Sex Roles, Vol 3, No. 6, 1977

Feminist and Community Mental Health Center

Psychotherapists' Expectations of

Mental Health for Wome 1

Alice L. Aslin 2

University o f Maryland

Female {n = 75) and male {n = 55) community mental health center psycho- therapists and feminist therapists (n -- 82) were given the Rosenkrantz, Vogel, Bee, Broverman, and Broverman (1968) Sex-Role Stereotype Questionnaire and were asked to rate either mentally healthy adults, females, wives, or mothers. Female community mental health center therapists and feminist therapists were .found to maintain one standard of mental health," that is, their perceptions of mental health for adults, females, wives, and mothers did not differ. In contrast, male therapists perceived mentally healthy adults in more male-valued terms than they perceived mentally healthy females, wives, and mothers. Additionally, both feminist and other female therapists differed from male therapists in their perceptions of health for mothers, but not for adults and wives.

A landmark study conducted by Broverman, Broverman, Clarkson, Rosenkrantz, and Vogel (1970) found that clinicians' perceptions of mental health for men and women paralleled sex:role stereotypes. In this sample of 79 clinically trained psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers, both male and female clinicians' perceptions of a healthy adult and a healthy man did not differ, while their per- ceptions of a healthy woman were basically less healthy by adult standards of health. Other evidence of this double standard of mental health is present in the

1 This report is based on a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the doctoral degree at the College of Education, University of Maryland, 1974. The author wishes to express her appreciation to her dissertation chairperson, Dr. Janice M. Birk, for her invaluable assistance during all phases of this study.

2 All correspondence should be addressed to Alice Aslin, Counseling Service, University of Missouri - St. Louis, 8001 Natural Bridge Road, St, Louis, Missouri 63121.

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538 Asfin

literature (Fabrikant, Landau, & Rollenhagen, 1972; Neulinger, Schillinger, Stein, & Welkowitz, 1970; Nowacki & Poe, 1973). In general the characteristics ascribed to males relate to competence, rationality, and assertiveness while the female sex-role stereotype reflects emotionality and warmth (Fernberger, 1948; Kagan, 1964; Sherriffs & McKee, 1957). Evidence also indicates a differential evaluation of the characteristics stereotypically ascribed to men and woman (Kitay, 1940; MacBrayer, 1960), that is, masculine traits are more highly valued than feminine characteristics.

Empirical data regarding perceived characteristics of the wife and mother roles are conspicuously absent in the literature, but there are numerous descrip- tive references of these stereotypes (Bern &Bem, 1972; Hunt, 1962). The socially acceptable wife is characterized as selfless and accommodating; she is to take care of her husband's every need, to maintain an immaculate home, to provide tasty meals on time and on a budget, and to be a pleasant, sexy, and admiring companion to her husband. For mothers, there is either the "madonna" ideal of the pure, loving, gentle woman who tenderly cares for her child, or the "anti- mom" model of mothers (Albert, 1971) as the monster who is responsible for all evils - juvenile delinquency, schizophrenia, neurosis.

Such conceptions of the roles of wife and mother conceal the real nature of these roles and restrict the range of behaviors that exists for women. In contrast, there are studies suggesting that the stereotyped characteristics of femininity are not adaptive for the roles of wife and mother. Cohen (1966) has reported that women who fit the traditional feminine personality pattern were totally inadequate as wives and mothers. Marks (1961) found that the passive, hysterical, traditionally feminine woman was the most frequent type among mothers of children brought to a child guidance clinic. Similarly, Locke (1951) found that a helpless, dependent, unassertive wife was significantly related with divorce as opposed to happy marriages. Thus, this literature suggests that dif- ferent standards of mental health exist for adults and females, but not for adults, wives, and mothers. There appears to be an "adultness" in being a female spouse or parent. If these perceptions hold true for clinicians, then different standards of mental health for females, wives, and mothers would be perceived.

The present study explored the compatibility of these roles for women as perceived by mental health professionals. This study explores this issue by ex- panding the Broverman et al. (1970)paradigm and examining psychotherapists' perceptions of healthy wives and mothers as well as their perceptions of healthy adults (sex unspecified) and of healthy adult females. In addition, this study explored perceptions of self-identified feminist therapists. Although it is popularly assumed (Brodsky, 1973; Chesler, 1971; Rice & Rice, 1973; Walstedt, 1971) that these therapists do not express the conscious and unconscious sex-role stereotypes characteristic of other therapists, the assumption has not been empirically tested.

The specific questions investigated in this study were: Do psychotherapists' judgments of normal mental health differ as a function of therapists' sex? Are

Psychotherapists' Expectations of Mental Health for Women 539

nonfeminist therapists' judgments of mental health more sex-role stereotypic than the judgments of those who specifically identify themselves as feminist therapists? Are different traits and behaviors perceived as characteristic of mentally healthy adults, females, wives, and mothers?

