ویژگی های نقش جنسیتی در میان افراد مبتلا به اختلال اضطراب اجتماعی

The present study investigated differences between individuals with and without social anxiety disorder (SAD) in instrumentality and expressiveness, personality traits traditionally linked to the male and female gender roles, respectively. Based on evolutionary and self-discrepancy theories, it was hypothesized that individuals with SAD would score lower on instrumentality and report a discrepancy between their perceived and ideal level of instrumentality compared to control participants. Sixty-four patients with SAD and 31 non-anxious control participants completed a battery of questionnaires, including ratings of their perceived and ideal gender role attributes and current psychosocial distress. Results supported the hypotheses, and provided initial evidence that a discrepancy between perceived and ideal instrumentality may be linked to social anxiety severity, depression and lower quality of life. No differences were detected between groups in expressiveness. The present findings suggest that individuals with SAD perceive themselves to be deficient in instrumentality. They also suggest that increasing instrumentality among individuals with SAD may be beneficial for treatment.

Social anxiety is a fear of being judged negatively by others or a fear of being humiliated or embarrassed in front of others (Schultz, Heimberg, & Rodebaugh, 2008). Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) experience anxiety in social or performance situations to the point that it produces marked interference or distress (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2000). Women are more likely than men to have a lifetime SAD diagnosis (Weinstock, 1999). A recent study (McLean & Hope, 2010) failed to find reporting biases in anxiety symptoms based on gender. As such, it appears that there are other factors that may explain gender differences in social anxiety. One potential explanatory variable for gender differences in social anxiety may be low perceived instrumentality experienced by individuals with high social anxiety (Trower & Gilbert, 1989). Instrumentality is “an individual’s striving for independence, mastery, task accomplishment, and self-assertiveness” (Stake, 1997, p. 541). Instrumentality is a gender-role linked personality trait, as instrumental traits, such as independence, have been associated with the traditional masculine gender role. Conversely, expressive traits, such as interpersonal relatedness, have been associated with the traditional feminine gender role (Spence & Helmreich, 1978). Expressiveness is “an individual’s striving for connectedness with others and encompasses interpersonal cooperativeness, sensitivity to others’ needs, and emotional openness” (Stake, 1997, p. 542). Instrumentality and expressiveness are unitary constructs that have not been found to be correlated with each other (Spence & Helmreich).