Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Are Women More Likely than Men Are to Care Excessively about Maintaining Positive Social Relationships? A Meta-Analytic Review of the Gender Difference in Sociotropy

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Sex Roles Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Sociotropy is defined as the tendency to overemphasize maintaining positive social relationships (Beck 1983). Although the stereotype that women care more about interpersonal relationships than men do is well-documented (Cross and Madson 1997), the literature provides mixed support as to whether women are more sociotropic than men are. This is important to establish because sociotropy consistently correlates positively with depression (Robins et al. 1994) and thus a gender difference in sociotropy could contribute to the well-documented gender difference in depression (Girgus and Nolen-Hoeksema 2006). The present meta-analysis asks whether the gender difference in sociotropy exists, and if so, at what magnitude, by aggregating 108 independent effect sizes from 90 papers (n = 30,372 participants). The average weighted effect size of the gender difference was d = .34, with women scoring higher than men on sociotropy. Culture was a significant moderator: The gender difference in sociotropy was significantly smaller in research from collectivist countries, where interpersonal harmony and cooperation are emphasized for both genders, than in research from individualistic countries, where men are supposed to be independent and agentic and women are supposed to be communal and concerned with relationships. Further research is needed to explore the development of this gender difference and its relationship to the gender difference in depression.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abele, A. E., & Wojciszke, B. (2007). Agency and communion from the perspective of self versus others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 751–763. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.93.5.751.

  • Allen, N. B., Ames, D., Layton, T., & Bennetts, K., & Kingston, K. (1997). The relationship between sociotropy/autonomy and patterns of symptomatology in the depressed elderly. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 36(1), 121–132.

  • Bagby, R. M., Parker, J. D. A., Joffe, R. T., Schuller, D., & Gilchrist, E. (1998). Confirmatory factor analysis of the revised Personal Style Inventory (PSI). Assessment, 5(1), 31–43. https://doi.org/10.1177/107319119800500106.

  • Balliet, D., Li, N. P., Macfarlan, S. J., & Van Vugt, M. (2011). Sex differences in cooperation: A meta-analytic review of social dilemmas. Psychological Bulletin, 137(6), 881–909. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025354.

  • Beck, A. T. (1983). Cognitive therapy of depression: New perspectives. In P. J. Clayton & J. E. Barrett (Eds.), Treatment of depression: Old controversies and new approaches (pp. 265–290). New York: Raven Press.

  • Beck, A. T., Epstein, N., Harrison, R. P., & Emery, G. (1983). Development of the sociotropy-autonomy scale: A measure of personality factors in psychopathology. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia: PA.

  • Bem, S. L. (1974). The measurement of psychological androgyny. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 155–162.

  • Birgenheir, D. G., Pepper, C. M., & Johns, M. (2010). Excessive reassurance seeking as a mediator of sociotropy and negative interpersonal life events. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 34(2), 188–195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-009-9242-1.

  • Bosacki, S. L. (2000). Theory of mind and self-concept in preadolescents: Links with gender and language. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 709–717. https://doi.org/10.1037//O022-O663.92.4.7O9.

  • Butler, A. C., Hokanson, J. E., & Flynn, H. A. (1994). A comparison of self-esteem lability and low trait self-esteem as vulnerability factors for depression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66(1), 166–177. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.66.1.166.

  • Calvete, E. (2011). Integrating sociotropy, negative inferences and social stressors as explanations for the development of depression in adolescence: Interactive and mediational mechanisms. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 35(5), 477–490. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-010-9320-4.

  • Cheung, R., & Park, I. J. K. (2010). Anger suppression, interdependent self-construal, and depression among Asian American and European American college students. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 16, 517–525. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020655.

  • Cikara, M., & Girgus, J. S. (2010). Unpacking social hypersensitivity: Vulnerability to the absence of positive feedback. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36(10), 1409–1423. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167210383288.

  • Clark, D. A., & Beck, A. T. (1991). Personality factors in dysphoria: A psychometric refinement of Beck’s Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 13(4), 369–388. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00960448.

  • Clark, D. A., Beck, A. T., & Brown, G. K. (1992). Sociotropy, autonomy, and life event perceptions in dysphoric and nondysphoric individuals. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 16, 635–652. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01175404.

  • Clark, D. A., Steer, R. A., Beck, A. T., & Ross, L. (1995). Psychometric characteristics of revised sociotropy and autonomy scales in college students. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33(3), 325–334. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(94)00074-T.

  • Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

  • Cooper, H. (2010). Research synthesis and meta-analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

  • Coyne, J. C., & Whiffen, V. E. (1995). Issues in personality as diathesis for depression: The case of sociotropy–dependency and autonomy–self-criticism. Psychological Bulletin, 118, 358–378. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.118.3.358.

