Inside the Handbag
A Closer Look at the Needs and Concerns
Carried by College Women
Kara Cattani, Ph.D.
 LaNae Valentine, Ph.D.
 Melissa Jones, Ph.D.
 Anna Packard, Ph.D.
 Rebecca Johnson
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To help Counseling & Psychological
Services and Women’s Services &
Resources promote greater
responsiveness to the needs of women
on campus
 Outreach
 Prevention Education
 Programming
 Services
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To evaluate the emotional distress,
physical health, relationships, and career
needs of women on campus
 To assess what services and resources
BYU women are using and what services
are lacking.
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51 women at BYU between the ages of 1849
Mean age 23.06; Modal age 20
33 Caucasian, 7 Latina, 1 African, 7
Polynesian, 4 multi-ethnic
40 Single, 10 Married, 1 Divorced
7 Sophomores, 15 Juniors, 22 Seniors, 7
Graduate Students
Recruited by a booth in the student center
Given $20 and pizza for their participation
Five 90 minute focus groups
 Researchers were group leaders
 Self-directed, leaders would prompt with
questions on protocol sheet if needed
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› i.e. “What are your main concerns at this
time in your life?”
› “What is it like to be a woman at BYU?”
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Consensual Qualitative Research (Hill, 2011)
Participants’ identities were dummy-coded
Focus groups transcribed
Coded into Domains
› Reviewed each transcript to see what topic areas
naturally arise from the interview data (inductive
approach)
› Each person did individually, then reached
consensus
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Coded each Domain into Core Ideas
› Summaries of the data that capture the essence of
the participants’ statements in fewer words
› Worked together as a team
Identity
2. Emotional, Mental, & Physical
Health
3. Relationships
4. Women’s Roles
1.
Core Ideas:
1. Women struggle with perfectionism.
2. Women struggle with body image.
3. Women struggle to identify with
perceived social or cultural norms.
Core Idea 1: Women struggle with
perfectionism.
“Perfectionism on steroids here. More than
in any college. You have an entire 23,000
student body of perfectionists. I have to be
MORE perfect than you! So…you put a lot
more pressure on yourself, even though
maybe not everyone expects you to put
that kind of pressure, but it’s really hard,
especially if you come in with the best
grades, great scholarships…it’s like, ok, so
I’m now a small fish in a really, really big
pond.”
“I think it’s hard going from where you’re
the lead in the musical and you’re all of
these things, and then you come here
and so what? I know it’s not special
anymore. You’re just like everybody
else.”
“But the culture seems to breed - are you
doing your best? Are you really
measuring up? Are you good enough?
All those kind of thoughts. Whether it be
body image or your intellect, or how you
dress and look, your style, just anything
about you and other people and seeing
how successful other people are versus
yourself.”
“All the women I talk to come here and feel
like, ‘wow, I’m so bad,’ when others are
looking at them saying, ‘I’m so bad
compared with you.’ I feel like there’s so
many different outlets…I got married and I
felt so good about all these things I’d
registered for for my house, then I go visit
teach somebody…and I was like oh my
gosh. We’re gonna go home and rethink
my house now. It kind of doesn’t really
end.”
“So what if you have runny eggs and
burnt toast? I think we get stuck in this
comparing our weaknesses to other
peoples’ strengths, and then it’s not
even on the same level at all which is
really terrible for us to do to ourselves,
but we do it a lot.”
Core Idea 2: Women struggle with body
image.
“I just look around campus and I’m like,
‘Gosh, everyone is like smaller and cuter
and blonder than me’ [laughter]. But I do
think a lot of girls feel this really heavy
pressure to look a certain way, not
necessarily be a certain physical type, but
just to be like super pretty and everything
has to be perfect, and if you’re not that,
then guys are like ‘What’s wrong with that
one?’ [laughter].”
“I think we cover it up a lot with ‘I’m
concerned about being healthy.’ That’s all
well and good, but I think our motivation is
to get skinny, not to get healthy.”
…..
“I think sometimes, too, we can go the
other way, where we stick a stigma on
people that are trying to be healthier,
because then it’s like ‘Do you have a
problem with your body? Because you
should love yourself the way you are. Love
your shape. Why are you doing that?’”
Core Idea 3: Women struggle to identify
with perceived social or cultural norms.
