Wisdom engendered: Study finds men and women have different strengths
Women score higher on compassion-related items and self-reflection while
men score higher on cognitive-related items and emotional regulation

Date:
February 3, 2022
Source:
University of California - San Diego
Summary:
Researchers looked at gender differences relative to wisdom, using
two different validated scales and found that, in general, women
scored higher on compassion-related items and on self-reflection
while men scored higher on cognitive-related items and on emotional
regulation.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Previous studies have shown that wisdom is a personality trait
underpinning mental health and well-being. Recently, researchers at
University of California San Diego School of Medicine looked at gender differences relative to wisdom, using two different validated scales.


==========================================================================
The study, publishing in the February 3, 2022, online edition of
Frontiers in Psychology, assessed gender differences in wisdom and
associated constructs, including depression, loneliness, well-being,
optimism and resilience.

Six hundred and fifty-nine community-based participants, ages 27 to 103, participated in the study and completed both the San Diego Wisdom Scale
(SD- WISE) and the 3-Dimensional Wisdom Scale (3D-WS).

The SD-WISE includes 24 items related to six defined components of wisdom:
pro- social behaviors (empathy and compassion), emotional regulation,
self- reflection, acceptance of uncertainty and diversity of perspectives, decisiveness and social advising. The 3D-WS contains 39 items covering
three dimensions of wisdom: cognitive, affective or compassionate/and reflective.

The researchers found that, in general, women scored higher on compassion- related items and on self-reflection while men scored higher on cognitive- related items and on emotional regulation. Generally speaking, the total
3-D-WS score was higher in women than in men, but there was no gender difference in the total score on the SD-WISE.

In both women and men, wisdom was associated with greater mental
well-being, optimism, and resilience and lower levels of depression
and loneliness.

"We wanted to gain information on potential differences in wisdom between
men and women that could impact well-being," said senior author Dilip
V. Jeste, MD, senior associate dean for the Center of Healthy Aging and Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at UC San Diego
School of Medicine.

"We found women and men have different relative strengths in wisdom,
likely driven by both sociocultural and biological factors." "Our latest findings are only a piece of the overall puzzle. There are several paths
toward achieving a wise life. People approach wisdom differently and
looking at gender is one way to assess those potential differences," said
Emily Treichler, PhD, first author of the study and assistant professor
in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine and
a research psychologist in the Desert Pacific Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) at the VA San Diego Healthcare
System.

"Having a better understanding of wisdom and how to improve it has health benefits and value for individuals and society. Other studies have shown
that the levels of certain components of wisdom like empathy/compassion
and emotional regulation can be increased with appropriate psycho-social
and behavioral interventions. Studies such as ours may help tailor
wisdom interventions to individuals based on specific characteristics."
The researchers emphasize there were limitations of the study: It was
cross- sectional rather than longitudinal. And it did not look at wisdom profiles of non-binary people or ask people whether they identify as transgender, and that should be one of the next steps.

"More work needs to be done, but we can take what we have learned and
apply it to future studies to make the results applicable to different
groups, with the ultimate goal of promoting healthier lives," said Jeste.

Co-authors include: Tsung-Chin Wu and Xin Tu with UC San Diego; Barton
Palmer, Rebecca Daly, and Ellen Lee with UC San Diego, VA San Diego
Healthcare System, and VA Desert Pacific Mental Illness, Research,
Education, and Clinical Center; and Michael Thomas with Colorado State University.

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always get wrong about diet and exercise. Claim_yours_now_>>> ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_California_-_San_Diego. Original written by Michelle
Brubaker. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Emily B. H. Treichler, Barton W. Palmer, Tsung-Chin Wu, Michael L.

Thomas, Xin M. Tu, Rebecca Daly, Ellen E. Lee, Dilip V. Jeste. Women
and Men Differ in Relative Strengths in Wisdom Profiles: A Study
of 659 Adults Across the Lifespan. Frontiers in Psychology, 2022;
12 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.769294 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220203083610.htm

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