Abstract
This article summarizes a study in which before and after interviews and questionnaires were administered to 73 women who had registered for feminist consciousness-raising groups in the state of Connecticut, and three groups were observed over a period of 10 to 16 weeks, in order to explore the unintended psychological benefits of participation. The results show that consciousness raising may help women to increase their sense of control and externalize their attributions of blame, and may consequently increase self-esteem and reduce depression among participants. The article concludes with a discussion relating these results to studies on race and class differences in mental health, and comparing consciousness raising to psychotherapy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bagley, C. Occupational class and symptoms of depression. Social Science and Medicine, 1973, 7, 327–340.
Bart, P. The sociology of depression. In P. Roman & H. Trice (Eds.), Explorations in psychiatric sociology. San Francisco: Davis, 1974.
Broverman, I., Broverman, D., Clarkson, F., Rosenkrantz, P., & Vogel, S. Sex role stereotypes and clinical judgments of mental health. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 1970, 34, 1–7.
Chesler, P. Marriage and psychotherapy. In J. Freeman (Ed.), Women: A feminist perspective. Palo Alto: Mayfield, 1975.
Deaux, K. Sex: A perspective on the attribution process. In J. Harvey, W. Ickes, & R. Kidd (Eds.), New directions in attribution research. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum, 1976.
Eastman, P. C. Consciousness raising as a resocialization process. Smith College Studies in Social Work, 1973, 43, 153–183.
Frank, J. Persuasion and healing. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1973.
Gravitz, M. A., & Gerton, M. I. Public prestige and preferred gender of mental health providers. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1977, 33, 919–921.
Keller, S. The female role: Constants and change. In V. Franks & V. Burtle (Eds.), Women in therapy. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1974.
Lieberman, M. A., & Bond, G. R. The problem of being a woman: A survey of 1700 women in CR groups. Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences, 1976, 12, 363–379.
Linsky, A. S. Community structure and depressive disorders. Social Problems, 1969, 17, 120–131.
Merton, R. K. Social structure and anomie. In R. Merton, Social theory and social structure. New York: Free Press, 1957.
Myers, J. K., & Roberts, B. Family and class dynamics in mental illness. New York: Wiley, 1959.
Seligman, M. Helplessness. San Francisco: Freeman, 1975.
Silverman, C. Epidemiology of depression. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1968.
Spitzer, S. P., & Denzin, N. K. The mental patient. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968.
Valins, S., & Nisbett, R. Atribution processes in the development and treatment of mental disorder. In E. Jones et al. (Eds.), Attribution: Perceiving the causes of behavior. Morristown, N.J.: General Learning Press, 1971.
Warheit, G. J., Holzer, C. E., & Schwab, J. J. An analysis of social class and racial differences in depressive symptomatology: A community study. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 1973, 14, 291–299.
Weitz, R. Feminist consciousness raising, self-concept and depression. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Yale University, 1978.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This article is based on research conducted with the aid of a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health in Psychosocial Epidemiology (5-T32-MH-14235). The assistance of Drs. Jerome K. Myers, Myrna M. Weissman, and Mary Curran is gratefully acknowledged. Thanks also to Janet Lever and Mickey Schwartz for their most helpful comments.
Currently an assistant professor of sociology at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Weitz, R. Feminist consciousness raising, self-concept, and depression. Sex Roles 8, 231–241 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287307
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287307