The worlds we live in: Gender similarities and differences.

Explores 2 traditions of gender difference research and theory. One tradition emphasizes similarities between the sexes, whereas the other emphasizes differences. Reasons for the tension between these 2 traditions are explored. The author argues that rather than choose 1 of these 2 views, it is better to use the tension created to explore the dialectic between similarity and difference. To illustrate the usefulness of this tension, the controversy around gender and moral reasoning is explored. After examining empirical and political concerns about linking an ethic of care to gender, the author explores the interaction of care and justice with gender similarities and differences in developing moral theory. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Highly confident but wrong: Gender differences and similarities in confidence judgments.

Although gender differences are fairly consistent when people report their general confidence, much less is known about such differences when individuals assess the degree of confidence they have in their ability to answer any particular test question. The objective of this research was to investigate gender differences in item-specific confidence judgments. Data were collected from 3 psychology courses containing 70 men and 181 women. After answering each item on course exams, students indicated their confidence that their answer to that item was correct. Results showed that gender differences in confidence are dependent on the context (whether items were correct or wrong) and on the domain being tested. Moreover, although both men and women were overconfident, undergraduate men were especially overconfident when incorrect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in the academic locus of control beliefs of young children.

Conducted a statistical combination on past research examining gender differences in the locus of control beliefs of elementary school children. The review revealed that 235 females tended to score more internally than 200 males in total- and failure-outcome locus of control, as measured by the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility (IAR) Questionnaire. A new administration of the IAR (210 males, 215 females) revealed significantly more female internality for both success and failure outcomes—but only at the end of the school year. Also, females cited effort as the cause of success more often than males. These results are at odds with those found in studies that manipulated success and failure events. Possible reasons for the reversal are discussed. The results suggest (a) greater female internality exists in elementary school, but the gender difference is small; (b) the roots of lesser female adult achievement behavior may not be found in elementary school belief systems; and (c) it may be improper to conclude that young females express a helplessness pattern of attributions with regard to the achievement domain. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental implications of openness to experience in preschool children: Gender differences in young adulthood.

This study examined the longitudinal implications in late adolescence and emerging adulthood of Openness to Experience measured in preschool in a sample of 102 participants who were followed from preschool through emerging adulthood (age 23). Although gender differences in mean Openness scores were not found, the postpubertal longitudinal correlations associated with preschool Openness differed markedly for the sexes. Preschool boys who received high Openness scores were consistently described, both by self and others, as resilient, competent, and self-assured in young adulthood. In contrast, female participants who received high Openness scores continued to be seen as open at ages 18 and 23 but were also viewed, both by self and others, as more psychologically vulnerable than were their male peers. The discussion focuses on transformations in female development and the different longitudinal implications of Openness to Experience in males and females. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences and similarities in the personality correlates of adolescent alcohol problems.

The personality traits of behavioral undercontrol (BU) and negative emotionality (NE) are associated with alcohol problems. The authors examined gender differences in the associations of BU and NE with alcohol problems in 710 adolescents (aged 11.9–19.7 yrs) recruited from community and treatment sources. Multiple measures were used to characterize each construct, and the specified 2-factor model provided a reasonably good fit to the data. ANCOVAs were used to examine each construct by gender across four groups: never-regular drinkers, regular drinkers, and those with DSM-IV alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence. Males had significantly higher BU and lower NE than did females. BU and NE both increased with degree of alcohol problems. However, there was not a significant Gender * Alcohol Group interaction for BU or NE. Although there are gender differences in levels of BU and NE, mechanisms of alcohol involvement related to these 2 personality traits may operate similarly in adolescent males and females. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender similarities still rule.

Replies to comments made by Archer (see record 2006-11202-012), Lippa (see record 2006-11202-013), and Davies and Shackelford (see record 2006-11202-014) on the current author's original article (see record 2005-11115-001). The current author addresses the criticisms put forth by each of these commenting authors, and concludes that the best available scientific evidence continues to support the gender similarities hypothesis, that males and females are similar on most, but not all, psychological variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuropsychological abilities of young children with questionable brain disorders.

