Sex-Role Stereotypes
and Clinical Judgments
of Mental Health
INGE K. BROVERMAN,
DONALD M. BROVERMAN,
FRANK E. CLARKSON,
PAUL S. ROSENKRANTZ,
AND SUSAN R. VOGEL
Evidence of the existence of sex-role stereotypes, that is, highly consensual norms and beliefs about the differing characteristics of men and women, is abundantly present in the literature (Anastasi and Foley 1949; Fernberger 1948; Komarovsky 1950; McKee and Sherriffs 1957; Seward 1946; Seward and Larson 1968; Wylie 1961; Rosenkrantz et al. 1968). Similarly, the differential valuations of behaviors and characteristics stereotypically ascribed to men and women are well established (Kitay 1940; Lynn 1959; McKee and Sherriffs 1959; Rosenkrantz et al. 1968; White 1950); that is, stereotypically masculine traits are more often perceived as socially desirable than are attributes that are stereotypically feminine. The literature also indicates that the social desirabilities of behaviors are positively related to the clinical ratings of these same behaviors in terms of "normality-abnormality" (Cowen 1961), "adjustment" (Wiener et al. 1959); and "health-sick‐ ness" (Kogan et al. 1957).
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