Skip to main content

Gender Stereotypes in Diagnostic Criteria

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Handbook of Gender Research in Psychology

Abstract

The purposes of this chapter are to dispel the myth that psychiatric diagnosis is value free and based on sound scientific evidence and to show how the client’s sex and the therapist’s biases about gender often fill parts of the vacuum left by the absence of science when therapists attempt to identify, categorize, and label people’s emotional suffering.

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

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ali, A. (2004). The intersection of racism and sexism in psychiatric diagnosis. In P. J. Caplan & L. Cosgrove (Eds.), Bias in psychiatric diagnosis (pp. 71–75). Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders-IV-TR. Washington, DC: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ballard, C. G., Davis, R., Cullen, P. C., Mohan, R. N., & Dean, C. (1994). Prevalence of postnatal psychiatric morbidity in mothers and fathers. British Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 782–788.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bankey, R. (2004). The agoraphobic condition. Cultural Geographies, 11, 347–355.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, D. (2004). Post-traumatic stress disorder. In P. J. Caplan & L. Cosgrove (Eds.), Bias in psychiatric diagnosis (pp. 205–212). Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker, D., & Lamb, S. (1994). Sex bias in the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. Professional Psychology, 25, 55–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belitsky, C. A., Toner, B. B., Ali, A., Yu, B., Osborne, S. L., & deRooy, E. (1996). Sex-role attitudes and clinical appraisal in psychiatry residents. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 41, 503–508.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belle, D., & Doucet, J. (2003). Poverty, inequality, and discrimination as sources of depression among U.S. women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 27, 101–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bepko, C., & Krestan, J. A. (1990). Too good for her own good. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Breggin, P. (2007, July 21). Pregnant mothers should not take SSRI ant-depressants. Huffington Post. Accessed June 2009 at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-peter-breggin/pregnant-mothers-should-n_b_57270.html.

  • Broverman, I. K., Broverman, D. M., Clarkson, F. E., Rosenkrantz, P. S., & Vogel, S. R. (1970). Sex role stereotypes and clinical judgments of mental health. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 34, 1–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, L. S. (1991). Diagnosis and dialog. Canadian Psychology, 2, 142–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, L. S. (1992). A feminist critique of personality disorders. In L. S. Brown & M. Ballou (Eds.), Personality and psychopathology: Feminist reappraisals (pp. 206–228). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, L. S. (1994). Subversive dialogues: Theory in feminist therapy. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bullock, H. E. (1995). Class acts: Middle-class responses to the poor. In B. Lott & D. Maluso (Eds.), The social psychology of interpersonal discrimination (pp. 118–159). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bullock, H. E. (2004). Diagnosis of low-income women. In P. J. Caplan & L. Cosgrove (Eds.), Bias in psychiatric diagnosis (pp. 115–120). Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cafri, G., Thompson, J. K., Ricciardelli, L., McCabe, M., Smolak, L., & Yesalis, C. (2005). Pursuit of the muscular ideal: Physical and psychological consequences and putative risk factors. Clinical Psychology Review, 25, 215–239.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cale, E. M., & Lilienfeld S. O. (2002). Sex differences in psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder: A review and integration. Clinical Psychology Review, 22, 1179–1207.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Caplan, P. J. (1995). They say you’re crazy: How the world’s most powerful psychiatrists decide who’s normal. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caplan, P. J. (2004). The debate about PMDD and Sarafem: Suggestions for therapists. Women & Therapy, 27(3/4), 55–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caplan, P. J. (2006). Ambiguity, powerlessness, and the psychologizing of trauma: How the backlash affects the context of working with trauma. Journal of Trauma Practice, 5, 5–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caplan, P. J., & Caplan, J. B. (2009). Thinking critically about research on sex and gender. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caplan, P. J., & Cosgrove, L. (2004). Is this really necessary? In P. J. Caplan & L. Cosgrove (Eds.), Bias in psychiatric diagnosis (pp. xiii–xv). Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caws, P. (1994). Subjectivity, self-identity, and self-description: Conceptual and diagnostic problems in autism, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, and the dissociative disorders. In J. Z. Sadler, O. P. Wiggins, & M. A. Schwartz (Eds.), Philosophical perspectives on psychiatric diagnostic classification (pp. 193–208). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cermele, J., Daniels, S., & Anderson, K. L. (2001). Defining normal: Constructions of race and gender in the DSM-IV casebook. Feminism & Psychology, 11, 229–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chalifoux, B. (1996). Speaking-up: White, working-class women in therapy. Women & Therapy, 18(3/4), 25–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chrisler, J. C., & Caplan, P. J. (2002). The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde: How PMS became a cultural phenomenon and a psychiatric disorder. Annual Review of Sex Research, 13, 274–306.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cochran, S. D., & Mays, V. M. (2006). Estimating prevalence of mental and substance-using disorders among lesbians and gay men from existing national health data. In A. M. Omoto & H. S. Kurtzman (Eds.), Sexual orientation and mental health (pp. 143–166). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, D., & Jacobs, D. H. (2007). Randomized controlled trials of antidepressants: Clinically and scientifically irrelevant. Debates in Neuroscience, 1, 44–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cook, E. P., Warnke, M., & Dupuy, P. (1993). Gender bias and the DSM-III-R. Counselor Education and Supervision, 32, 311–322.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cosgrove, L., & Caplan, P. J. (2004). Medicalizing menstrual distress. In P. J. Caplan & L. Cosgrove (Eds.), Bias in psychiatric diagnosis (pp. 221–230). Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cosgrove, L., & Riddle, B. (2004). Gender bias and sex distribution of mental disorders in the DSM-IV-TR. In P. J. Caplan & L. Cosgrove (Eds.), Bias in psychiatric diagnosis (pp. 127–140). Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doyle, J. A. (1995). The male experience. Madison, WI: Brown & Benchmark.