  • Cross, S. E & Madson, L. (1997). Models of the self: Self construals and gender. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 5–37. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.122.1.5.

  • Cuddy, A. J. C., Wolf, E. B., Glick, P., Crotty, S., Chong, J., & Norton, M. I. (2015). Men as cultural ideals: Cultural values moderate gender stereotype content. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 109, 622–635. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000027.

  • Dasch, K. B., Cohen, L. H., Sahl, J. C., & Gunthert, K. C. (2008). Moderating effects of sociotropy and autonomy on affective and self-esteem reactivity to daily stressors. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 32(2), 177–195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-007-9126-1.

  • Donnelly, K., Twenge, J. M., Clark, M. A., Shaikh, S. K., Beiler-May, A., & Carter, N. T. (2016). Attitudes toward women’s work and family roles in the United States, 1976-2013. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 40, 41–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684315590774.

  • Duval, S., & Tweedie, R. (2000). Trim and fill: A simple funnel-plot-based method of testing and adjusting for publication bias in meta-analysis. Biometrics, 56(2), 455–463. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0006-341X.2000.00455.x.

  • Eagly, A. H., & Wood, W. (1991). Explaining sex differences in social behavior: A meta-analytic perspective. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17, 306–315. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167291173011.

  • Eagly, A. H., & Wood, W. (2011). Feminism and the evolution of sex differences and similarities. Sex Roles, 64, 758–767. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-011-9949-9.

  • Else-Quest, N. M., Higgins, A., Allison, C., & Morton, L. C. (2012). Gender differences in self-conscious emotional experience: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 138, 947–981. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027930.

  • Feingold, A. (1994). Gender differences in personality: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 116(3), 429–456. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.116.3.429.

  • Flannery, K. M., & Smith, R. L. (2017). The effects of age, gender, and gender role ideology on adolescents’ social perspective-taking ability and tendency in friendships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 34, 617–635. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407516650942.

  • Fletcher, G. J. O., & Kerr, P. S. G. (2010). Through the eyes of love: Reality and illusion in intimate relationships. Psychological Bulletin, 136(4), 627–658. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019792.

  • Frodl, T., Reinhold, E., Koutsouleris, N., Reiser, M., & Meisenzahl, E. M. (2010). Interaction of childhood stress with hippocampus and prefrontal cortex volume reduction in major depression. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 44(13), 799–807. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2010.01.006.

  • Galambos, N. L., Almeida, D. M., & Peterson, A. C. (1990). Masculinity, femininity, and sex role attitudes in early adolescence: Exploring gender intensification. Child Development, 61, 1905–1914. https://doi.org/10.2307/1130846.

  • Girgus, J. S., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2006). Cognition and depression. In C. L. M. Keyes & S. H. Goodman (Eds.), Women and depression (pp. 147–175). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

  • Girgus, J. S., & Yang, K. (2015). Gender and depression. Current Opinion in Psychology, 4, 53–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.01.019.

  • Girgus, J. S., Yang, K., & Ferri, C. V. (2017). The gender difference in depression: Are elderly women at greater risk for depression than elderly men? Geriatrics, 2, 35. https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics2040035.

  • Gorski, J., & Young, M. A. (2002). Sociotropy/autonomy, self-construal, response style, and gender in adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 32(3), 463–478. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(01)00048-4.

  • Guimond, S., Branscombe, N. R., Brunot, S., Buunk, A. P., Chatard, A., Desert, M., … Yzerbyt, V. (2007). Culture, gender, and the self: Variations and impact of social comparison processes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 1118–1134. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.92.6.1118.

  • Hammen, C. L., & Padesky, C. A. (1977). Sex differences in the expression of depressive responses on the Beck Depression Inventory. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 86, 609–614. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.86.6.609.

  • Hammen, C., Ellicott, A., & Gitlin, M. (1989). Vulnerability to specific life events and prediction of course of disorder in unipolar depressed patients. Canadian Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 21(4), 377–388. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0079841.

  • Hammen, C., Ellicott, A., & Gitlin, M. (1992). Stressors and sociotropy/autonomy: A longitudinal study of their relationship to the course of bipolar disorder. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 16, 409–418.

  • Hayes, A. F., & Krippendorff, K. (2007). Answering the call for a standard reliability measuring for coding data. Communication Methods and Measures, 1, 77–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/19312450709336664.

  • Hedges, L. V., & Becker, B. J. (1986). Statistical methods in the metaanalysis of research on gender differences. In J. S. Hyde & M. C. Linn (Eds.), The psychology of gender: Advances through meta-analysis (pp. 14–50). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

  • Helgeson, V. S. (1994). Relation of agency and communion to well-being: Evidence and potential explanations. Psychological Bulletin, 116, 412–428. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.116.3.412.

