Authors:	Tibubos, Ana Nanette Otten, Daniëlle Beutel, Manfred E. Brähler, Elmar
Title:	Validation of the Personal Attributes Questionnaire-8 : gender expression and mental distress in the German population in 2006 and 2018
Online publication date:	20-Dec-2022
Year of first publication:	2022
Language:	english
Abstract:	Objectives: Mental health differences between men and women can be attributed to sex or gender. Due to absence of brief assessments, contributions of gender expressions to the mental health gap between men and women have been understudied. The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a short screening measure of gender expression and test its associations with mental distress.Methods: German representative survey data from 2006 (N = 2,507) and 2018 (N = 2,516) were analysed. A short form of the Personality Attributes Questionnaire with 8 items (PAQ-8) was assessed to measure femininity and masculinity. Validity of the PAQ-8 was tested and associations between femininity, masculinity and mental health were examined.Results: PAQ-8 was a valid screening measure to assess gender expression. Compared to 2006, femininity increased in women and decreased in men in 2018. Higher levels of femininity and masculinity were associated with lower distress. Sex was no longer predictive for mental distress when femininity, masculinity, age and equivalised income were considered.Conclusion: Our findings support the use of gender measures, which may be more predictive of mental health than sex.
DDC:	610 Medizin 610 Medical sciences
Institution:	Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Department:	FB 04 Medizin
Place:	Mainz
ROR:	https://ror.org/023b0x485
DOI:	http://doi.org/10.25358/openscience-6991
Version:	Published version
Publication type:	Zeitschriftenaufsatz
Document type specification:	Scientific article
License:	CC BY
Information on rights of use:	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Journal:	International journal of public health 67
Pages or article number:	1604510
Publisher:	Springer
Publisher place:	Heidelberg
Issue date:	2022
ISSN:	1661-8556 1661-8564
Publisher URL:	https://doi.org/10.3389/ijph.2022.1604510
Publisher DOI:	10.3389/ijph.2022.1604510
Appears in collections:	DFG-491381577-G