“People would talk slowly ‘cuz they
thought I couldn't speak English.”
…..
“It’s really hard being on such a white
campus, especially when it comes to
dating, because you’re totally
overlooked a lot of the time.”
“I am married, and I feel like at BYU there
is a certain ‘married person leprosy’. .
.BYU encourages you to get married but
once you are married it is like ‘you can’t
do this, you can’t do that’ so you feel like
an outcast.”
“People want you to go out and get
your education but deep down inside
they are like ‘get your education but
someday you are just going to stay
home.”
…..
“It’s not very outward that they say that
but in the back of their minds, this girl’s
just going to get her degree and go
have a family; it doesn’t matter.”
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“There’s a lot of pressure to like, date,
and get married, get out of this stage of
your life and get on to that next stage.
And that can be kind of frustrating to me
because it’s like stereotypically, the
average BYU co-ed supposedly gets
asked out on dates all the time, and
when that’s not happening to you, you
start to wonder, what’s wrong with me?
That can be kind of frustrating.”
“I’m 24 and in BYU speed, being 24 and
single is like, better start buying cats
[laughter].”
1.
2.
3.
Core Ideas:
Women find that the stresses of school
affect their overall health.
Women dealing with emotional, mental,
or physical issues struggle to find a way
to cope.
Women feel there is a stigma attached
to seeking for help with their problems.
Core Idea 1: Women find that the
stresses of school affect their overall
health.
“I think it’s all a cycle. For me, the number
one thing...is stress and stress management
because I know when I’m stressed I eat
badly. When you eat badly, you gain
weight, and then you feel negative about
yourself. It’s just like a cycle to me and I
think especially as students right now.”
…..
“I would love to eat healthy and exercise but
it’s just not enough time. It’s awful!”
Core Idea 2: Women dealing with
emotional, mental, or physical issues
struggle to find a way to cope.
“I think depression is one of the main
things. It's hard when you're in such a
closed environment and you're away
from your family; you're not close to your
family, it's hard. You have roommates
that are in relationships that are going
great and you're not, or whatever, or
you just don't feel like you get along with
your roommates...it can be hard to be
happy all the time.”
“I was really depressed and kind of
stopped functioning, but I couldn’t point
to any reason why- nothing traumatic
happened, there was nothing. I just was.
So I had to kind of let go of that
assumption that I needed a reason to
come here [the counseling center]. I
didn’t need a reason. I just needed
help.”
“I've seen several girls in different capacities
who are dealing with either depression or
eating disorders…Based on the number of
my personal acquaintances who have
dealt with it, I would guess that there are a
lot of people out there who are maybe
dealing with that on some level and not
accessing the resources that they need
because they may not know that they're
there, or may not know that it's ok and
really important to do that.”
Core Idea 3: Women feel there is a
stigma attached to seeking for help with
their problems.
“I feel a little bit awkward just walking in,
‘I need some help,’ because I feel like
oh, am I psycho or something?”
…..
“Therapy is weird, it’s only for like crazy
people, but I’ve talked to my family
about getting help with family issues,
and I think they think it’s weird; it’s taboo
to even mention you should to go see a
counselor.”
“So it’s definitely a hard balance to try to
find how can you get people to not feel
intimidated by it [counseling]...I think it’s
a barrier, getting people in beforehand,
before problems become depression or
become really serious, anxiety or
something or you bottom out. That’s
definitely an issue on campus.”
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“I haven’t really shared this- it’s kind of
personal- but I have sought out counseling
and stuff, and therapy, and it has made a
world of difference...I don’t know why I
don't share it more with my friends. I guess I
am kind of embarrassed, in a way, that I
have seen a counselor and stuff, but I wish
when I hear my friends’ concerns, I’ve
recommended it. I recommend it to
anyone, just going and talking. It helps so
much.”
Core Ideas:
1. The pressure to date and marry causes
anxiety among some women.
2. Concerns within dating relationships
may cause anxiety among women.
3. Women are concerned about their
relationships with close family members,
friends, and roommates, in addition to
dating relationships.
Core Idea 1: The pressure to date causes
anxiety among some women.
“But dating is always a concern. It’s
always stressful; it’s something we talk
about all the time.”
…..
