Sex Differences in Health: Evidence and Explanations 389Fillingim, R., King, C., Ribeiro-Dasilva, M.,
Rahim-Williams, B., & Riley, J. (2009).
Sex, gender, and pain: A review of recent
clinical and experimental findings.The
Journal of Pain, 10, 447–485.
(Classic) Gove, W. R., & Hughes, M.
(1979). Possible causes of the apparent
sex differences in physical health: An
empirical investigation.American Socio-
logical Review, 44, 126–146.Key Terms
Android obesity—Extra weight around the
abdomen.
Artifacts—Confounding variables that
lead sex differences to appear that do not
really exist.
Body mass index (BMI)—Measure of
obesity that takes into consideration the
ratio of weight to height.
Cardiovascular reactivity—Increase in
blood pressure and heart rate that
occurs when engaging in a challenging or
stressful task.
Chronic illness—Disease or condition
characterized by persistent health problems
that may be treated or controlled but not
cured.
Coronary artery bypass surgery—
Treatment for heart disease in which arteries
taken from a person’s leg or chest are used to
bypass blockages in the arteries that supply
blood to the heart.
Fixed role obligations—Responsibilities
specific to one’s defining role that are
structured and difficult to reschedule.
Gynoid obesity—Extra weight around the hips.
Health behaviors—Activities that either
promote good health (e.g., preventive healthcare, exercise, healthy diet) or contribute
to bad health (e.g., smoking, alcohol, and
drug use).
Illness behavior—Condition of labeling a
symptom as illness and responding to it as
such; adopting the “sick role.”
Morbidity—Presence of illness or disease.
Mortality—Death rate.
Nurturant role hypothesis—Supposition
that women’s roles require them to attend to
the needs of others, which results in fatigue,
exposure to illness, and not taking care of
oneself when sick.
Percutaneous transluminal coronary
angioplasty (PTCA)—Procedure in which
a catheter with a balloon attached to it is
inserted into a diseased blood vessel. As
the balloon is inflated, the plaque is pressed
against the walls of the artery allowing for
improved blood flow.
Sick role hypothesis—Suggestion that sex
differences in using medical care are due
to women’s greater tendency than men to
adopt the “sick role.”
Thrombolytic therapy—Treatment of heart
disease employing drugs that dissolve blood
clots and reestablish blood flow.Helgeson, V. S. (1994c). Relation of
agency and communion to well-
being: Evidence and potential explana-
tions.Psychological Bulletin, 116,
412–428.
(Classic) Verbrugge, L. M. (1989). The
twain meet: Empirical explanations of
sex differences in health and mortality.
Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 30,
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