Study Examines How Pressure to Conform to Feminine Norms Affects College Women’s Mental Health

Young women often feel pressured to conform to feminine norms, including those related to maintaining their appearance. According to a study published in the journal Current Psychology, this pressure to align with feminine appearance expectations may be causing psychological distress among college women.

For their study, the authors asked a sample of 1,700 women undergraduate students from a large public university in southern California to answer two surveys. The first survey asked participants a series of questions designed to measure their conformity to nine different feminine norms (sweet and nice, relationship, thinness, modesty, domestic, care for children, romantic relationship, sexual fidelity, and invest in appearance). The second survey measured the participants’ mental health by asking them how frequently they experienced various symptoms of psychological distress over the past month.

Women who emphasized the importance of being thin, being modest, and investing in their appearance were more likely to experience high levels of psychological distress. In contrast, women who emphasized the importance of maintaining relationships with others and child care were associated with low levels of psychological distress.

The findings suggest that conformity to feminine norms is more nuanced than previously thought. In future studies and when providing care for women, the authors suggest scholars and practitioners consider examining feminine norms individually, rather than “homogenizing all aspects of femininity.”

The study was conducted by scholars at the University of Maryland, Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, Auburn University in Alabama, and New York University.