“My dinner group last term, that was the
subject of every single dinner
conversation.”
“So it is something...always kind of lingering
there at the back of my head because it
is part of...the culture and society in this
area, whether or not we want it to be.
It’s just like nagging every time you see a
bridal fair or have a roommate who's
engaged…so it is always there, and not
always in a positive way.”
“I think a lot of the body image concerns are
tied with dating, too, because people who feel
like they don’t get asked out can say ‘I’m nice
and I’m smart’ but the one thing you can’t
really control is how you look so it’s easier to
blame that for why you might not be dating.
Because there’s this culture of dating; things
become shallow and superficial...I remember
freshmen year in the dorms thinking, all these
girls have prom hair everyday!”
…..
“I don’t know, sometimes I feel like it’s [dating] a
competitive sport.”
“A lot of girls will get married around this
age, but if you don’t, whatever. There’s
a time and a season for everything, and
if certain things don’t work out now, then
you keep moving on. You can’t sit
around waiting for Mr. Whoever to come
save you. ‘Cuz he does nothing.”
Core Idea 2: Concerns within dating
relationships may cause anxiety among
women.
“They [women] think we have to please the
guy by making out with them or being
physical and so the guys kind of use that.
And it takes several times of this, sometimes,
for the young women to get wise to it, to
just finally decide, I’m done. I’m not gonna
follow that manipulation thing. But in the
meanwhile, the feelings are constantly
getting hurt...girls that date and feel like
they have to make out to make the guy
happy, to keep the relationship going.”
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“I think about it [marriage] too and I
worry about that. I mean, my parents
split up when I was really young and so I
worry about, like, am I even equipped to
get married? Do I know what a good
healthy marriage looks like? I didn't really
grow up seeing how a good marriage
operates and so that causes anxiety for
me.”
Core Idea 3: Women are concerned
about their relationships with family
members, friends, and roommates, in
addition to dating relationships.
“The baby was only three when I left so a
lot has changed over that time and my
family's not the greatest at
communication, and so that's been a
big challenge - learning how to maintain
those relationships when I'm only there
once a year, twice a year.”
“I think the focus on dating can make it harder to
even just like have friends too because it’s so
okay, am I interested in you? Ok, next, next,
next..and so we forget about people as people
sometimes.”
…..
“I think it’s hard to make deep friendships, too, at
BYU, because it seems like people are changing
all the time, people are moving all the time,
semester changes, classes change. It can be
really difficult to make friends with people and
stay friends with them for longer than just a couple
months or whatever.”
“I don't feel like I'm very well-equipped
to help people and I don't know what to
tell them…I don't know what to tell my
roommates when they come home just
like crying about broken engagements
and things like that- what can you do?”
Core Ideas:
1. Women struggle with the question of
how to balance family life with their
educational goals.
2. Women sometimes feel that they are not
given social support in these decisions.
3. Women sometimes feel that they are not
given institutional support in these
decisions.
Core Idea 1: Women struggle with the
question of how to balance family life
with their educational goals.
“I obviously need it [a career] because I
need the money and stuff, to be able to
support myself. But I also want a career
because I want to feel like I have a
place in society and that I’m doing
something meaningful and important.”
“My biggest concern now is marriage and
career, because I want both and so I don’t
know how that will work together.”
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“How do I invest in a job or career but not
invest so much so that my heart is broken
when I have to leave it to have kids? How
do I find that balance?”
Core Idea 2: Women sometimes feel
that they are not given social support in
these decisions.
“But you know...we do want to do
something that we can have a career
with but I’m not ashamed to say that I
wanna stay home with my kids, I just
don’t think we should have so much
stigma against it.”
“I feel a lot of times in the [Elementary
Education] major that things are kind of
dumbed down because we’re like ‘those
people who just want to be moms’ and
what’s something we can do that we can do
while being a mom? Actually, that’s not the
reason I chose that major and there are a lot
of really intelligent girls that I think are being
kind of pushed to the side, like, ‘Oh you’re just
going to be a teacher, or a mom’...that really
bothers me.”
“I feel like there’s negative stigmas with
both, especially in the Church, because if
you do want a career then people are like,
‘Oh, well she obviously doesn’t understand
her proper place.’ And I feel like
sometimes it just leaves you either leaning
to one extreme or the other because it’s
hard to find the middle ground…there’s
always someone judging you on either
side.”
