Gender Type in Iranian Women and the Comparison of Their Emotional Intelligence and Mental Health

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate and compare the gender types of employed Iranian women regarding their mental health and emotional intelligence. To do this, 824 employed women from different organizations, offices and governmental firms of Tehran and Ahvazwere randomly chosen. The instruments were the Bem Sex-Type Inventory (short form, 1981), The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) (Goldberg, 1972) and Emotional Intelligence Scale (Petrides & Furnham, 2000). The results showed that: 1) Androgyny gender type in employed Iranian women is significantly more than masculine and feminine gender types. 2) There is a significant difference among the three types of women regarding their mental health. 3) There is a significant difference among the three types of women regarding their emotional intelligence. The emotional intelligence of Androgynous women is higher. Finally, regarding the obtained results of this study and the previous studies it is recommended to Iranian families and other authorities responsible for education not to pay too much attention to the stereotypic beliefs and traditional frames of gender types.