Neuropsychological test data, including the WISC, the Wide Range Achievement Test, and the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery, were collected on 31 6–8 yr olds with a history of serious illness or trauma suspected of causing brain injury. These Ss with questionable brain disorder were compared with a similar group of 31 Ss who had no history of possible brain disorder. Results show that 10 of the neuropsychological variables significantly differentiated Ss with questionable brain disorder from normals. Stepwise discriminant function analyses revealed that a select battery of 5 variables had a classification accuracy rate of 72.6%. The data show noteworthy deficits in Ss with questionable brain disorder, particularly in motor and visual-motor abilities and in functions involving the nondominant hand. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential calculation abilities in young children from middle- and low-income families.

Examined the performance of 42 middle- and 42 low-income kindergarten children on arithmetic calculations presented in a nonverbal format as well as in 3 different verbal formats. On the nonverbal task, the child was shown an initial set of disks, which was then hidden with a cover. The set was transformed by adding or removing disks. After the transformation, the child's task was to construct an array of disks that contained the same number of disks as in the final hidden set. A significant interaction between income level and task format was obtained. Although middle-income children performed better than low-income children on each of the verbal calculation tasks, the 2 income groups did not differ in performance on the nonverbal calculation task. The findings suggest that the nonverbal task format is less sensitive to socioeconomic variation than are the verbal task formats. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in the learning status of diabetic children.

Evaluated the learning status of 95 diabetic boys and girls and 97 matched controls using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R) IQ factors and school histories. Of interest was whether diabetic boys would evidence more learning difficulties. Results indicated that diabetic boys had significantly lower Freedom From Distractibility scores compared with the scores of diabetic girls and control Ss and lower Perceptual Organization scores compared with scores of control boys. Although group scores were still within the average range of functioning, a significantly high percentage of diabetic boys (40%) compared with diabetic girls (16%) had learning problems that warranted either special instructional services or grade retention. Diabetic children experienced more learning difficulties (24%) than controls (13%), supporting research findings that diabetes is associated with increased risk of learning problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Food and life, pleasure and worry, among American college students: Gender differences and regional similarities.

Questionnaires on food attitudes and behavior were completed by 2,200 American undergraduates from 6 regionally dispersed college campuses. Results indicate that a substantial minority of women and a much smaller minority of men have major concerns about eating and food with respect to both weight and health. Overall, 14% of women reported being embarrassed to buy a chocolate bar in the store. A 6-factor structure emerged: weight concern, diet and health orientation, beliefs about the diet-health link, food negativity/importance of food as a source of pleasure in life, eating disordered behaviors, and natural/vegetarian food preferences. There were surprisingly few regional differences, virtually none if race and social class were taken into account. Gender was the strongest predictor of responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in basal protein kinetics in young adults

Gender affects energy expenditure and influences the relative utilization of carbohydrate and fat as fuels. However, little is known about the possible effects of gender on protein metabolism. Thus, we compared whole body and plasma (albumin and fibrinogen) protein kinetics in the basal postabsorptive state in young, untrained volunteers divided into two groups according to gender (women: n=17; age, 24+/-4 yr; men: n=17; age, 25+/-2 yr). The two groups were matched for body mass index. Protein kinetics were measured by means of L-[1-14C]leucine infusion. The leucine whole body rate of appearance, an index of proteolysis, and nonoxidative rate of disappearance, an index of protein synthesis, were similar in the two groups. However, the leucine oxidation rate was significantly lower in women compared to men (0.23+/-0.07 vs. 0.31+/-0.08 micromol/kg min; P=0.0062). Similar results were obtained when data were adjusted for estimated body composition. Albumin and fibrinogen fractional secretion rates were not different in the two groups. In conclusion, in the basal state leucine oxidation is lower in women than in men regardless of body composition. This could be one of the factors contributing to the lower metabolic rate in women.     

Gender differences in peer relations of children with neurodevelopmental conditions.

Objective: To examine gender differences in the peer relations of children with congenital neurodevelopmental conditions (NDC). Participants: Thirty-four children with cerebral palsy or spina bifida and 41 typically developing (TD) children, ages 6-12. Measures: Personality Inventory for Children-Second Edition (PIC-2), Social Network Inventory for Children-Child Version, and the Friendship Quality Questionnaire-Revised (FQQ-R). Results: Children with NDC report smaller social networks and lower quality of friendships than TD peers. Group × Gender interaction effects were not significant. Conclusion: Prior to adolescence, the social differences and risks associated with NDC do not appear to be gender specific. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age-related differences and similarities in dual-task interference.

