Sex-based differences in expectations for social communication after TBI

ABSTRACT

Sex-based differences have been reported in several TBI outcome studies, including studies of social functioning. In some studies, social outcomes have been evaluated via perceptual judgments on questionnaires, which may be influenced by stereotypes about acceptable behaviour for men and women. To explore potential sex-based rater bias in social judgments, we asked 68 typical undergraduates (34 women) to identify problematic behaviour for men vs. women on a widely used questionnaire for TBI social outcome, the LaTrobe Communication Questionnaire. Results revealed more consensus among raters of both sexes about acceptable behaviours for men than behaviours for women, and women were more critical than men when judging persons of either sex. These findings support the importance of considering sex in TBI social outcome research, past and future, not only sex of the participant but also sex of the person judging social outcome. Sex-based differences here also have implications for social evaluations in clinic, where female clinicians are often judging male patients. Future research should consider gender (the social construct), as well as sex (the biological construct), as both may contribute to perceived social outcome after TBI.

KEYWORDS:

• Brain injuries
• social
• communication
• sex differences
• bias

Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by The Walker Fund at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The authors thank Caitlin Ryan and Sarah Kraning for their assistance with data collection and manuscript preparation.

Declaration of Interest Statement

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Notes

1. An individual’s sex is a function of his or her biological characteristics, both anatomical (e.g., gonadal type) and functional (e.g., hormone levels), whereas gender refers to roles, attitudes, behaviours, and values that are constructed for men and women in a society (47).