Self-destructive consequences of sex-role socialization

Suicide proneness and self-destruction scales, together with measures of self-favorability and self-confidence, were administered to two samples (n = 106 and n = 213). The affective responses of the second sample (134 women and 79 men) were measured by asking respondents to circle adjectives classified for activity-passivity, positive-negativeness, and extroversion-introversion that expressed their feelings toward eight situations. Women scored lower than men on suicide proneness, higher on self-destruction, and lower on self-favorability and self-confidence. Women reacted more passively to the situations than men and more negatively to the public challenge situation. Women tend to extrovert (turn outward on others) their positive feelings in pleasant situations and to introvert (turn blame on themselves) their negative reactions to unpleasant situations. Men do the reverse. It is suggested that women are self-destructive in passive ways, reflecting their lack of self-favorability and confidence and manifested by failure to react to everyday situations in ego-building ways.