Sex roles and gender differences in the experience of depression.

Studied sex differences and sex role correlates of depressive experiences in 82 female and 39 male college students. Gender differences in depressive experiences were found. These differences were consistent with societal sex role expectations. The level of depression on the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale was negatively associated with sex role congruence, as assessed by the Sex-Role Stereotype Questionnaire, scored for Competency and Warmth–Expressiveness. Degree of sex role congruence within the male and female samples was also associated with different depressive experiences on the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire. The sex differences and the different intrasex correlations indicated that experiences of depression are associated with different facets of sex role stereotypes. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adaptive sex ratio variation in pre-industrial human (Homo sapiens) populations?

Sex allocation theory predicts that in a population with a biased operational sex ratio (OSR), parents will increase their fitness by adjusting the sex ratio of their progeny towards the rarer sex, until OSR has reached a level where the overproduction of either sex no longer increases a parent's probability of having grandchildren. Furthermore, in a monogamous mating system, a biased OSR is expected to lead to lowered mean fecundity among individuals of the more abundant sex. We studied the influence of OSR on the sex ratio of newborns and on the population birth rate using an extensive data set (n = 14,420 births) from pre-industrial (1775-1850) Finland. The overall effect of current OSR on sex ratio at birth was significant, and in the majority of the 21 parishes included in this study, more sons were produced when males were rarer than females. This suggests that humans adjusted the sex ratio of their offspring in response to the local OSR to maximize the reproductive success of their progeny. Birth rate and, presumably, also population growth rate increased when the sex ratio (males:females) among reproductive age classes approached equality. However, the strength of these patterns varied across the parishes, suggesting that factors other than OSR (e.g. socioeconomic or environmental factors may also have influenced the sex ratio at birth and the birth rate.     

From individual differences to social categories: Analysis of a decade's research on gender.

Performed an analysis of recent research on sex and gender in terms of 3 major approaches: (a) sex as an S variable; (b) individual differences in masculinity, femininity, and androgyny; and (c) sex as a social category. The variance accounted for by main effect differences of S sex was found to be small in most cases. The unique contribution of androgyny, in the sense of a construct with emergent properties, is still uncertain, limiting the potential of the first 2 approaches. It is suggested that the impact of sex as a social category is considerable, but more detailed research is needed. From this perspective, the focus is not on how men and women differ, but on how people think they differ. Further advances in understanding gender will depend on more process-oriented approaches that will take into account both S and social category factors. (72 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of counselor gender and counselor sex role orientation on perceived counselor characteristics.

Assessed the influence of counselor (C) gender (male or female), C sex role orientation (traditional or egalitarian), S's sex role orientation (masculine, feminine, or androgynous), and client problem type (sex role related or not sex role related) on female Ss' judgments of their comfort with disclosing to Cs and their perceptions of the C's attractiveness, expertness, and trustworthiness. Results show that (a) S's ratings of comfort in disclosing was greater with female rather than male and with egalitarian rather than traditional Cs; (b) female egalitarian Cs were perceived as most expert, whereas female traditional Cs were perceived as least expert, and (c) male traditional Cs were perceived as least trustworthy. The presence of C gender and C sex role effects and the absence of effects as a function of problem type and Ss' sex role orientation are discussed. Suggestions are made concerning the need for more consistent definition of sex role orientation and designation of problem type. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Who studies sex differences?

Investigated the influence of author sex on the likelihood of reporting analyses for sex differences in data. Recent issues of 4 American Psychological Association journals were surveyed to determine the sex of the senior author and whether or not the paper reported any tests of sex differences. Female authors reported analyses of sex differences in a greater proportion of their studies than did male authors, although sex differences were ignored by both sexes more often that they were studied. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A ratio measure of sex stereotyping.

The goals of these two studies were (a) to develop a measure of cultural sex stereotypes and individual differences in sex stereotyping and (b) to determine the accuracy of cultural sex stereotypes. Stereotype measures were based on ratio scores. For a given attribute, the strength of a stereotype was indexed by the ratio of perceivers' estimates of the percentage of women versus men with that attribute. In Study 1, one group of subjects estimated the prevalence in men and women of 30 socially desirable traits. A second group of subjects rated themselves on the same traits, thus providing group norms that were used as criteria for accuracy. Ratio measures were found to be useful in identifying the content of cultural sex stereotypes and in assessing individual differences in stereotyping. Individual differences in stereotyping were found to generalize across a wide variety of traits. To assess accuracy, stereotypes were compared with group norms. Group norms showed only a few large sex differences on traits, although there were many small sex differences. Stereotypes were much more extreme; that is, large sex differences were assumed to exist for virtually every trait. Study 2 replicated the results of Study 1 and extended the findings to socially undesirable sex stereotypes. Implications of these results are discussed for the "kernel of truth" debate and for schema theories of stereotyping. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual integrality of sex and identity of faces: Further evidence for the single-route hypothesis.

