B. E., Jr. (1983). Sex-role orientation and self-esteem: A critical meta-analytic review. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 765-788.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitley, B. E., Jr. (1985). Sex-role orientation and psychological well-being: Two meta-analyses. Sex Roles, 12, 207-225.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitley, B. E., Jr. (1988). Masculinity, femininity, and self-esteem: A multitrait-multimethod analysis. Sex Roles, 18, 419-431.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wohlgemuth, E., & Betz, N. E. (1991). Gender as a moderator of the relationships of stress and social support to health. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 38(3), 367-374.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, N.W. (1986). Effects of individual sources of support on well-being in employed parents. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan, 1985). Dissertation Abstracts International, 46, 2504-B.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, Berkeley;

    Gretchen M. Reevy & Christina Maslach

Authors
  1. Gretchen M. Reevy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Christina Maslach
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gretchen M. Reevy.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Reevy, G.M., Maslach, C. Use of Social Support: Gender and Personality Differences. Sex Roles 44, 437–459 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011930128829

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011930128829

Keywords

Search

Navigation