Boy Crisis? Sex Differences in Self-Injurious Behaviors and the Effects of Gender Role Conflicts Among College Students in China

Abstract

In Western research, self-injurious behaviors are commonly viewed as "feminine" behavior. In this present study, using the data from a survey administered to 960 first-and second-year students in Xi'an Jiaotong University in China, the self-injurious behaviors among college students are analyzed by sex. The results reported that the average prevalence of self-injurious behaviors among male students is 35.2%, higher than the 20.4% observed among female students (p < .1), and the average frequency of severe self-injurious behaviors among male students is 0.4, higher than the 0.18 reported among female students (p < .05). Gender role conflicts and verbal violence are strongly associated with male students' self-injurious behaviors, whereas gender role conflicts and verbal, visual, and sexual violence are strongly associated with female students' self-injurious behaviors. This suggests that self-injurious behaviors among college students in China constitute, to some extent, a boy crisis that can be well explained by gender role conflicts. In addition, verbal violence leads to self-injurious behaviors among both male and female students, whereas visual and sexual violence lead to self-injurious behaviors only among female students.

“Boy Crisis” or “Girl Risk”? The Gender Difference in Nonsuicidal Self-Injurious Behavior Among Middle-School Students in China and its Relationship to Gender Role Conflict and Violent Experiences

“…There are no clear and consistent gender differences in NSSI behaviors among Chinese middle-school students, and only two studies have explored this aspect ( Chao, Yang, & Luo, 2016 ; Yang & Feldman, 2017 ). First, a survey was conducted among undergraduate students in a university of northwest China in 2013, which showed that the prevalence of these behaviors among male students (25.2%) was significantly higher than among female students (20.4%).…”

“…First, a survey was conducted among undergraduate students in a university of northwest China in 2013, which showed that the prevalence of these behaviors among male students (25.2%) was significantly higher than among female students (20.4%). This suggested a crisis among males in the prevalence of NSSI behaviors among adolescents in China ( Chao, Yang, & Luo, 2016 ). Second, a literature review was conducted on NSSI behaviors in Chinese people from Chinese and English literature databases, and a meta-analysis was carried out on gender differences in the prevalence of these behaviors.…”

“…Gender role conflict is defined as a psychological state in which the socialized male gender role has negative consequences for the person and others and is commonly used to explain suicidal behavior ( Fitzpatrick, Euton, Jones, & Schmidt, 2005 ; O’Neil, 2008 ). Due to the similarity between suicidal and NSSI behaviors, gender role conflicts were adopted for explaining the latter ( Chao, Yang, & Luo, 2016 ). Violent experiences often come from interpersonal interactions between adolescents and their parents, teachers, or peers, including physical, language, sexual, and cold violence ( Briere, 1992 ; Lynn & O’Neill, 1995 ; Carlson, 1990 ; Welsh, Archambault, Janus, & Brown, 1995 ).…”

“…A previous study with college students revealed violent experiences were associated with NSSI behaviors among male and female college students, in which language violence was significantly associated with these behaviors. Visual violence and sexual violence were also significantly associated with the NSSI behaviors among female college students ( Chao, Yang, & Luo, 2016 ).…”

Shifting discourses from boy preference to boy crisis: educating boys and nation building in neoliberal China

“…While the former tended to be domestically located, the latter is increasingly located within education. For example, social research Chao et al, 2015) has particularly focused on education, highlighting the wider societyÕs anxiety that Ôboys are becoming more girlyÕ. Recent spectacular media accounts of Ôfeminised boysÕ are resonant of a projected US/UK/Australian concern about the war on boys (Sommers, 2000;Haywood et al, 2015).…”