Abstract
Considerable work has shown the benefits for psychological health of being gender typed (i.e., perceiving oneself in ways that are consistent with one’s sex). Nevertheless, little is known about the reasons for the link. In two studies of young adults (total N = 673), we studied (1) the ways in which gender typing is predicted from gender-related interests and personal qualities, and (2) links between gender typing and adjustment (self-esteem and negative emotionality). In the first study, gender typicality was positively predicted by a variety of gender-related characteristics and by communal traits, a female-typed characteristic; gender typicality was also positively associated with adjustment. To clarify the role of communality in predicting gender typicality and its link with adjustment, we conducted a follow-up study examining both gender typicality and “university typicality.” Gender typicality was again predicted by gender-related characteristics and communality, and associated with adjustment. Further, university typicality was also predicted by communality and associated with adjustment. Mediation analyses showed that feelings of communality were partly responsible for the links between gender/university typicality and adjustment. Thus, the psychological benefits suggested to accrue from gender typicality may not be specific to gender, but rather may reflect the benefits of normativity in general. These findings were discussed in relation to the broader literature on the relation between identity and adjustment.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Altschul, I., Oyserman, D., & Bybee, D. (2006). Racial-ethnic identity in mid-adolescence: Content and change as predictors of academic achievement. Child Development, 77, 1155–1169. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00926.x.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
Ashmore, R. D. (1990). Sex, gender, and the individual. In L. A. Pervin (Ed.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (pp. 486–526). New York: Guilford Press.
Bem, S. L. (1974). The measurement of psychological androgyny. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 155–162. doi:10.1037/h0036215.
Bigler, R. S. (1999). Psychological interventions designed to counter sexism in children: Empirical limitations and theoretical foundations. In W. B. Swann, J. H. Langlois, & L. A. Gilbert (Eds.), Sexism and stereotypes in modern society: The gender science of Janet Taylor Spence (pp. 129–151). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Bisagni, G. M., & Eckenrode, J. (1995). The role of work identity in women’s adjustment to divorce. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 65, 574–583. doi:10.1037/h0079668.
Carver, P. R., Yunger, J. L., & Perry, D. G. (2003). Gender identity and adjustment in middle childhood. Sex Roles, 49, 95–109. doi:10.1023/A:1024423012063.
Cohen-Kettenis, P. T., Owen, A., Kaijser, V. G., Bradley, S. J., & Zucker, K. J. (2003). Demographic characteristics, social competence, and behavior problems in children with gender identity disorder: A cross-national, cross-clinic comparative analysis. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 31, 41–53. doi:10.1023/A:1021769215342.
Corby, B. C., Hodges, E. V. E., & Perry, D. G. (2007). Gender identity and adjustment in Black. Hispanic, and white preadolescents Developmental Psychology, 43, 261–266. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.43.1.261.
DiDonato, M. D., & Berenbaum, S. A. (2011). The benefits and drawbacks of gender typing: How different dimensions are related to psychological adjustment. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40, 457–463. doi:10.1007/s10508-010-9620-5.
Driscoll, H., Zinkivskay, A., Evans, K., & Campbell, A. (2006). Gender differences in social representations of aggression: The phenomenological experience of differences in inhibitory control? British Journal of Psychology, 97, 139–153. doi:10.1348/000712605X63073.
Egan, S. K., & Perry, D. G. (2001). Gender identity: A multidimensional analysis with implications for psychosocial adjustment. Developmental Psychology, 37, 451–463. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.37.4.451.
Good, M., & Willoughby, T. (2006). The role of spirituality versus religiosity in adolescent psychological adjustment. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35, 41–55. doi:10.1007/s10964-005-9018-1.
Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (1998). Mapping the domain of expressivity: Multimethod evidence for a hierarchical model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 170–191. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.1.170.
Jones, M. D., & Galliher, R. V. (2007). Ethnic identity and psychosocial functioning in Navajo adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 17, 683–696.
Kling, K. C., Hyde, J. S., Showers, C. J., & Buswell, N. (1999). Gender differences in self-esteem: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 470–500. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.125.4.470.
Lee, R. M., & Robbins, S. B. (1998). The relationship between social connectedness and anxiety, self-esteem, and social identity. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 45, 338–345. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.45.3.338.
