ABSTRACT
The social psychological construction of gender plays a major role in the definition and diagnosis of illness, timing and expression of symptoms, treatment strategies, and theoretical explanations. Thus, mental illness is as much a social as a personal event. Understanding, treating, and preventing psychological dysfunction is conceptualized here to fall within both self and social frameworks. The major feminist perspectives allocate different levels of significance to self and social frameworks but collectively offer a method for integrating many related issues.
