Indiana Consortium For Mental Health
Services Research
Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

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Abstract

Reprint # 40: Gender and Reactions to Psychological Problems: An Examination of Social Tolerance and Perceived Dangerousness*

Using the Mental Health Module of the 1996 General Social Survey (N 1,302), 1 examine the influence of gender on public reactions to characters por­ trayed with psychological problems, focusing on self perceptions of social tolerance and, relatedly, ratings of dangerousness. I find that respondents claim greater willingness to interact socially with female characters. than with male characters portrayed with the same problems. Female characters are also rated as less dangerous to others; this partially accounts for the effect of gender on self-perceptions of social tolerance. This effect does not vary significantly across the different types of problems portrayed. Furthermore, women and men do not differ in their perceived willingness to interact with or ratings of dangerousness of characters portrayed with psychological problems. Finally, gender-symmetry (i.e., when the respondent and the character are of the same gender) influences self-perceptions of social tolerance. In closing, I discuss implications for current theoretical perspectives on reactions to psychological problems.