Sex differences in perception of illness and expressed life satisfaction
- 1 May 1978
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Psychological Medicine
- Vol. 8 (2), 339-345
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291700014409
Abstract
SYNOPSIS: A preliminary survey of 10 married couples was carried out to test the hypothesis that women express greater dissatisfaction with their health and other personal life domains than men. Although the women made more use of medical facilities for minor complaints than their husbands, no difference was found in expressed satisfaction, or in number or severity of symptoms reported at interview. However, there was a discrepancy between husbands' and wives' perception of their spouses' satisfaction levels and experience of illness-symptoms, in the direction of wives being perceived by their husbands as considerably less healthy and more dissatisfied than the husbands were rated by their wives. Some evidence was also found for greater emotionality in women. The results are regarded as indicating that illness is more socially acceptable in women than in men.Keywords
This publication has 8 references indexed in Scilit:
- Sex Differences and Psychiatric DisordersAmerican Journal of Sociology, 1976
- Social Indicators of Well-BeingPublished by Springer Science and Business Media LLC ,1976
- Factors Influencing Demand for Primary Medical Care in Women Aged 20–44 Years: A Preliminary ReportInternational Journal of Epidemiology, 1975
- The concept of mental health as related to sex of person perceived.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1973
- Sex-role stereotypes and clinical judgments of mental health.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1970
- Perception of and Response to Symptoms of Illness in Sweden and the United StatesMedical Care, 1968
- Minor Mental Illness in London: Some Aspects of a General Practice SurveyBMJ, 1964
- Methods of Measuring Incidence and Prevalence of DiseaseAmerican Journal of Public Health and the Nations Health, 1951