The Role of Media Use in Genderizing Disease

• In Event: Media and Message Effects: High Density Panel in Health Communication

Abstract

On average, men die seven years earlier and suffer from more serious diseases than women do. Sensible health behaviors, such as help-seeking, are often antithetical to masculinity. Moreover, when diseases are associated with a specific gender, it is likely to affect health behavior. The media’s influence on the public health gender divide is at least two-fold: it contributes to gender socialization, by perpetuating gender stereotypes and provides audiences with copious amounts of health-related information. Establishing how variations in media use may affect gendered susceptibility to diseases was the main aim of the present study. By means of a survey, 764 college students were questioned about their gender perceptions of 48 diseases as well as the amount of attention they paid to news, entertainment and medical-related media. Preliminary hierarchical regression analyses show that medical-related media and general entertainment media are significant predictors of gender-based perceptions of disease typicality.

Authors

• Irene Ingeborg van Driel, Indiana U

• Jessica Gall Myrick, Indiana U

• Rachelle Liane Pavelko, Indiana U

• Maria Elizabeth Grabe, Indiana U