Week 10: Gender & Health

Question 1

What are some problems that come with research on gender?

Answer 1

• May promote a stereotypical approach to men and women emphasising the differences between them instead of similarities
• Minimises any differences within men and within women and thus treats each gender as a simple homogenous group
• Assumes that gender is a binary construct and gender fluidity is increasingly accepted

Question 2

In Australia, how many years do women live longer than men?

Answer 2

Likely to live 4 years longer than men

Question 3

How much more likely are men to die from accidents than women?

Answer 3

3.5x

May be related to leisure or work activities

Question 4

What are the biological components that may make up gender-based differences?

Answer 4

• Resistance to infections
• Sex hormones
• Onset of coronary heart disease
• Physiological response to stress

Question 5

What are the behavioural components that may make up gender-based differences?

Answer 5

• Alcohol use
• Tobacco use
• Eating habits (veg and fruit increase)
• Exercise
• Medical help seeking

Question 6

What are the economic and social components that may make up gender-based differences?

Answer 6

• Workforce participation
• Women are more represented in part-time jobs
• Social isolation is more frequent in women
  Widowhood: majority of people in heterosexual marriages - men tend to die younger
  Dissatisfaction with social network: less social support even with equal number of friends and family women tend to be less satisfied

Question 7

What are the 2 common sayings about gender and health?

Answer 7

1. Women get ill but men die younger

2. Women get depressed but men commit suicide

Question 8

How much more likely are men to commit suicide?

Answer 8

4x

Men tend to use more fatal forms of suicide eg. Shooting

Question 9

Why do ‘women get depressed’?

Answer 9

More women are diagnosed with depression - many men are depressed but delay seeking help

Question 10

Give an example of why you shouldn’t ignore differences among groups

Answer 10

When looking solely at depression in men and women, it looks very different to when you consider arthritis as well as depression - they show higher levels of depressive symptoms when they also have arthritis (it is a disabling and painful illness so may affect quality of life)

Question 11

How was sexual behaviour regarded BEFORE the 19th century?

Answer 11

A religious or spiritual concern with guidance coming from religious leaders

Question 12

How was sexual behaviour regarded AFTER the 19th century?

Answer 12

Doctors and scientists began to study sexual behaviours and sexuality - behaviours linked to reproduction were seen as normal and masturbation and homosexuality as abnormal

Question 13

What are some of the issues involved in sexual health?

Answer 13

Contraception use 
Unwanted pregnancies 
STD's
Sexual dysfunction 
Sex school education 
Sexual health in later life

Question 14

How much of US youth has access to pornography between 12-18 years?

Answer 14

90%

Question 15

What has been associated with viewing internet porn?

Answer 15

Problematic sexual compulsivity (17% of those who view meet criteria)

Become more risk averse and bully, victimise or groom unsuspecting ‘friends’ on facebook

Question 16

What is an example of unrealistic optimism?

Answer 16

The universal - ‘I didn’t think this would ever happen to me’ syndrome

Question 17

Why is the prevalence of child sexual abuse difficult to estimate?

Answer 17

It is often unreported

Also hard to gain ethical approval to talk about or bring up these topics as they can be sensitive

Question 18

How many young girls and boys are victims of child sexual abuse?

Answer 18

1 in 5 girls

1 in 20 boys

Question 19

At what age are children most vulnerable to sexual abuse?

Answer 19

7 to 13 years

Question 20

What is a child that is victim of prolonged sexual abuse at risk of developing?

Answer 20

Usually develop low self-esteem, a feeling of worthlessness, and an abnormal or distorted view of sex.
May become withdrawn or distrustful of adults and can become suicidal

Question 21

Who are children typically sexually abused by?

Answer 21

3 out of 4 sexually assaulted adolescents were victimised by someone they knew well - this relates to this unrealistic optimism (be aware of everyone around you)

Question 22

Which kind of home life puts children at risk of sexual abuse?

Answer 22

Children who do not live with both parents

Children living in homes marked by parental discord, divorce or domestic violence

Question 23

What is a major concern common among LGBTIQA+ people globally?

Answer 23

A fear of discrimination

Question 24

What are the findings relating to being labelled as gay/bisexual and steroid use among adolescent boys?

Answer 24

Among heterosexual boys, steroid use is higher among boys who reported being bullied and labelled as gay or bisexual
- No such relationship was observed among non-heterosexual boys

Question 25

Why are those form the LGBTIQA+ group more reluctant to seek medical help regarding STD prevention?

Answer 25

There is stigma = barrier

1 in 5 individuals reported withholding information regarding their sexual history from a healthcare provider

Question 26

Why is sexual behaviour so difficult to measure?

Answer 26

Research is voluntary and this is a sensitive topic

Question 27

How does the interactive nature of sex pose a problem for researchers?

Answer 27

If you only have one person from the couple in the study, you only get on perspective

Question 28

Why are we seeing more women dying of heart disease now?

Answer 28

Men used to die from it more - so treatments are tailored to men - this is working well now but not so well for women so still dying.

Question 29

What are the differences (Biological) for heart disease in men and women?

Answer 29

Mens arteries ‘explode’ which is easily recognised and can receive treatment
Women’s arteries erode meaning symptoms are more subtle and not as easily recognised - typically sent home and unfortunately die from it.

Question 30

Male and female brains age differently. why?

Answer 30

Menopause plays a big role as our brain constantly interacts with the rest of our body such as our reproductive system

Question 31

Explain reproductive hormone differences across life

Answer 31

Testosterone doesn’t run out until later in life - slow and symptom free process)
Womens estrogen begins to fade midlife - anything but symptom free

Question 32

How is estrogen linked to brain functioning?

Answer 32

Estrogen is key for energy production
When it declines, see neural ageing and amyloid plaques may form
Menopause = 30% decrease in brain energy levels - no difference in cognitive performance