Identity, Sexism, and Cultural Violence: A Quantitative Study on Mental Health Risk in Female Adolescents and Young Adults

Introduction: Recent findings on youth mental health raise the question of a real global crisis, which affects women in particular. Well-being and identity development are heavily influenced by the outcome of the elaboration of bodily maturation pathways and cultural norms. A strongly rooted cultural issue, that negatively impacts this process and to which young people are early exposed, is sexism. This phenomenon is closely linked to gender-based and intimate partner violence. Drawing on this data, aim of this study is to explore the relationship between early experiences, internalisation of gender norms, identity and mental health, bringing into focus cultural attitudes towards sexism, consent and violence in Italian youth. Methods: Self-report questionnaires assessing Identity Development and diffusion, Attachment, Epistemic Trust, Sexism, Trauma exposure, Psychological Distress and relationship with violence (IDEA, IPO, AIDA, ASQ, ETMCQ, ASI, CTQ-SF, K10), were administered to a sample of 668 adolescents and young adults aged 14 to 32 (M 21.5; SD 3.17). Results: Group comparisons and correlational analyses revealed that female adolescents and young adults experience higher levels of symptoms and psychological distress, particularly related to key dimensions such as the influence of others’ gaze on self-concept and body image, identity diffusion, epistemic mistrust, as well as greater difficulties in attachment. Sexist attitude is consistent in both male and female adolescents, with the highest levels of hostile attitudes found in male adolescents as compared to other subgroups. Higher rates of violent behaviour have been found in male adults when compared to peer females. Additional analyses on the female sample revealed the mediating role of epistemic mistrust and proneness to define oneself through others’ gaze, in the relationship between discomfort with closeness and symptoms. Finally, the mediation role of identity diffusion in the relationship between discomfort with closeness and psychological distress was tested for female adolescents. Discussion: Shedding light on the relationship between identity construction, early experiences and culture may be crucial for a better understanding of clinically relevant phenomena such as the deterioration of young people’s mental health and the prevalence of gender-based violent behaviour among youth.