    Google Scholar 

  • Endicott, J., Amsterdam, J., Erikson, E., Frank, E., Freeman, E., Hirschfield, R., et al. (1999). Is premenstrual dysphoric disorder a distinct clinical entity? Journal of Women’s Health and Gender-Based Medicine, 8, 663–679.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fish, V. (2004). Some gender biases in diagnosing traumatized women. In P. J. Caplan & L. Cosgrove (Eds.), Bias in psychiatric diagnosis (pp. 312–220). Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frances, A., & Widiger, T. A. (1987). A critical review of four DSM-III personality disorders: Borderline, avoidant, dependent, and passive-aggressive. In G. L. Tischler (Ed.), Diagnosis and classification in psychiatry: A critical appraisal of DSM-III (pp. 269–289). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gammell, D. J., & Stoppard J. (1999). Women’s experiences of treatment of depression: Medicalization or empowerment? Canadian Psychology, 40, 112–128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gallant, S., Popiel, D., Hoffman, D., Chakraborty, P., & Hamilton, J. (1992). Using daily ratings to confirm premenstrual syndrome/late luteal phase dysphoric disorder, Part II: What makes a “real” difference? Psychosomatic Medicine, 54, 167–181.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gallop, R., McKeever, P., Toner, B. B., Lancee, W., & Lueck, M. (1995). Inquiring about childhood sexual abuse as part of the nursing history: Opinions of abused and non-abused nurses. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 9, 146–151.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gartlehner, G., Gaynes, B. N., Hansen, R. A., Thieda, P., DeVeaugh-Geiss, A., Krebs, E. E., et al. (2008). Comparative benefits and harms of second-generation antidepressants. Annals of Internal Medicine, 149, 734–750.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, P. R. (2004). Histrionic personality. In P. J. Caplan & L. Cosgrove (Eds.), Bias in psychiatric diagnosis (pp. 201–206). Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Golding, J. M., & Taylor, D. L. (1996). Sexual assault history and menstrual distress in two general population samples. Journal of Women’s Health, 5, 143–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golding, J. M., Taylor, D. L., Menard, L., & King, M. J. (2000). Prevalence of sexual abuse history in a sample of women seeking treatment for premenstrual syndrome. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology, 21, 69–80.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Greene, B. (1995). Institutional racism in the mental health professions. In J. Adleman & G. Enguidanos (Eds.), Racism in the lives of women: Testimony, theory, and guides to antiracist practice (pp. 113–126). Binghamton, NY: Harrington Park Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grieve, F. G. (2007). A conceptual model of factors contributing to the development of muscle dysmorphia. Eating Disorders, 15, 63–80.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, S., Rothbart, M., & Dawes, R. M. (1986). Sex bias, diagnosis, and DSM-III. Sex Roles, 15, 279–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hankin, B. L., & Abramson, L. Y. (2001). Development of gender differences in depression: An elaborated cognitive vulnerability-transactional stress theory. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 773–796.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Healy, D. (2004). Let them eat Prozac: The unhealthy relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and depression. New York: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hewitt, P. L., Flett, G. L., & Ediger, E. (1995). Perfectionism traits and perfectionistic self-presentation in eating disorders attitudes, characteristics, and symptoms. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 18(4), 7–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes J. (2008). Space and the secure base in agoraphobia: A qualitative survey. Area, 40, 375–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jack, D. C. (1991). Silencing the self: Women and depression. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jack, D. C. (1999). Behind the mask: Destruction and creativity in women’s aggression. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, B. E. (2001). Is having the luck of growing old in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community good or bad luck? Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 13(4), 13–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Judd, P. (1986). The mentally ill poor in America: The anatomy of abuse. Journal of Applied Social Science, 10, 40–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C. (2003). Epidemiology of women and depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 74, 5–13.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Killian, T. M., & Killian, L. T. (1990). Sociological investigations of mental illness: A review. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 41, 902–911.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kroll, J. K. (1988). The challenge of the borderline patient: Competency in diagnosis and treatment. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kutchins, H., & Kirk, S. A. (1997). Making us crazy: DSM, the psychiatric bible, and the creating of mental disorders. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Landrine, H. (1988). Depression and stereotypes of women: Preliminary empirical analyses of the gender-role hypothesis. Sex Roles, 19, 527–541.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Landrine, H. (1989). The politics of personality disorder. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 13, 325–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Langeland, W., Draijer, N., & van den Brink, W. (2004). Psychiatric comorbidity in treatment-seeking alcoholics: The role of childhood trauma and perceived parental dysfunction. Alcoholism, 28, 441–447.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Linder, M. (2004). Creating post-traumatic stress disorder: A case study of the history, sociology, and politics of psychiatric classification. In P. J. Caplan & L. Cosgrove (Eds.), Bias in psychiatric diagnosis (pp. 25–40). Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lips, H. M. (2001). Sex and gender. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorant, V., Deliege, D., Eaton, W., Robert, A., Philippot, P., & Annseau, M. (2003). Socioeconomic inequalities in depression: A meta-analysis. American Journal of Epidemiology, 157, 98–112.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lott, B. (2002). Cognitive and behavioral distancing from the poor. American Psychologist, 57, 100–110.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Majied, K. (2003). The impact of racism and homophobia on depression. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 64(5-A), 1849.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinez, R., Johnston-Robledo, I., Ulsh, H. M., & Chrisler, J. C. (2000). Singing “the baby blues”: A content analysis of popular press articles about postpartum affective disturbances. Women & Health, 31(2/3), 37–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCreary, D. R., & Sasse, D. K. (2000). An exploration of the drive for muscularity in adolescent boys and girls. Journal of American College Health, 48, 297–304.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McGrath, E., Keita, G. P., Strickland, B. R., & Russo, N. F. (1990). Women and depression: Risk factors and treatment issues. [Final report of the American Psychological Association Task Force on Women and Depression.] Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • McHugh, M., & Cosgrove, L. (2004). Agoraphobia. In P. J. Caplan & L. Cosgrove (Eds.), Bias in psychiatric diagnosis (pp. 177–181). Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson.

