Life-stress and reactivity by gender in a longitudinal birth cohort at 30 and 35 years
Autor: | L. J. Horwood, David M. Fergusson, Geraldine F. H. McLeod, Joseph M. Boden |
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Rok vydání: | 2016 |
Předmět: |
Adult
Male Health (social science) Social Psychology Epidemiology media_common.quotation_subject Poison control Suicide prevention Occupational safety and health Life Change Events 03 medical and health sciences Sex Factors 0302 clinical medicine Injury prevention Humans Medicine Personality Longitudinal Studies media_common business.industry medicine.disease Mental health 030227 psychiatry Psychiatry and Mental health Distress Cohort Female Medical emergency business Stress Psychological 030217 neurology & neurosurgery New Zealand Clinical psychology |
Zdroj: | Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 51:1385-1394 |
ISSN: | 1433-9285 0933-7954 |
Popis: | Previous literature has shown gender differences in reactivity to stressful life events. However, it is unclear whether gender differences in stress reactivity are consistent across a series of life event domains among longitudinal adult sample populations. Data were gathered from the Christchurch Health and Development Study (CHDS). The CHDS is a longitudinal birth cohort of 1265 children born in 1977 in Christchurch, New Zealand. Cohort members were questioned on their experience of, and distress from, a series of life event domains (interpersonal problems; victimization; illness/death; pregnancy/parenthood; employment/finance problems) spanning two age-periods 25–30 years (data collected in 2007) and 30–35 years (data collected in 2012). The data were pooled across observations and analyzed using population-averaged repeated-measures regression methods. Overall, men and women reported experiencing similar numbers of life events for each domain. However, men reported more victimization and more employment/financial problems; women reported more illness/death events. Women reported experiencing more distress per life event for the domains of interpersonal problems, illness/death and pregnancy/parenthood. Men and women reported similar distress per life event for the victimization and employment/finance domains. The results were robust to control for: child and adolescent factors (childhood abuse exposure; adolescent personality; mental health) and adult factors (mental health; self-esteem). These findings are consistent with a growing body of evidence indicating that some life events including interpersonal problems, illness/death and pregnancy/parenthood may be intrinsically more distressing for women. Detection of life event distress is important to aid in the prevention of mental/physical health problems. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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