In countries with greater gender equality, the difference in life satisfaction between boys and girls tends to be larger. But what accounts for this adolescent gender gap? New research provides evidence that fear of failure and competitiveness both play a key role. The findings, published in Frontiers in Psychology, highlight the complex relationships between gender, gender equality, psychological dispositions, and life satisfaction.
Previous studies have shown that life satisfaction is generally lower in adolescence and that girls tend to have lower life satisfaction compared to boys. However, it was also observed that this gender gap in life satisfaction is wider in more gender-equal countries. This paradox raised questions about why girls are further behind boys in life satisfaction in countries with higher gender equality.
To understand this paradox, the researchers wanted to explore the role of two personality traits, fear of failure and competitiveness, and how they may mediate the effects of gender and gender equality on adolescent life satisfaction. They hypothesized that these personality traits might influence life satisfaction and also display the gender-equality paradox, thus providing a possible explanation for the observed patterns.
“It was recently demonstrated by other researchers that in gender equal countries girls have lower life satisfaction than boys. This is a counter-intuitive finding so we started thinking about what could be driving it,” explained study author Kimmo Eriksson, a researcher at the Institute for Futures Studies and a professor at Mälardalen University.
The researchers analyzed data from the 2018 wave of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which is a survey conducted by the OECD targeting 15-year-old students. The survey included measures of life satisfaction, fear of failure, and competitiveness. They also analyzed data from 63 countries for which there were also data on gender equality from the World Values Survey. The sample included 408,254 students, with an equal distribution of girls and boys.
The researchers used various measures to assess the variables of interest. Life satisfaction was measured using a single item asking students to rate their overall satisfaction with life on a scale from 0 to 10. Fear of failure was assessed using three items related to worrying about what others think, doubting talent, and doubting future plans. Competitiveness was measured using three items related to enjoying competition, wanting to perform better than others, and trying harder in competitive situations.
To measure gender equality, the researchers used two different approaches. They used the World Values Survey to assess normative gender equality, which captures cultural values regarding gender equality. They also used the Global Gender Gap Index, which measures gender equality in outcomes such as economic participation, educational attainment, political empowerment, and health and survival.
Consistent with previous studies, the researchers found that boys generally reported higher levels of life satisfaction, less fear of failure, and higher competitiveness compared to girls. Additionally, in countries with higher gender equality, the gender gaps in life satisfaction, fear of failure, and competitiveness were wider.
Importantly, the correlation between gender gaps and gender equality was stronger for fear of failure and competitiveness compared to life satisfaction. This suggests that the influence of gender and gender equality on life satisfaction operates through these psychological factors. In other words, the differences in fear of failure and competitiveness contribute to the gender differences in life satisfaction.
“Our idea is that there are certain dispositions that contribute to life satisfaction and that there may be a gender difference in these dispositions,” Eriksson told PsyPost. “In this study we find that girls are, on average, less competitive than boys and fear failure more than boys – especially in gender equal societies – and this seems to account for quite a big chunk of the gender difference in life satisfaction.”
It is important to note that the study has some limitations. The data used were from a single point in time, so it is not possible to establish a cause-and-effect relationship. Additionally, the measures of life satisfaction, fear of failure, and competitiveness were based on self-reporting, which may be influenced by individual differences in responding.
“Our work only pushes the paradox back one step; it is still surprising to me that more gender-equal countries have greater gender differences in competitiveness and fear of failure,” Eriksson said. “Such gender equality paradoxes have popped up in several areas in psychology. I am very interested in getting to the bottom of this larger phenomenon.”
The study, “Gender differences in competitiveness and fear of failure help explain why girls have lower life satisfaction than boys in gender equal countries“, was authored by Kimmo Eriksson and Pontus Strimling.
