THE EFFECT OF SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS ON PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING - ARE MEN AND WOMEN REALLY SO DIFFERENT

We assess evidence for gender differences across a range of relationsh ips and consider whether the form and quality of these relationships a ffect the psychological functioning of men and women differently. Data from a national panel survey provide consistent evidence that men's a nd women's relationships differ. However we find little evidence for t he theoretical argument that women are more psychologically reactive t han men to the quality of their relationships: Supportive relationship s are associated with low levels of psychological distress, while stra ined relationships are associated with high levels of distress for wom en and for men. However if women. did not have higher levels of social involvement than men, they would exhibit even higher levels of distre ss relative to men than they currently do. We find little evidence for the assertion that men and women react to strained relationships in g ender-specific ways-for example, with alcohol consumption versus depre ssion.