Differences between younger adults (mean age, 20.7 years) and older adults (mean age, 72.7 years) in dual-task performance were examined in 7 experiments in which the overlap between 2 simple tasks was systematically varied. The results were better fit by a task-switching model in which age was assumed to produce generalized slowing than by a shared-capacity model in which age was assumed to reduce processing resources. The functional architecture of task processing appears the same in younger and older adults. There was no evidence for a specific impairment in the ability of older adults to manage simultaneous tasks. There was evidence for both input and output interference, which may be greater in older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in self-concept among children and adolescents: A meta-analysis of multidimensional studies.

This investigation consolidated the recent research on gender differences in self-concept among children and youth by conducting a systematic meta-analysis of research published since 1980, particularly involving self-concept as a multidimensional phenomenon. Through a comprehensive search process, 22 studies representing over 19,000 child and adolescent participants were analyzed. The articles included participant samples from 7 nations: the US, Australia, Northern Ireland, South Africa, Finland, Norway, and Canada. Participants ranged from 1st grade through 12th grade. Mean effect size estimates across dimensions showed a complex pattern of gender differences and similarities, some of which were consistent across grade levels and others of which were not. Although some of the findings defied stereotypes, several were consistent with previous notions regarding differences in self-concept based on gender. The direction and complexity of these results emphasizes the importance of discussing developmental differences in self-concept in a thoughtful and careful manner and argues against the use of simplistic global generalizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in academically talented young students' mathematical reasoning: Patterns across age and subskills.

When a sample of academically talented students in Grades 2–6 was given a test of mathematical reasoning ability, boys performed better overall than girls. The gender differences for mathematical ability appeared as early as 2nd grade in samples tested over a 7-yr period but varied somewhat according to mathematical subskills. There were no substantial gender-related differences on tasks requiring students to identify whether enough information was provided to solve a task; however, boys performed better than girls on tasks requiring application of algebraic rules or algorithms, as well as on tasks in which the understanding of mathematical concepts and number relationships was required. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in abused children with and without disabilities

OBJECTIVE: Two questions were posed: (1) What are the proportions of boys and girls in various categories of substantiated child abuse? (2) Do the gender proportions differ for children with and without disabilities? METHOD: Data collected by previous researchers from a demographically representative sample of U.S. child abuse reporting districts was analyzed. This included 1,249 case files involving 1,834 children. The number of girls and boys who did and did not have disabilities was identified for three age categories and for several categories of abuse. Chi-square analyses were used to determine whether there was a relationship between disability and gender for the various age and abuse categories. RESULTS: More boys were physically abused and neglected, but more girls were sexually abused. Boys with disabilities, however, were over-represented in all categories of abuse. Moreover, gender proportions among abused children with disabilities differed significantly from those found among other abused children. Although slightly more than half of abused children without disabilities were girls, 65% of abused children with disabilities were boys. CONCLUSIONS: Boys represented a significantly larger proportion of physically abused, sexually abused, and neglected children with disabilities than would be expected from their respective proportion of abused and neglected children without disabilities. Several possible explanations for the observed gender and disability status interaction are discussed.     

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)     

Gender differences in alcohol and other drug use among young adults

This article describes gender differences in alcohol and other drug (AOD) use and misuse in a representative sample of young women and men in the United States. Data were drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) and focus on gender differences in prevalence and patterns of AOD use in African American, Hispanic, and White young adults ages 19 to 24 years old. Findings are summarized and implications for prevention are presented.     

Gender differences in mathematics.

Presents examples of disparate findings to show that it is not surprising that the debate about the magnitude of gender differences in mathematics continues in both the professional and lay communities. It is suggested that the media concludes prematurely that the mathematics performance of males is higher than females. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On sex differences in spatial abilities.

The present author agrees with the suggestions by P. J. Caplan et al (see record 1986-10956-001) that sex differences in average performance on spatial tasks are often modest in magnitude and inconsistent from one task to another and that spatial ability is not a unitary construct; however, their contentions that sex differences in spatial abilities are nonexistent and that the concept of spatial abilities is not sufficiently valid as to allow meaningful investigation of sex differences are challenged. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)