Incongruent Expectations: A Qualitative Study of the Gendered Experiences of Canadian Young People

Abstract

While the early mental health of girls and boys is similar, as children age, girls tend to report worse mental health than boys. Explanations for these gendered disparities remain elusive. This study seeks to understand the social context in which mental health experiences are shaped. Utilizing a qualitative, constructivist approach to grounded theory, we conducted virtual semi-structured interviews with young people between ages 11 and 17 years (n = 20). Our major finding was that girls in particular experience incongruence between expectations about gender equality and everyday experiences of stereotypes, barriers, and discrimination. Girls reported pressures to satisfy multiple gender norms, such as traditional ideals about being feminine (kind and physically attractive) and modern ideas about being high achieving and "smarter than boys." Findings suggest that young people are unequipped to navigate the incongruence between the expectation that they live in a gender-equal world and their experiences of gender-based constraints, nor do they appear to have the skills to critically identify the structural patterns that undergird their experiences. Explanations for gendered disparities in mental health may be related to the underlying context of discrimination, and both traditional and emerging gendered norms, barriers, and constraints. Finally, we highlight the responsibility of adults to facilitate child development in ways that are responsive to the changing faces of gender discrimination, which readily adapts to social discourse in new and subtle ways.

Keywords: adolescents; equality; gender; inequality; mental health and illness; social issues; young adults; youth.

Figure 1.

The incongruence between expectations and experiences of gender equality. Note. The expectations and experiences of the non-binary participant did not align with the expectations of a gender equality depicted in Theme 1, and thus their experience is depicted in a shaded oval to distinguish it.