According to current face-recognition models, sex (gender) and identity of faces are processed in independent routes. Using Garner's speeded-classification task, the authors provide evidence that sex and identity are processed within a single route. In 4 experiments, participants judged the sex or the familiarity of faces while the other dimension remained constant or varied randomly. The results of Experiments 1, 2, and 4 showed that participants could not selectively attend to either sex or familiarity without being influenced by the other, irrelevant dimension. Thus, identity and sex are integral dimensions. Experiment 3 provided evidence that when sex judgments are based on hairstyle heuristics, false separability can emerge. The findings support the claim that identity and sex are processed within a single route. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of state and trait affect on HIV risk behaviors: A daily diary study of MSM.

Objective: To characterize the influence of state and trait affect on HIV risk behaviors. Design: Men who have sex with men (N = 155) completed reports of trait affect and daily reports of affect and sexual behaviors each night for up to 30 days. Main Outcome Measures: Analyses focused on the role of state and trait positive activation (PA), negative activation (NA), anxious arousal (AA), and sexual activation (SA) on sexual risk taking, operationalized as having a sex partner, a partner-related risk composite, and an HIV risk behavior composite. Results: State SA was positively associated with having a sex partner and HIV risk behaviors; trait SA was positively associated with partner-related risk. State AA was negatively associated with having a sex partner and positively associated with HIV risk behaviors. Trait AA had a negative association with partner-related risk and moderated the effects of state AA. State PA was negatively associated with HIV risk behaviors, and trait PA had a main effect on having a sex partner. NA had no significant trait or state effects. Conclusion: These data suggest a role for multiple affective states in sexual risk taking. Models of HIV risk-taking behaviors should be extended to include affective processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Content and grammatical sex bias on the Interpersonal Trust Scale and differential trust toward women and men.

Modified the items on the Interpersonal Trust Scale (ITS) to specify the sex of the reference groups to be trusted in order to study possible content and grammatical sex bias in responses to the ITS and to study whether men and women differ in their trust toward men and women. There was clear evidence for both masculine content sex bias and grammatical sex bias in responses by both college men and women (192 and 322 Ss, respectively). The trust scale provides a conservative estimate of trust toward women and indicates a critical need for ITS-trust-toward-women studies. Men and women indicated greater trust toward women than toward men or non-sex-specified referents wherever comparisons were possible. These findings coupled with differences between J. B. Rotter's trust concept and factors of trust on his scale suggest that 2 aspects of trust are sex linked and also suggest the importance of testing the implicit hypothesis that more important trusting decisions are made toward men than toward women. This study extends sex bias research to personality measures, distinguishes 2 new types of sex bias, and provides a methodology for testing the effects of these biases. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Human immunodeficiency virus seroprevalence and condom use among female sex workers in Italy

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In two different studies, we evaluated the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seroprevalence rate and the condom use in a group of female sex workers working in Italy. STUDY DESIGN: In the first study we collected data on HIV serologic testing of female sex workers; in the second study, we evaluated the use of condoms and high-risk sexual practices by sex workers with their clients and nonpaying partners. RESULTS: Overall, 131 of 802 (16%) were HIV positive: 36 of 558 (6%) professional sex workers and 95 of 244 (39%) sex workers who used intravenous drugs. There was a significant increase of seroprevalence among professional sex workers between 1988 to 1990 and 1991 to 1995 (2% versus 11%, P < or = 0.001), whereas among the sex workers who used intravenous drugs, the increase was not significant (37% versus 40%, P = 0.70). Similarly, the HIV seroprevalence in the Italian professional sex workers is constant in the two periods of time (2% versus 1%). In the second study, 97 of 102 (95%) sex workers reported regular condom use with clients, whereas 63% of sex workers reported they never used them with nonpaying partners. Fourteen sex workers reported having nonpaying partners who used intravenous drugs and 6 reported having nonpaying bisexual partners; 8 of these 20 partners were HIV positive. CONCLUSION: The results of the first study showed a significant increase of seroprevalence among professional sex workers, whereas the high seroprevalence among sex workers who used intravenous drugs was constant. The results of the second study showed that sex workers may be at higher risk for HIV infection through noncommercial sexual intercourses.     

Influence of sex role stereotypes on personnel decisions of Black managers.

The influence of sex role stereotypes on the hiring decisions of Black managers was investigated. A 2?×?2?×?2 factorial design and a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used to analyze the relationship between sex of respondent, sex of applicant, and job sex type. Respondents were 131 managers who rated either a Black man or a Black women for a stereotypically female- or male-sex-typed job on a Likert-type scale. There were significant findings on 3 of the 7 dependent variables: potential to work, potential to complete tasks, and technical potential. Men were rated more favorably for the male-sex-typed job and women were rated more favorably for the female-sex-typed job. However, sex stereotyping was more pronounced for the female-sex-stereotyped job than for the male-sex-stereotyped job on some dependent variables. Results are discussed in regard to the unique experiences of Black men and women in American society. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do spatial skills contribute to sex differences in different types of mathematical problems?