METHOD

Subjects

Three groups of psychotherapists- female community mental health center (CMHC) therapists, male CMHC therapists, and feminist therapists- were studied. Subjects included 75 female and 55 male clinicians employed in publicly funded community mental health centers in the Washington, D.C., area who volunteered (55 social workers, 53 psychologists, 12 psychiatrists, and 10 counselors). Ages ranged from 21 to 65 with a mean age of 35. The Feminist Therapists Roster of the Association for Women in Psychology was used to identify 110 feminist clinicians, who were contacted by mail. There were 82 (74.5%) usable returns from 9 social workers, 66 psychologists, and 7 counselors. Ages ranged from 21 to 61 with a mean of 35.

Instrument

Sex-role stereotypes in judgments of mental health were assessed by the Sex-Role Stereotype Questionnaire (Rosenkrantz, Vogel, Bee, Broverman, & Broverman, 1968), which consists of 82 items describing polar extremes of behaviors or characteristics. One of four sets of instructions was randomly given to each subject. Eleven male CMHC, 17 female CMHC, and 21 feminist therapists were given the adult instructions, which stated "'think of normal adults and then indicate on each item the pole to which a mature, healthy, socially competent adult would be closer"; 16 male CMHC, 21 female CMHC, and 19 feminist therapists were administered similar instructions regarding normal females; 14 male CMHC, 18 female CMHC, and 21 feminist therapists received instructions regarding normal wives; and 14 male CMHC, 19 female CMHC, and 21 feminist therapists were administered similar instructions regarding normal mothers. Subjects were not informed that different instructions were being administered to different subjects.

Only the 38 items identified by Rosenkrantz et al. (1968) as "stereo- typic" (items with z scores beyond the .001 level of significance) were analyzed. Scores were computed by determining the proportion of subjects marking closer to the pole of each item selected by the majority of subjects in each of the 12 subgroups. Thus, analysis focused on each of the 38 stereotypic items rather than on individual subjects and replicated the scoring procedures employed by Broverman et al. (1970).

540 Asfin

RESULTS

Data were analyzed using a 3 × 4 ANOVA with therapists' group and instructional set as factors. Mean amounts of item endorsement on Sex-Role Stereotype Questionnaire for each cell in the design are presented in Table I. Significant therapist effects were obtained, (F(2 ,444)= 4.376; p < .05) , indicating different judgments of mental health made by female CMHC, male CMHC, and feminist therapists. Significant instructional set effects, (F(3,444) = 4.546, p < .01), indicate differences in therapists' judgments of mentally healthy adults, females, wives and mothers. A significant therapist × instruction set interaction, F(6,444) = 3.596, p < .01, was obtained.

A Duncan multiple range test of paired comparison was run to determine the specific interaction effects (see Table II). The Duncan test indicated that female CMHC and feminist therapists' judgments of normal mental health for adults, females, wives, or mothers did not differ significantly. This finding suggests that both feminist and female CMHC therapists have one standard of mental health rather than the double standard found in other studies (Brover- man et al., 1970; Neulinger et al., 1970; Nowacki & Poe, 1973). In contrast, a double standard was indicated for male CMHC therapists; their judgments of mentally healthy adults differed significantly (p < .01) from their judgments of female, wife, and mother.

The therapist groups' judgments of mental health for adults as well as their judgments of wives did not differ significantly. However, male CMHC therapists' judgments of mentally healthy adults and mothers differed signi- ficantly from both feminist and female CMHC therapists' judgments of adults and mothers.

No relationship was found between female CMHC and feminist therapists' judgments and the sex-role stereotypic differences defined by Rosenkrantz et al. (1968). The frequency of highest scores on male-stereotypic and on female- stereotypic items marked by female CMHC and feminist therapists yielded non- significant chi-square statistics (2.77 and 1.89, respectively)indicating that these therapists did not respond to any of the four instructional sets as more male or female stereotypic. Likewise, male CMHC therapists did not respond

Table I. Mean of Sex-Role Stereotype Questionnaire by Therapist Group and

Instruction Set

Instruction Female Male Feminist set CMHC CMHC therapist

Adult .75187 .81800 .75763 Female .73105 .64795 .74689 Wife .69884 .69155 .75016 Mother .77987 .69155 .75645

Psychotherapists' Expectations of Mental Health for Women

Table lI. Means, Standard Deviations, and Paired Comparisons of Therapists and Instructional Set

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Difference between pairs a

Therapist Instruction Standard group set Means deviations Female Wife Mother

Female CMHC Adult .75187 .14361 .021 Female .73105 .15847 Wife .69884 .11150 Mother ,77987 .14760

Ma~ CMHC Adult .81800 .16036 .170 b Female .64795 .15251 Wi~ .69155 .15485 Mother .66155 .18382

Feminist Adult .75763 .16835 .011 Female .74689 .11658 Wi~ .75016 .13623 Mother .75645 .17064

.053 .028

.032 .049 .081

.126 b .156 b

.044 .014 .030

.007 .001

.003 .010 .006

Difference between pairs a

Instructional set Therapist group Male CMHC Feminist

Adult Female CMHC .066 .006 Male CMHC .060

Female Female CMHC .083 c .016 Male CMHC .099 c

Wife Female CMHC .007 .051 Male CMHC .059

Mother Female CMHC .118 b .023 Male CMHC .095 b

aMean differences were tested for significance against the critical values ob- tained by Duncan's multiple range test.

bp < .01. Cp < .05.

to any o f the instruct ional sets as more female s tereotypic but did respond to

adult in terms significantly more male s tereotypic (X 2 = 21.15, p < .01) than they

responded to female, wife, or mother .

