CROSS CULTURE GENDER DIFFERENCES ON EVALUATION OF WOMEN'S PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS.

Abstract

The central purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the devaluation of women's psychological problems upon the recognition of women's behavior as deviant and the subsequent impact of both variables upon the recognition of women's need for psychological treatment. A secondary purpose was to determine whether culture and gender influenced each concept in this study. The study utilized a mathematical correlational design with a causal modeling approach to test a three-stage theory. The convenience sample selected for the study consisted of 80 subjects: 20 Arabic males; 20 Arabic females; 20 Anglo American males; and 20 Anglo American females living in a southwestern city. A three-scale instrument (each scale contains two subscales) was constructed to index the theoretical concepts. Reliability and validity estimates were conducted to determine the psychometric properties of the instrument. The theory was tested using correlational, analysis of variance, and multiple regression statistical techniques. The traditional orientation of the Arabic culture appears to account for the differences found in the data. Along with cultural influences, gender also appeared to impact upon two of the concepts in the neurotic level, devaluation of neurotic behavior (B = -.64) and recognition of the need for treatment of neurotic behaviors (B =.22), with males evidencing a lower level of sensitivity to women's psychological problems. Gender interacted with culture for two concepts, devaluation of neurotic behavior (B = -.28) and recognition of neurotic behavior as deviant (B = -.27), and Arabic males were the least sensitive group. Both culture and gender did not have an impact upon devaluation of psychotic behavior and recognition of the need for treatment of psychotic behavior. However, there were cultural differences in the recognition of psychotic behavior as deviant. Arabic subjects probably evaluated some of psychotic behaviors as religious rather than considering them as psychiatric disorders. Only the variable, devaluation of women's psychological problems was found to be a predictor of recognition of women's need for treatment. Also the variable, devaluation of women's psychological problems, had an impact upon recognition of women's behavior as deviant.