The Relationship between Gender Role Ideology and Depression among Female University Students

Gender issues have been studied by social scientists for a while. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the relationship between gender related variables and depression among female university students. Two hundred and sixty four female students who are studying and residing in Izmir participated in the study. In order to understand the demographic characteristics of the participants, a demographic information sheet has been used. Furthermore, in order to assess attitudes and opinions about gender roles, Attitudes toward Women, Past Experience with Gender Discrimination, and Gender Group Identification Scales have been used. The level of depressive complaints has been measured by the Beck Depression Inventory. The results revealed that, women with more conservative and patriarchal attitudes toward gender roles, experience higher level of depression. In addition, past experience with gender discrimination is found to be related to the symptoms of depression. Those findings will be discussed in the light of the current literature.