  • Helgeson, V. S., & Fritz, H. L. (1998). A theory of unmitigated communion. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2(3), 173–183. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr0203_2.

  • Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

  • Horowitz, J. L., Garber, J., Ciesla, J. A., Young, J. F., & Mufson, L. (2007). Prevention of depressive symptoms in adolescents: A randomized trial of cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal prevention programs. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75(5), 693–706. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.75.5.693.

  • Hyde, J. S. (2005). The gender similarities hypothesis. American Psychologist, 60, 581–592. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.60.6.581.

  • Hyde, J. S. (2014). Gender similarities and differences. Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 373–398. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-11505.

  • Hyde, J. S., Mezulis, A. H., & Abramson, L. Y. (2008). The ABCs of depression: Integrating affective, biological, and cognitive models to explain the emergence of the gender difference in depression. Psychological Review, 115, 291–313. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.115.2.291.

  • Kendler, K. S., Kuhn, J. W., & Prescott, C. A. (2004). Childhood sexual abuse, stressful life events and risk for major depression in women. Psychological Medicine, 34(8), 1475–1482. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003329170400265X.

  • Kessler, R. C. (1997). The effects of stressful life events on depression. Annual Review of Psychology, 48, 191–214. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.48.1.191.

  • Kling, K. C., Hyde, J. S., Showers, C. J., & Buswell, B. N. (1999). Gender differences in self-esteem: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 470–500. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.125.4.470.

  • Lipsey, M. W., & Wilson, D. B. (2001). Practical meta-analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

  • Mak, W. W. S., Law, R. W., & Teng, Y. (2011). Cultural model of vulnerability to distress: The role of self-construal and sociotropy on anxiety and depression among Asian Americans and European Americans. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 42(1), 75–88. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022110361713.

  • Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.98.2.224.

  • McClure, E. B., Monk, C. S., Nelson, E. E., Zarahn, E., Leibenluft, E., Bilder, R. M., Charney D. S., Ernst M. Pine, D. S. (2004). A developmental examination of gender differences in brain engagement during evaluation of threat. Biological Psychiatry, 55, 1047–1055. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.02.013.

  • Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & The PRISMA Group. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. PLoS Medicine, 6, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097.

  • Mongrain, M., & Blackburn, S. (2005). Cognitive vulnerability, lifetime risk, and the recurrence of major depression in graduate students. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 29, 747–768. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-005-4290-7.

  • Mongrain, M., & Zuroff, D. C. (1994). Ambivalence over emotional expression and negative life events: Mediators of depressive symptoms in dependent and self-critical individuals. Personality and Individual Differences, 16(3), 447–458. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(94)90071-X.

  • Negriff, S., & Susman, E. J. (2011). Pubertal timing, depression, and externalizing problems: A framework, review, and examination of gender differences. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21, 717–746. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2010.00708.x.

  • Nisbett, R. E., & Masuda, T. (2003). Culture and point of view. PNAS, 100(19), 11163–11170. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1934527100.

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1987). Sex differences in unipolar depression: Evidence and theory. Psychological Bulletin, 101(2), 259–282. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.101.2.259.

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1990). Sex differences in depression. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2001). Gender differences in depression. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10, 173–176. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00142.

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Girgus, J. S. (1994). The emergence of gender differences in depression during adolescence. Psychological Bulletin, 115(3), 424–443. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.115.3.424.

  • O’Garro-Moore, J. K., Adams, A. M., Abramson, L. Y., & Alloy, L. B. (2015). Anxiety comorbidity in bipolar spectrum disorders: The mediational role of perfectionism in prospective depressive symptoms. Journal of Affective Disorders, 174, 180–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2014.11.024.

  • Ouimette, P. C., Klein, D. N., & Pepper, C. M. (1996). Personality traits in the first degree relatives of outpatients with depressive disorders. Journal of Affective Disorders, 39(1), 43–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-0327(96)00021-3.

  • Parker, G., & Brotchie, H. (2010). Gender differences in depression. International Review of Psychiatry, 22, 429–436. https://doi.org/10.3109/09540261.2010.492391.

  • Piccinelli, M., & Wilkinson, G. (2000). Gender differences in depression: Critical review. British Journal of Psychiatry, 177, 486–492. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.177.6.486.

  • Prince, S. E. (1999). Reformulating dependency: Sex, power, and depression in intimate relationships. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 60(11-B), 5787.

  • Raeisei, A., Mojahed, A., & Bakhshani, N. M. (2015). The relationship between personality styles of sociotropy and autonomy with suicidal tendency in medical students. Global Journal of Health Science, 7, 345–350. https://doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v7n3p345.

