Gender Differences in Help Seeking: More Complex Than Men Versus Women

• In Event: Gender and Motivated Self-Regulation: Patterns, Benefits, and Costs

Abstract

Purpose and Theoretical Framework
Substantial evidence in educational contexts supports the adage that men are less likely to seek help than are women (e.g., Aleven et al., 2003; Butler 2014, Ryan, et al., 1998; Simon, 2010). From elementary school through college, more girls seek help when they encounter difficulty. Such generalizations, however, are incomplete without probing additional accompanying factors that could provide a more complete picture of gender-related effects. Accordingly, we (a) present evidence of moderating as well as main gender effects; (b) focus on college students since most of prior evidence comes from K-12 contexts; and (c) examine sources of help that are more numerous and varied in college contexts (Makara & Author, 2013). The general theoretical framework draws on an expectancy-value approach that targets both benefits and costs of seeking help.
Method
Participants were students (n = 330, 50% females) enrolled in introductory psychology courses at a large U.S. Midwestern university. Students were asked to focus on current or previous classes they found especially difficult. In addition to assessing instrumental/adaptive, executive/work-avoidant, and avoidant help-seeking orientations, students rated each of seven resources available in college contexts (classmates, other students, main course instructor, graduate student instructor, tutors, class resources, and general online resources) on seven characteristics (see Table 1), five potentially useful and beneficial and two personally costly.
Results
Regarding main effects, consistent with prior evidence, women reported being significantly more likely than did men to seek instrumental help and were less likely than men to avoid seeking needed help or to seek executive help (Figure 1). However, they did not differ in their reported help seeking from a variety of sources combined. No gender differences were found in the rated difficulty of each component of the help-seeking process (e.g., the decision to seek help or the type of help).
Help resources. There was extensive evidence of gender differences in perceived features of help resources. For example, women rated all but one of the characteristics assessed as more important to them than did men (Table 1). Further, despite the gender differences in adaptive versus avoidant orientations, women rated most sources more rather than less likely to make them feel anxious or embarrassed. These feelings arose towards interpersonal not impersonal sources, with one notable exception. Men were more anxious or embarrassed about seeking help from the main course instructor, the authority figure in the class (Table 2).
Gender moderation. Numerous gender moderation effects were also found. For example, instrumental help seeking orientation was more strongly (and significantly) correlated for women than men with whether the source had needed information, would respond to requests and would demand time and effort.
Significance
Results have theoretical significance for understanding the reasons behind gender differences in help seeking and how help seeking as a self-regulated learning strategy is formulated among women and men. Conceptualizing help seeking within an expectancy-value perspective opens up new areas of help-seeking research. Finally, results provide important information for the design of help resource centers.

Authors

• Stuart A. Karabenick, University of Michigan

• Sofia Eleftheria N. Gonida, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki