The dynamics underlying the negative mental health effects of gender discrimination in two samples: Poland and Egypt

The goal of this paper is to examine the validity of the Traumatology perspective of the dynamics underlying the adverse mental health effects of gender discrimination (GD) on females’ across two different cultural samples. The study was conducted in two samples from Poland (N=277), and Egypt (N=319). To measure GD, we utilized measures of gender discrimination (GD) by parents (GD-P), GD by society (GD-S), internalized gender discrimination (IGD), and GD resistance (GDR). To measure mental health, we utilized measures of internalizing, externalizing, and thought disorders (psychoticism). Further, we used tests for self-esteem, authoritarianism. To control for the effects of other stressors and traumas we used a measure for cumulative stressors and traumas. Path analysis indicated that GD-P in both samples was associated with internalized gender discrimination, internalizing, externalizing, psychoticism and authoritarianism. GD-S predicted lower self-esteem, higher psychoticism, externalizing and internalizing behavior. The model accounted for 40–50% of the variance in internalizing and was invariant on the configural and metric levels. We discussed the implications of the results to intervention and prevention of GD and for future directions in gender research.