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Gender Role, Life Satisfaction, and Wellness: Androgyny in a Southwestern Ontario Sample*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2009

Reagan Gale-Ross ,
Anne Baird  and
Shelagh Towson
Reagan Gale-Ross
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Windsor
Anne Baird*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Windsor
Shelagh Towson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Windsor
*
†Correspondence to: / Correspondance à : Anne Baird, Ph.D. Department of Psychology University of Windsor Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4 Phone: (519) 253-3000 Ext. 2234 Fax: (519) 973-7021 E-mail: abaird@uwindsor.ca
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Abstract

This study investigated the relationships among gender role and self-reported health functioning in a sample of community dwelling older adults. One hundred and two (55 female, 47 male) participants were recruited through seniors’ associations in Windsor, Ontario. Analyses of variance were conducted separately by gender to compare the self-rated physical health functioning, wellness, and life satisfaction of participants differing on classification of their gender role. For older women classified as androgynous, gender role exhibited significant effects on general wellness and life satisfaction, but not on self-reported physical health functioning. In support of Bem’s androgyny model of optimal adjustment, post-hoc analyses revealed that women who rated themselves as androgynous reported better overall wellness levels than their peers. Older men’s self-reported physical health functioning and general wellness did not differ significantly by gender role. Limitations and implications are discussed.

Résumé

Dans cette étude, nous avons effectué des recherches sur les relations entre le rôle sexuel et le fonctionnement physique autodéclaré, à partir d’un échantillon d’aînés vivant dans la communauté. Cent deux participants ont été recrutés (55 femmes, 47 hommes) dans les associations pour personnes âgées de Windsor, Ontario. Nous avons mené des analyses de variance pour chacun des sexes afin de comparer l’autoévaluation du fonctionnement physique, du bien-être et de la satisfaction de vivre des participants qui diffèrent dans la classification de leur rôle sexuel. Pour ce qui est des femmes âgées classées comme androgynes, le rôle sexuel avait des effets importants sur le bien-être général et la satisfaction de vivre, mais n’avait pas d’effet sur le fonctionnement physique autodéclaré. Venant à l’appui du modèle androgénique d’ajustement optimal de Bem, les analyses a posteriori ont révélé que les femmes qui se sont autodéclarées androgynes ont un meilleur niveau global de bien-être que les autres. L’autoévaluation du fonctionnement physique et du bien-être général chez les hommes âgés n’a pas démontré de différences importantes en fonction du rôle sexuel. Les limitations et les implications font l’objet de discussions.

Keywords

personnes âgéesrôle sexuelfonctionnement physiqueétat de auto déclaréandrogyniesatisfaction de vivreolder adultsgender rolehealth functionself-reported healthandrogynylife satisfaction
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 28 , Issue 2 , June 2009 , pp. 135 - 146
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2009

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Footnotes

*

This research was supported in part by a grant from SSHRC to Reagan Gale-Ross. The authors would like to thank Dennis Jackson for his help with the statistical analysis, and Lucia Yiu for her invaluable contribution with the study. We are also grateful to two anonymous reviewers who provided helpful feedback and ideas.

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