Gender Roles Encourage Cancer Risk

Teens who describe themselves as very "masculine" or "feminine" are much more likely to take up behaviors that significantly increase their risk of cancer, according to a recent study.

The study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, details findings that suggest that teen boys and girls who work harder to fit within their gender roles are more likely to engage involve themselves in activities that previous research has tied to increased cancer risk, such as chewing tobacco or using tanning beds.

To reach these conclusions the a team of researchers from Harvard University, Boston, and City College of New York collected relevant data from the Growing up Today Study -- an ongoing long-term study which has been recruiting participants nine to 14 years of age since 1996.

A total of 3,425 boys and 6,010 girls of high school age answered questionnaires designed by the researchers to show how strongly the participants felt about maintaining their masculinity or femininity. Questions concerning gender roles and self-identification helped identify personal image.

The researchers then questioned the behaviors of these teens in separate surveys, determining how frequently they involve themselves in actions that increase their chancing of developing a variety of cancer later in life.

Predictably, the researchers found a strong association between masculinity and some risky behaviors. Boys who identified as "very masculine" were nearly 80 percent more likely to chew tobacco and 55 percent more likely to smoke cigars, compared to boys who described themselves as least masculine or did not clearly gender-role identify.

Girls who identified as "feminine" also showed a higher cancer risk, although not as strongly. "Very feminine" female teens proved 32 percent more likely to use tanning beds -- a well known cause of skin cancer -- and 16 percent more likely to be physically inactive to promote an image of being "delicate."

Risky behavior was also seen in those who most passionately defined themselves as  non-gender-role conformists. According to the study, non conformist teens, especially boys, were extremely more likely to smoke cigarettes -- a widely known cancer risk -- compared to teens who heavily conformed to their gender roles. Authors of the study these that non-conformists are likely picking up smoking habits to relieve stress.

These results indicate that teens who allow their behaviors to be determined by gender roles  -- whether this means in accordance to the roles or set against them -- are putting themselves at the greatest risk of developing cancer.

According to the study's authors, teens who pay little attention to gender roles in general -- arguably with less exposure to media influences -- are the least likely overall to involve themselves in risky behaviors.

The study was published in the Journal of Adolescent Health on April 17.