“Even though I feel pressure that you’re
supposed to have kids right away, it’s
more of an ideological pressure, I mean
being here at BYU you see people
making all sorts of different choices
about that, so you feel support no
matter what choice you decide to
make, a bunch of other people who’ve
made the same choice.”
Core Idea 3: Women sometimes feel
that they are not given institutional
support in these decisions.
“I feel like I’m getting a mixed message.
Like, you need to get an education and
settle down, but we aren’t really gonna
help you in doing both of that.”
“I thought there were a lot of other premed girls at BYU, and it's like less than ten
per cent…but I just thought that was kind
of great for me. I'm like the only girl in my
chemistry lab…If anything, I get more help
than the average guy. I feel like all the
professors are really supportive of me…so
as an institution, lots of support.”
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Seven Vectors (from Education and
Identity, 1993)
› Developing competence
› Managing emotions
› Moving through autonomy towards
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independence
Developing mature interpersonal relationships
Establishing identity
Developing purpose
Developing integrity
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Emotions are brought to the surface
when performance and projects are on
display for others’ approval or criticism.
› Addressed in 4 of the 5 focus groups
› Comparisons with others & perfectionism
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Anxiety, anger, depression, desire, guilt,
and shame can disturb the educational
process if they are excessive or
overwhelming.
› Addressed in 4 focus groups
› Mental illness, counseling stress, coping
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Separation from parents proceeds
through reliance on peers, other adults,
and institutional reference groups.
› Addressed in all 5 focus groups
› Living with roommates, friends, conflicts,
accessing resources
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There is a shift in the quality of
relationships with intimates and close
friends because of an increased
capacity for intimacy.
› Addressed in all 5 focus groups
› Relationships, dating, marriage
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Involves: comfort with body and
appearance, comfort with gender and
sexual orientation, sense of self in a social,
historical, and cultural context, clarification
of self-concept through roles and lifestyle,
sense of self in response to feedback from
valued others, self-acceptance and selfesteem, and personal stability and
integration.
› Addressed in all 5 focus groups
› Body image, eating disorders, learning about
self, weight, culture, femininity
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Requires making plans and establishing
priorities that integrate vocational plans
and aspirations, personal interests, and
interpersonal and family commitments.
› Addressed in 4 focus groups
› Career choice, major, serving missions, goal-
setting
› “Figuring out where I should go to grad school, if
I should go, how I pay for it, like all of those
things. Three years ago graduation was the end
point and now it's just the Pandora’s Box full of
new challenges.”
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Individuals select guidelines to suit
themselves and to suit the conditions of
their lives.
› Addressed in 3 focus groups
› Spirituality, conformity, integrity with honor
code
› “I think for me having some extremes, so
many people pulling everywhere…You get
to that point when you need to say, ‘This is
me. This is what I want. This is where I’m
going.’”
Students tend to struggle with
 Identity – Perfectionism, body image,
social and cultural norms
 Health – Physical, emotional, and mental
burdens
 Relationships – Pressure in dating and
social relationships, family, friends
 Women’s Roles – Balance, social and
institutional support
Students want more resources
 Improved academic counseling
 Safety- “to feel empowered instead of just
scared”
 Women mentors
 Support for education as well as family
goals (daycare, breastfeeding rooms)
 Education for recognizing unhealthy
relationships
 More focus groups
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“I also just thought of this - teaching men
about what maybe intimidates women,
that they don’t recognize or they just think is
funny. Like, I have a friend…where the guys
were intimidating this woman, and she was
probably afraid she was about to get gang
raped and they thought they were just
having a good time. So you can’t
necessarily reach those men, but you can
reach their friends and just kind of do little
things to start changing the culture of how
men and women interact. Talking to men
helps women.”
In almost every group, there was
unsolicited praise of the opportunity to
discuss these issues.
“And you know, when you get women from
different age groups and different
backgrounds...you get perspective and you
start feeling so much support and like, I am not
alone! Someone understands me, and so
here’s my voice, someone’s willing to hear my
voice!”
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What does your Counseling Center or
University do to promote women’s health
in these areas?
Utah University & College Counseling
Centers Conference
 October 28, 2011
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