Understanding Gender Differences in Anxiety: The Mediating Effects of Instrumentality and Mastery
Abstract
Developing a better understanding of modifiable psychological factors that account for gender differences in anxiety may provide insight into interventions that can be used to target these risk processes. The authors developed a mediational model to examine the degree to which gender differences in anxiety are explained by instrumentality and mastery while controlling for the influence of environmental stress and social desirability. Undergraduates (159 men and 239 women) completed an online questionnaire including measures of mastery, instrumentality, daily hassles, social desirability, and anxiety. Women reported significantly lower levels of instrumentality and mastery and higher levels of anxiety than men. Path analyses indicated that instrumentality and mastery were both significant mediators of the relationship between gender and anxiety after controlling for social desirability and hassles. The addition of a direct path from gender to anxiety was not significant and did not improve the fit of the model. These findings suggest that differences in gender socialization and mastery learning experiences for men and women help account for the female preponderance of anxiety. Interventions aimed at building instrumentality and mastery, particularly among girls, may help buffer against anxiety.
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Gender socialization is, at least in part, responsible for the development of psychosocial characteristics that act as risk factors for women and protective factors for men in the onset and course of anxiety.
“The results seem to indicate that gender socialization is, at least in part, responsible for the development of the psychosocial characteristics that act as risk factors for women and protective factors for men in the onset and course of anxiety.44,54,56,59,64,70”
From Factors associated with gender and sex differences in anxiety prevalence and comorbidity: A systematic review (2022) · cites this paper as [59]
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Measuring Social Desirability: Short Forms of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale
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“There is evidence to suggest that mastery is a mediator of the relationship between gender and anxiety across the life span (Leach et al., 2008); to our knowledge, however, there is no research testing whether instrumentality is linked to anxiety later in life.”
BackgroundMcLean, C. P., & Hope, D. A. (2010) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2010.03.006 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
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Farhane-Medina, N. Z., Luque, B., Tabernero, C., & Castillo-Mayén, R. (2022) · Science Progress · doi:10.1177/00368504221135469 · Cited by 409 · see citing works
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- Authors
- Zalta, A. K., & Chambless, D. L.
- Affiliations
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Corresponding author
- Chambless, Dianne L.
- Venue
- Psychology of Women Quarterly
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2012-07-12
- Volume
- 36
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 488-499
- ISSN
- 0361-6843 (ISSN-L)
- 1471-6402
- OpenAlex
- W2026780798
- Cited by
- 46
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 1.29
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychology of Women Quarterly (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender Roles and Identity Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- gender differences, anxiety, instrumentality, mastery, gender socialization, daily hassles, social desirability, mediation, undergraduate students, anxiety intervention
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