Dysphoria among Hispanic Working Women: A Research Note

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which role conflict, life satisfaction, self-esteem, instrumentality, expressiveness, age, and education predicts dysphoria among a community sample of Hispanic working women. The sample consisted of a total of 126 Hispanic women, ranging in age from 18 to 65. Participants completed five instruments assessing gender-related traits of instrumentality and expressiveness, selfesteem, depression, life satisfaction, role conflict, and sociodemographic information. A forced entry stepwise multiple regression was conducted that included all the designated predictor variables with log transformed depression scores as the dependent variable. The significant negative beta in Step 3 indicated that women scoring high on the Masculinity (instrumentality) subscale were less likely to have a high depression score. The prediction of dysphoria by self-esteem was maintained after the masculinity score was added to the equation in Step 3. There was a significant inverse relationship for masculinity (instrumentality) and self-esteem in predicting the criterion variable, dysphoria. In counseling Hispanic women experiencing dysphoria, supporting instrumentality can serve to enhance self-esteem.