DISCUSSION

Contrary to previous findings that sex o f the judge was not a source o f

variance in judgments o f menta l hea l th (Broverman et al., 1970; Fabr ikant

et al., 1972), this s tudy found that male therapists ' percept ions o f menta l ly

hea l thy characteristics for females and mothers differed f rom those perceived

by b o t h female CMHC and feminis t therapists. The discrepancy be tween these

542 Aslm

results and the previous findings may result from the differential effect of the women's movement on males and females: apparently many female therapists are thinking of more options and behaviors as appropriate for women. The impact on male professionals may not be as strong or extensive.

The assumption expounded by some radical feminists (Chesler, 1972; Rice & Rice, 1973) that feminist therapists differ from other therapists (even women therapists) in their freedom from sex-role stereotyping is not totally supported by this study's results. Female and feminist therapists' perceptions of mental health were more alike than different, and both groups differed from male therapists in their perceptions of health for females and mothers.

Why did male therapists' judgments differ from female and feminist therapists' judgments of female and mother, but not of wife? One possibility is that the typical view of wife is an idealized woman (Hunt, 1962) who is a sufficient intellectual companion to her mate and also a "feminine" female who is emotional, tender, and sociable. This view of wife, therefore, may encompass a wider range of characteristics than previously attributed to female. As female and feminist therapists endorse more "liberated" views of female and mother, these perceptions may be becoming more congruent with the already revised perceptions of wife. Male therapists' perceptions, however, do not seem to be congruent.

Male therapists' perceptions of healthy adult differed significantly from their perceptions of health for female, wife, and mother; this suggests a double standard of mental health. The typical discussion (Chesler, 1972; Silveira, 1972) of the effect of this double standard emphasizes the double bind created for women. Women who are truly feminine cannot be competent, fully functioning adults; but women who are adultlike and behave in previously male-characterized ways cannot be feminine in the traditional sense.

Rice and Rice (1973) have predicted that "certain tenets and stereo- typed practices of therapy may produce a growing dissatisfaction with therapy as a conventional solution to personal conflict" (p. 191) and that fewer women will seek therapy or perceive it as a possible resource. The Broverman et al. (1970) study is often cited to support this view that therapists are sexist and that women should seek alternate sources of help (Chesler, 1972). This study, however, suggests that feminist and female therapists do not perceive women in traditional sex-biased ways; thus the findings support the contention held by some (Rice & Rice, 1973; Silveira, 1972) that pairing a female therapist with a female client is advantageous. This study also supports Silveira's belief (1972) that "women psychologists.. , have begun to define and attempt to practice feminist therapy-counseling which affirms women's liberation" (p. 21). Psychotherapy will become more pertinent for women as women professionals' expectations, values, and behaviors reflect women's lives rather than male- originated theories.

Psychotherapists' Expectations of Mental Health for Women 543

Lastly, contrasting the results of this study with Broverman et al. (1970)

indicates that the items which Broverman et al. (1970) found to be stereotypic

of adult, were not responded to as stereotypic of adult by female CMHC, male CMHC, or feminist therapists in this study. In addition, none of the items found

to be stereotypic of female by Broverman et al. (1970) was found to be stereo- typic of female in this study. This suggests that either a female sex-role stereo- type does not exist or that it is in such a state of transition due to forces such as the women's movement that no common definit ion exists. Similarly, one com- mon stereotype of the roles of wife and mother does not seem to be indicated. In fact, the characteristics of mother in the female CMHC and feminist therapists ' judgments were much hke the characteristics of wife in the male CMHC therapists ' judgments. The mental ly healthy wife or mother was characterized in some tradit ionally feminine terms as emotional-affective but also in tradit ionally masculine terms as competent and independent. The wife and mother charac- teristics did not encompass the negative feminine characteristics, such as sub- missive, passive, and lacking self-confidence, identified in previous studies (Broverman et al., 1970; Neulinger et al., 1970; Rosenkrantz et al., 1968).

Perceptions of women found in this study suggest an androgynous orienta- tion characterized by both masculine and feminine traits. As Bern (1974) predicted, the assumption that sex-typed characteristics typi fy mental health is not sup- ported. Likewise, tradit ional definitions of mascuhne and feminine as dichotomous conditions were not found in this study, and perceptions of mentally healthy females encompassed a wider range of traits than the rigid traditional female stereotype.

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