Effect of gender-role orientation of primiparous mothers on their cognitive appraisals, coping strategies, and mood postpartum

Cognitive appraisals of mothering as a challenge and threat, coping strategies, affect balance, and depression were studied in 91 married gender-typed, cross-gender typed, and androgynous primiparous middle-class Israeli mothers of infants aged 3-5 months. The results indicated that gender-typed and androgynous women had significantly higher challenge scores and lower threat scores than did cross-gender typed women. With regard to coping strategies, gender-typed and androgynous women used more support-seeking than did cross-gender typed women. Gender-typed women also used less problem-focused strategy and more emotion-focused strategy than did cross-gender typed women. Gender-typed and androgynous women manifested more positive affect balance and less depression than did the cross-gender typed women.