A battery consisting of spatial tests from the Kit of Factor-Referenced Cognitive tests, a linguistic test, and mathematical tests covering a wide exploratory collection of problems was administered to 262 female and 314 male students in Grades 10 and 12 to examine the relationship between sex differences on particular spatial tests and sex differences on particular mathematical problems. In general, the magnitude of the sex difference on any mathematical problem was not diminished when spatial and linguistic scores were taken into account. This finding was observed in the context of sex differences in most of the spatial tests and in the linguistic test. A difference in the direction and size of the sex difference as a function of the type of mathematical problem was also observed. Females performed better than males on logical, relatively abstract problems. Males demonstrated greater mastery of proportionality, scale, and 2- and 3-dimensional problems. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of MMPI scores of White and Japanese-American medical patients.

Compared the MMPI scores of 164 patients (mean age 40.3 yrs) classified by sex, diagnostic group (somatization disorder or organic brain syndrome), and race (White or Japanese-American). MANOVA revealed effects for sex and diagnostic group, as well as a sex by race interaction. Male Ss scored significantly higher than females on 9 clinical scales; thus, factors other than race (e.g., sex) appear to be critical in the interpretation of MMPI scores. Implications for the use of the MMPI with non-White patients are discussed. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in sustained attention across the adult life span.

We used a life span sample of 18- to 91-year-old men (n?=?176) and women (n?=?108) to investigate sex differences and the effect of age on sex differences in performance and arousal during a 62-min no-memory-demand sensory vigilance task (Mackworth's Clock-Test). We observed sex differences in target response time and on measures of autonomic arousal; women were slower and less aroused than men. A review of the literature, in conjunction with the results of this study, led to our concluding that women are slower to respond to targets than men and that women may tend to detect fewer targets than men only when they are young (18–29 years old). Sex differences in arousal levels were consistent with an arousal explanation of sex differences in response time. However, detection accuracy and false alarm rates were not consistent with sex differences in arousal levels. Sex differences in the time course of vigilance performance were inconsistent. Age did not significantly moderate the sex differences in vigilance decrement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex-related errors in job evaluation: A "real-world" test.

Investigated the effects of the dominant sex of job incumbents, pay level of a job, and evaluator's sex on job evaluation scores among 103 compensation practitioners who responded to a survey instrument in which 3 jobs were to be evaluated on each of the following compensable factors: education, experience, and complexity. 51% of the Ss were female and 44% held administrative positions in compensation. Results show that no effects on either the absolute rating or relative standing of the manipulated job were found as a function of dominant sex of job incumbents or evaluator sex. Pay level was associated with substantial effect on the absolute rating and on the relative standing of the manipulated job. Implications for the comparable worth controversy are discussed. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Susceptibility and precipitating factors in depression: Sex differences and similarities.

Argues that the well-documented sex difference in depression may be due to a sex difference in susceptibility, in precipitating factors, or in both. Data from a large mental health survey (2,515 White over-18 residents of 2 cities) were used to study precipitating factors. It was found that women were exposed more often to more of the factors that relate to depression; with a few exceptions, the factors related to depression similarly for men and women. Matching on these factors did not eliminate the sex difference in depression. This suggests that there may be a sex difference in susceptibility. Current theories of depression are incorporated into a sequential model of how learned factors might contribute both to susceptibility and to the sex difference. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex and ethnic effects on motivation to manage among college business students.

Motivation-to-manage scores on the Miner Sentence Completion Scale were compared for male vs female and Black vs White business students (N?=?216) from 2 universities, 1 predominately White and the other predominately Black. A 2 (S sex)?×?2 (ethnic group) multivariate ANOVA yielded significant differences on motivation to manage for both S sex and ethnic group. A discriminant analysis revealed an underlying 2-dimensional structure, with females separated from males on one dimension by a lower desire to engage in competitive games and Black Ss separated from White Ss on a 2nd dimension by a lower orientation toward imposing wishes and standing out from the group and a greater affinity for the assertive role. Although significant S sex and ethnic group differences were found, further analyses suggested that a rather small amount of variance was explained by the sex and ethnic factors. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Student assessment of teacher masculinity and femininity: A test of the sex role congruency hypothesis on student attitudes toward learning.

This study expanded the traditional research on teacher sex differences and student outcomes. We examined the impact of teacher and student sex differences and student assessment of teacher sex role orientation on student attitudes toward learning and found no interaction effects to support the sex role congruency hypothesis. Rather we found only a main effect for sex role orientation with androgynous teachers (those who show warmth and concern plus are assertive and dominant), who produced the most positive student attitudes toward affective, cognitive, and behavioral intent learning. Students, whether male or female, were more affected by overall teacher qualities than by whether the teacher was male or female. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)