Gender role internalization, multiple roles, and Chinese women's mental health

The influence of gender role internalization as a moderator in the relation ship between women's multiple roles and psychological distress was investig ated. Study 1 identified three components of gender role internalization, w hich were labeled "Traditional Ideal Person," "Self-Sacrifice," and "Compet ence Without Complaint," and found that it did not, overlap with existing g ender-typed measures among 128 female Chinese university students. The mult idimensionality of gender role internalization was confirmed in Study 2 amo ng a sample of 225 women in the paid Hong Kong workforce. As expected, role quality was a better predictor of psychological distress than role quantit y. Gender role internalization accounted for significant portions of explai ned variance even after taking role quality into account. Internalization o f Traditional Ideal Person and Competence Without Complaint messages exacer bated distress in certain areas when role quality was low. However, interna lization of Self-Sacrifice messages mitigated distress for Chinese women wi th low work quality.