  • Robins, C. J., Ladd, J., Welkowitz, J., & Blaney, P. H., Diaz, R., & Kutcher, G. (1994). The personal style inventory: Preliminary validation studies of new measures of sociotropy and autonomy. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 16(4), 277–300. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02239408.

  • Rudolph, K. D., & Conley, C. (2005). The socioemotional costs and benefits of social-evaluative concerns: Do girls care too much? Journal of Personality, 73, 115–138. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2004.00306.x.

  • Sahin, N. H., Ulusoy, M., & Sahin, N. (1993). Exploring the sociotropy-autonomy dimensions in a sample of Turkish psychiatric inpatients. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 49(6), 751–763. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-4679(199311)49:6<751:AID-JCLP2270490602>3.0.CO;2-V.

  • Salk, R. H., Hyde, J. S., & Abramson, L. Y. (2017). Gender differences in depression in representative national samples: Meta-analyses of diagnoses and symptoms. Psychological Bulletin, 143, 783–822. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000102.

  • Sato, T., & McCann, D. (1997). Vulnerability factors in depression: The facets of sociotropy and autonomy. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 19(1), 41–62. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02263228.

  • Sato, T., & McCann, D. (1998). Individual differences in relatedness and individuality: An exploration of two constructs. Personality and Individual Differences, 24(6), 847–859. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(98)00020-8.

  • Sato, T., & McCann, D. (2000). Sociotropy–autonomy and the Beck Depression Inventory. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 16(1), 66–76. https://doi.org/10.1027//1015-5759.16.1.66.

  • Scheibe, S., Preuschhof, C., Cristi, C., & Bagby, R. M. (2003). Are there gender differences in major depression and its response to antidepressants? Journal of Affective Disorders, 75(3), 223–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-0327(02)00050-2.

  • Starr, L. R., & Davila, J. (2008). Excessive reassurance seeking, depression, and interpersonal rejection: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 117(4), 762–775. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013866.

  • Su, R., Rounds, J., & Armstrong, P. I. (2009). Men and things, women and people: A meta-analysis of sex differences in interests. Psychological Bulletin, 135(6), 859–884. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017364.

  • Su, J. C., Lee, R. M., & Oishi, S. (2013). The role of culture and self-construal in the link between expressive suppression and depressive symptoms. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44, 316–331. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022112443413.

  • Triandis, H. C. (1995). Individualism and collectivism. Boulder, CO: Westview.

  • Trives, J. J. R., Bravo, B. N., Postigo, J. M. L., Segura, L. R., & Watkins, E. (2016). Age and gender differences in emotion regulation strategies: Autobiographical memory, rumination, problem solving and distraction. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 19, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1017/sjp.2016.46.

  • Twenge, J. M. (1997). Changes in masculine and feminine traits over time: A meta-analysis. Sex Roles, 36, 305–325. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02766650.

  • Uskul, A. K., Hynie, M., & Lalonde, R. N. (2004). Interdependence as a mediator between culture and interpersonal closeness for euro-Canadians and Turks. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 35(2), 174–191. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022103262243.

  • Welcowitz, J., Lish, J. D., & Bond, R. N. (1985). The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire: Revision and validation. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 89–94. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_17.

  • Whiffen, V. E., Thompson, J. M., & Aube, J. A. (2000). Mediators of the link between childhood sexual abuse and adult depressive symptoms. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 15, 1100–1120. https://doi.org/10.1177/088626000015010006.

  • Yuksel-Sahin, F. (2012). Certain predictors of shyness among Turkish pre-service teachers. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 47, 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.06.640.

  • Zell, E., Krizan, Z., & Teeter, S. R. (2015). Evaluating gender similarities and differences using metasynthesis. American Psychologist, 70, 10–20. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038208.

  • Zuroff, D. C. (1994). Depressive personality styles and the five-factor model of personality. Journal of Personality Assessment, 63(3), 453–472. doi:https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa6303_5.

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the fellowship support of the Walker McKinney ‘50 Life Sciences Fellowship at Princeton University awarded to Kaite Yang. We thank Brooke Macnamara and Michael S. North for their advice, Susan Fiske and Christine Ferri for helpful comments on drafts of this manuscript, and Elizabeth Ingriselli and Daniel J. O’Brien for their assistance.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kaite Yang.

Ethics declarations

In conducting this meta-analysis, we have complied with APA ethical standards. The meta-analytic data in this manuscript has not been published, previously.

Conflict of Interest

We declare no conflicts of interest.

Electronic Supplementary Material

ESM 1

(DOCX 29 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Yang, K., Girgus, J.S. Are Women More Likely than Men Are to Care Excessively about Maintaining Positive Social Relationships? A Meta-Analytic Review of the Gender Difference in Sociotropy. Sex Roles 81, 157–172 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0980-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0980-y

Keywords

Navigation