Lee, R. M., & Robbins, S. B. (2000). Understanding social connectedness in college women and men. Journal of Counseling and Development, 78, 484–491. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6676.2000.tb01932.x.
Lippa, R. (1995). Gender-related individual differences and psychological adjustment in terms of the Big Five and circumplex models. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 1184–1202. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.69.6.1184.
Lippa, R., & Connelly, S. (1990). Gender diagnosticity: A new Bayesian approach to gender-related individual differences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 1051–1065. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.59.5.1051.
Milevsky, A., & Leh, M. (2008). Religiosity in emerging adulthood: Familial variables and adjustment. Journal of Adult Development, 15, 47–53. doi:10.1007/s10804-007-9034-3.
Miranda, J., & Storms, M. (1989). Psychological adjustment of lesbians and gay men. Journal of Counseling and Development, 68, 41–45. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6676.1989.tb02490.x.
Pargament, K. I. (1997). The psychology of religion and coping: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Guilford Press.
Patrick, C. J., Curtin, J. J., & Tellegen, A. (2002). Development and validations of a brief form of the multidimensional personality questionnaire. Psychological Assessment, 14, 150–163. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.14.2.150.
Puri, R. (1996). Measuring and modifying consumer impulsiveness: A cost-benefit accessibility framework. Journal of Consumer Research, 7, 272–282. doi:10.1207/s15327663jcp0502_01.
Reinisch, J. M., & Sanders, S. A. (1986). A test of sex differences in aggressive response to hypothetical conflict situations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 1045–1049. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.50.5.1045.
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Ruble, D. N., Martin, C. L., & Berenbaum, S. A. (2006). Gender development. In W. Damon & R. M. Lerner (Series eds.) & N. Eisenberg (Vol. ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3. Social, emotional, and personality development (6th ed., pp. 858–932). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Spence, J. T., & Buckner, C. E. (2000). Instrumental and expressive traits, trait stereotypes, and, sexist attitudes. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 24, 44–62. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.2000.tb01021.x.
Taylor, J., & Iacono, W. G. (2007). Personality trait differences in boys and girls with clinical or sub-clinical diagnoses of conduct disorder versus antisocial personality disorder. Journal of Adolescence, 30, 537–547. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2006.09.003.
Washburn-Ormachea, J. M., Hillman, S. B., & Sawilowsky, S. S. (2004). Gender and gender-role orientation differences on adolescent’s coping with peer stressors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 33, 31–40. doi:10.1023/A:1027330213113.
Watts, B. L., Messé, L. A., & Vallacher, R. R. (1982). Toward understanding sex differences in pay allocation: Agency, communion, and reward distribution behavior. Sex Roles, 8, 1175–1187. doi:10.1007/BF00287944.
Whitesell, N. R., Mitchell, C. M., Kaufman, C. E., & Spicer, P. (2006). Developmental trajectories of personal and collective self-concept among American Indian adolescents. Child Development, 77, 1487–1503. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00949.x.
Yasui, M., Dorham, C. L., & Dishion, T. J. (2004). Ethnic identity and psychological adjustment: A validity analysis for European American and African American adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 19, 807–825. doi:10.1177/0743558403260098.
Yunger, J. L., Carver, P. R., & Perry, D. G. (2004). Does gender identity influence children’s psychological well-being? Developmental Psychology, 40, 572–582. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.40.4.572.
Zucker, K. J., & Bradley, S. J. (1995). Gender identity disorder and psychosexual problems in children and adolescents. New York: Guilford Press.
Acknowledgments
This work was partially supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, HD19644 and HD044398. We thank the following people who contributed to our work: Diane Ruble shared her Gender Centrality Scale; Arianna Backer, Elise Dreibelbis, Bradley Fesi, Megan Mintzer, Yajeh Ndimbie, Catherine Ravago, Kim Regan, and Sarah Roberts assisted with data collection and processing; Carol Lynn Martin and Richard A. Fabes provided thoughtful and helpful comments on an earlier version of the article.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
DiDonato, M.D., Berenbaum, S.A. Predictors and Consequences of Gender Typicality: The Mediating Role of Communality. Arch Sex Behav 42, 429–436 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-9955-1
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-9955-1