    Google Scholar 

  • McWhirter, E. H. (1994). Counseling for empowerment. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Metzl, J. M. (2003). Prozac on the couch: Prescribing gender in the era of wonder drugs. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moynihan, R. (2004). Controversial disease dropped from Prozac product information. British Medical Journal, 328, 365.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nash, H. C., & Chrisler, J. C. (1997). Is a little (psychiatric) knowledge a dangerous thing? Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 315–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nehls, N. (1998). Borderline personality disorder: Gender stereotypes, stigma, and limited system of care. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 19, 97–112.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Meara, K. P. (2001, April 30). Misleading medicine. Insight on the News (Washington Times Magazine), p. 10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paris, J. (1994). The etiology of borderline personality disorder: A biopsychosocial approach. Psychiatry, 57, 316–325.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pauling, M. L., & Beaver, A. S. (1997, November). Treating racism as traumatic stress. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Montreal, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perry, J., Herman, J., van der Kolk, B., & Hoke, L. (1990). Psychotherapy and psychological trauma in borderline personality disorder. Psychiatric Annals, 20, 33–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pope, H. G., & Katz, D. L. (1994). Psychiatric and medical effects of anabolic-androgenic steroid use: A controlled study of 160 athletes. Archives of General Psychiatry, 51, 375–382.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pope, H., Phillips, K., & Olivardia, R. (2000). The Adonis complex: The secret crisis of male body obsession. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raskin, M., Nurnberg, G., Prince, R., Fine, J., Levine, P. E., & Seigel, O. (1989). Abuse of the child and anxiety in the adult. New York State Journal of Medicine, 89, 138–140.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rivera, M. (2002). The Chrysalis Program: Feminist treatment community for individuals diagnosed as personality disordered. In M. Ballou & L. S. Brown (Eds.), Rethinking mental health and disorder: Feminist perspectives (pp. 231–261). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Root, M. P. (1996). Women of color and traumatic stress in “domestic captivity”: Gender and race as disempowering statuses. In A. J. Marsella, M. J. Friedman, E. T. Gerrity, & R. M. Scurfield (Eds.), Ethnocultural aspects of posttraumatic stress disorder (pp. 363–388). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenfield, S. (1982). Sex roles and societal reactions to mental illness: Labelling of “deviant” deviance. Journal of Health and Human Behavior, 23, 18–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, D. (1994). Psychiatric diagnosis and the interests of women. In J. Z. Sadler, O. P. Wiggins, & M. A. Schwartz (Eds.), Philosophical perspectives on psychiatric diagnostic classification (pp. 246–258). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seccombe, K. (1999). So you think I drive a Cadillac? Welfare recipients’ perspectives on the system and its reform. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seem, S. R., & Clark, M. D. (2006). Healthy women, healthy men, and healthy adults: An evaluation of gender role stereotypes in the twenty-first century. Sex Roles, 55, 247–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simmons, D. (1992). Gender issues and borderline personality disorder: Why do females dominate the diagnosis? Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 6, 219–223.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spitzer, R. L., Gibbon, A. E., Skodol, J. B., & Williams, M. B. (2002). DSM-IV-TR casebook. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stein, T. S. (1993). Overview of new developments in understanding homosexuality. In J. M. Oldham, M. B. Riba, & A. Tasman (Eds.), Review of psychiatry (Vol. 12, pp. 9–40). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stoppard, J. M. (1993). Gender, psychosocial factors, and depression. In P. Cappeliez & R. J. Flynn (Eds.), Depression and social environment: Research and intervention with neglected populations (pp. 121–129). Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swanson, J. (2001). Poor-bashing: The politics of exclusion. Toronto: Between the Lines.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, D. (1999). Effectiveness of professional peer-group treatment: Symptom management for women with PMS. Research in Nursing & Health, 22, 496–511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Census Bureau. (2002). Poverty in the United States: 2001. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vandell, D. L., Hyde, J. S., Plant, E. A., & Essex, M. J. (1997). Fathers and “others” as infant-care providers: Predictors of parents’ emotional well-being. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 43, 361–385.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waisberg, J., & Page, S. (1988). Gender role nonconformity and perception of mental illness. Women & Health, 14, 3–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, L. (1993). Are personality disorders gender biased? Yes! In S. A. Kirk & S. D. Einbinder (Eds.), Controversial issues in mental health (pp. 21–32). New York: Allyn and Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Westen, D., Ludolph, P., Misle, B., Ruffine, S., & Block, J. (1990). Physical and sexual abuse in adolescent girls with borderline personality disorder. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 60, 55–66.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Whiffen, V. E. (2004). Myths and mates in childbearing depression. Women & Therapy, 27(3/4), 151–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whiffen, V. E. (2006). A secret sadness. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Willard, B. (2005). Feminist interventions in biomedical discourse: An analysis of the rhetoric of integrative medicine. Women’s Studies in Communication, 28, 115–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Worell, J., & Remer, P. (2003). Feminist perspectives in therapy: Empowering diverse women. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Ali, A., Caplan, P.J., Fagnant, R. (2010). Gender Stereotypes in Diagnostic Criteria. In: Chrisler, J., McCreary, D. (eds) Handbook of Gender Research in Psychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1467-5_5

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics