Self-discipline gives girls the edge: Gender in self-discipline, grades, and achievement test scores.

Throughout elementary, middle, and high school, girls earn higher grades than boys in all major subjects. Girls, however, do not outperform boys on achievement or IQ tests. To date, explanations for the underprediction of girls' GPAs by standardized tests have focused on gender differences favoring boys on such tests. The authors' investigation suggests an additional explanation: Girls are more self-disciplined, and this advantage is more relevant to report card grades than to achievement or aptitude tests. Eighth-grade girls at an urban magnet school were more self-disciplined than their male counterparts according to delay of gratification measures and self-report, teacher, and parent ratings. Whereas girls earned higher grades in all courses, they did only marginally better on an achievement test and worse on an IQ test. Mediation analyses suggested girls earned higher GPAs at least in part because they were more self-disciplined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age and sex differences in health habits and beliefs of schoolchildren.

Surveyed 1,981 boys and 1,952 girls in Grades 3–12 about health habits and beliefs, including smoking and eating habits, perceptions of exercise, weight, and parental involvement in health. Factors that emerged were smoking habits, family discussion of health, family thinking about health, nutritional habits, and health locus of control. Girls generally reported healthier food habits than did boys. However, adolescent girls reported more cigarette smoking than did adolescent boys. Also, boys consistently reported higher levels of exercise. There were also changes in habits and belief with age; trends that emerged in junior high school continued through high school. Adolescence also seems to be a transitional time for health habits, as suggested by personal experimentation and individual variation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental changes in gender composition of friendship networks in adolescent girls and boys.

This article describes both normative changes and individual differences in the gender composition of girls' and boys' friendship networks across adolescence and predicts variations in these changes. It also examines changes in the characteristics (context, age difference, closeness, and support) of same- and other-sex friendships in the network. Girls and boys (N=390) were interviewed annually from Grades 6 to 10 (76% retention). Growth in the proportion of other-sex friends was significantly more pronounced for girls and was related to different predictors for girls and boys. Moreover, over time, girls had other-sex friends that were increasingly older than themselves, and most of these friendships took place outside of the school, which was not the case for boys. Growth in the proportion of other-sex friends was more pronounced for secondary than for best friends. Finally, both girls and boys reported receiving higher levels of help from girls than from boys. These findings suggest that other-sex friendships might place some of the girls on a problematic developmental trajectory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in writing self-beliefs of elementary school students.

The authors investigated the nature of gender differences in the writing self-beliefs of elementary school students in Grades 3, 4, and 5 (N?=?363). Girls were judged superior writers, but there were no gender differences in writing self-efficacy after controlling for writing aptitude. However, girls expressed that they were better writers than were other boys or girls in their class or in their school to a greater degree than did boys. Only writing self-efficacy beliefs and aptitude predicted writing performance in a path model that included writing apprehension, self-efficacy for self-regulation, and perceived usefulness of writing. Self-efficacy mediated the effects of aptitude and self-efficacy for self-regulation on performance. Writing self-concept was higher and apprehension lower for students in Grade 3 than in Grade 5. Data were consistent with A. Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory and suggest that boys and girls may use a different metric when responding to traditional self-efficacy scales. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stress and anxious-depressed symptoms among adolescents: Searching for mechanisms of risk.

This study was an examination of the possible mechanisms of risk among adolescents (n?=?55) exposed to the stress associated with the diagnosis of cancer in a parent. Girls whose mothers had cancer reported significantly more anxious-depressed symptoms than girls whose fathers were ill or boys whose mothers or fathers had cancer. Increased family responsibilities and the use of ruminative coping were examined as possible mechanisms leading to increased distress in girls with ill mothers. Although girls reported the use of more ruminative coping, rumination did not account for the impact of maternal cancer on girls' distress. Girls whose mothers were ill reported more stressful events reflecting family responsibilities. Furthermore, family responsibility stress fully accounted for the interaction of gender of the ill parent and gender of the adolescent in predicting anxious-depressed symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of girls' and boys' aggressive-disruptive behavior trajectories across elementary school: Prediction to young adult antisocial outcomes.

Multiple group analysis and general growth mixture modeling was used to determine whether aggressive- disruptive behavior trajectories during elementary school, and their association with young adulthood antisocial outcomes, vary by gender. Participants were assessed longitudinally beginning at age 6 as part of an evaluation of 2 school-based preventive programs. Two analogous trajectories were found for girls and boys: chronic high aggression- disruption (CHAD) and stable low aggression- disruption (LAD). A 3rd class of low moderate aggression- disruption (LMAD) for girls and increasing aggression- disruption (IAD) for boys also was found. Girls and boys in analogous CHAD classes did not differ in trajectory level and course, but girls in the CHAD and LAD classes had lower rates of antisocial outcomes than boys. Girls with the LMAD trajectory differed from boys with the IAD trajectory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A developmental investigation of social aggression among children.

Social aggression consists of actions directed at damaging another's self-esteem, social status, or both, and includes behaviors such as facial expressions of disdain, cruel gossiping, and the manipulation of friendship patterns. In Study 1, 4th, 7th, and 10th graders completed the Social Behavior Questionnaire; only boys viewed physical aggression as more hurtful than social aggression, and girls rated social aggression as more hurtful than did boys. In the 1st phase of Study 2, girls participated in a laboratory task in which elements of social aggression were elicited and reliably coded. In the 2nd phase of Study 2, another sample of participants (elementary, middle, and high school boys and girls) viewed samples of socially aggressive behaviors from these sessions. Girls rated the aggressor as more angry than boys, and middle school and high school participants viewed the socially aggressive behaviors as indicating more dislike than elementary school children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in toddlers' behavior and parental reaction.

Observed 12 families, each consisting of 1 toddler-aged child, a mother, and a father in their own homes. 6 children were boys, and 6 were girls. Boys played with blocks and manipulated objects significantly more than girls. Girls asked for help, played with dolls, danced, and dressed up significantly more than boys. Both parents gave girls more praise and more criticism than boys, and both parents joined boys' play more often than girls' play. However, boys were left to play alone more than girls. Comparisons between parents' answers on a child-rearing questionnaire were made with the home observations. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affect, aggression, and altruism.

Investigated the effects of thinking happy, sad, or angry thoughts on both aggression and altruism in 39 male and 34 female 3rd graders in a 4 * 2 design with 3 affect manipulations and a control group. Girls shared more balloons than boys, but there were not treatment differences in altruism. Boys were more aggressive than girls, although the sexes did not differ in the control condition. Instead, boys in all 3 affect conditions were more aggressive than in the control condition, whereas girls in all 3 affect conditions were less aggressive than girls in the control condition. Results are consistent with a view that any kind of emotional arousal may serve to increase a dominant aggressive response in boys and lead to inhibition of aggression in girls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in children's altruistic behavior and reputations for helpfulness.

Examined sex differences in altruism by administering reputation and behavioral measures to 279 5th and 6th graders. Ss' reputations for altruism were assessed with teacher ratings and a classroom sociometric task. Altruistic behavior was measured with 6 classroom tasks that provided Ss with opportunities to help other Ss. Girls scored significantly higher than did boys on both reputation tasks and on a composite reputation score. Girls also scored significantly higher than did boys on 2 of the behavioral tasks and on the composite behavioral measure. Thus, although girls were perceived as much more helpful than boys, the behavioral differences were of a lesser magnitude. Results replicate closely those reported by H. Hartshorne et al (1929). (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in math performance: The role of children's approach to schoolwork.

This research examined whether the tendency for girls to outperform boys in the classroom is due to differences in how girls and boys approach schoolwork. In 5th grade and then again in 7th grade, children (N=518) reported on how they approach schoolwork (i.e., achievement goals and classroom behavior), their learning strategies, and their self-efficacy in math; math grades and achievement test scores were also collected. Girls were more likely than boys to hold mastery over performance goals and to refrain from disruptive classroom behavior, which predicted girls' greater effortful learning over time. The sex difference in learning strategies accounted for girls' edge over boys in terms of grades. Girls did not do better on achievement tests, possibly because self-efficacy, for which there was also no sex difference, was the central predictor of performance on achievement tests. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in masking negative emotions: Ability or motivation?

Research has demonstrated that boys display greater negative affect than girls when they receive a disappointing gift. In this study, ability and motivation were investigated as possible reasons for the gender differences. First- and 3rd-grade children's emotion dissimulation in a disappointing gift task was compared with their degree of dissimulation in a highly motivating game task that required the same ability (masking disappointment with a positive expression) but involved a self-gain motive. If boys are motivated, can they hide their disappointment as well as girls? Boys reduced their expression of negative affect in the game task; however, they still showed higher levels of negativity than did the girls. Perhaps because of socialization experiences, girls have more practice in hiding disappointment and, therefore, are better skilled. Girls also showed higher levels of social monitoring behaviors than boys, and younger girls demonstrated the greatest number of tension behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trajectories of stressful life events and depressive symptoms during adolescence.

This 4-yr longitudinal study of 191 girls and 185 boys living in intact families in the rural Midwest examines the trajectories of life events and depressive symptoms in adolescence. The trajectories of depressive symptoms differ between boys and girls. Compared with boys, girls experienced a greater number of depressive symptoms after age 13. Changes in uncontrollable events are associated with the increases in girls' but not boys' depressive symptoms. Latent growth curve analyses show that, over 4 yrs, (1) depressive symptoms for girls changed according to a curvilinear pattern that is associated with changes in stressful events; (2) the level of depressive symptoms is related to the level of life events for both boys and girls; and (3) change in depressive symptoms is significantly related to change in stressful events only for girls. Girls living with less supportive mothers are more vulnerable to negative life changes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Construction and characterization of encapsidated poliovirus replicons that express biologically active murine interleukin-2

The study investigated the relationships among children's self-report of anticipatory pain and fear, physiological measures of distress, and previous medical experience in 62 outpatients during allergy skin testing. Younger (aged 3-7 years) and older (aged 8-12 years) children reported similar amounts of pain and fear. Girls reported more pain than boys. Older children and boys provided differential pain and fear ratings compared with younger children and girls. Younger children's self-report of distress was not related to any physiological measures, but older children's report of fear was significantly related to blood pressure. In girls, positive medical experience was correlated with less pain. The implications of these findings for the clinical measurement and intervention of children's distress during painful medical procedures are discussed.     

Sex differences in 2- and 3-years-olds: Mother-child relations, peer relations, and peer play.

This paper examines the different behavior patterns utilized by boys and girls as they form peer relationships and engage in peer play; the nature of their relations with their mothers is also reported. Girls manifested more intense involvement with their mothers, engaged in less peer play than boys, showed lower mood, lower levels of play, less direct aggression, and more controlling play with peers. Furthermore, their mothers handled their requests for contact and aggressive behavior differently than did mothers of boys. Boys were slower to become aware of separateness but once aware, they came to terms with it faster than girls. The boys took longer to pay attention to peers; once peers were focused on, the play moved more quickly to high levels than did the play of the girls. Qualitative findings were supported by quantitative findings-boys showed more contact and more involvement with their peers than did girls. The hypothesis is tentatively offered that the reaction to the awareness of psychological separateness from their mothers is more intense in girls than in boys partly because girls experience this awareness earlier, owing to their more rapid cognitive maturation. . . (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Initiation of substance use in early adolescence: The roles of pubertal timing and emotional distress.

Tested 2 hypotheses regarding the effects of pubertal timing on substance use in a prospective study of 221 young adolescents (aged 10.67–14.67 yrs at 1st assessment). A maturational-deviance hypothesis predicted that early-maturing girls and late-maturing boys would experience heightened emotional distress, which in turn would influence initiation and use of substances. Alternatively, an early-maturation hypothesis predicted that early-maturing girls would engage in more substance use than all other groups, independent of emotional distress. Early-maturing Ss reported more substance use within 1 yr. Ss experiencing elevated levels of negative affect also reported greater substance use within the next year. However, pubertal timing was not related to emotional distress. Results support the early-maturation hypothesis for girls and suggest its extension to boys. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mutual influences in parent and adolescent psychological distress.

Using a cross-lagged effect model with 3 waves of panel data, this study examined mutual influences in parent and adolescent psychological distress reported independently by respondents in each of 4 parent–child dyads: mothers–sons, mothers–daughters, fathers–sons, and fathers–daughters. Results showed that parent and adolescent distress were reciprocally related across time, even after earlier emotional status was statistically controlled. These mutual influences in distress, however, were gender specific, with the strongest cross-lagged associations occurring between mothers and sons and fathers and daughters. Moreover, boys were more susceptible to parental distress during early adolescence, girls during early to mid-adolescence. Incremental fit comparisons for alternative models suggest that a son's distress may have more negative consequences for mothers than the reverse. Finally, mutual influences in psychological distress for fathers and daughters were more pronounced for girls who were experiencing the onset of menarche and for girls who recently experienced a school transition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Epidemiology of school injuries in the northern part of Sweden

The aim of this one-year investigation of school accidents is to obtain more knowledge for preventive work. In the age-group 7-19 years, 547 injuries were registered, mainly at three hospitals. The incidence rate was 25 per 1000 boys and 20 per 1000 girls per year. Most injuries occurred in intermediate and upper secondary school among boys and in upper school among girls. The relative risk of school injury compared with spare-time injury was 1.8 for boys and 2.6 for girls of compulsory school age. Most injuries occurred in sports area (boys: 34%, girls: 46%). The incidence of sports injuries showed no gender differences. The highest incidence rate was found in senior school girls. Twenty-five percent of all injuries were caused by other pupils, intentional violence being one important mechanism. Head injuries were more common among school injuries compared with spare-time injuries.     

Confrontation with aggressive peers at school: Students' reluctance to seek help from the teacher .

Asking for assistance from a teacher is generally viewed by elementary school students as a way of avoiding rather than resolving peer conflict. However, there are situations when it is appropriate and perhaps necessary to seek help. This study investigated such situations. Vignettes that portrayed aggressive peer conflict at school were presented to 128 3rd and 4th graders, who were asked what they would do and why. Students' self-perceptions of peer relations also were measured. At Grade 3, boys and girls were equally likely to go to the teacher for help, whereas at Grade 4, girls were more likely than boys to do so. At Grade 4, girls showed greater interest than boys in resolving conflict and "getting things back to normal." At Grade 3, students interested in revenge tended to go to the teacher. At both grades, boys were more concerned than girls that help seeking might lead to hassles with the teacher or reprisals from classmates. Boys who perceived themselves as popular and girls who perceived themselves as unpopular were relatively likely to seek help. Relations between help seeking and children's grade level, gender, and self-perceptions are discussed in terms of goal and strategy components in a social-information-processing model of conflict resolution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A short-term longitudinal study of Internet and computer game use by adolescent boys and girls: Prevalence, frequency of use, and psychosocial predictors.

Prevalence, frequency, and psychosocial predictors of Internet and computer game use were assessed with 803 male and 788 female adolescents across 2 time periods, 21 months apart. At Time 1, participants were in the 9th or 10th grade; at Time 2, they were in the 11th or 12th grade. Most girls (93.7%) and boys (94.7%) reported using the Internet at both time periods, whereas more boys (80.3%) than girls (28.8%) reported gaming at both time periods. Girls reported a small decrease over time in the frequency of hours spent per day on overall technology use, mostly due to a decrease in gaming. Both linear and curvilinear relations were examined between parental relationships, friendship quality, academic orientation, and well-being measured in early high school and the frequency of technology use in late high school. Being male significantly predicted both computer gaming and Internet use. There also were trends in favor of higher friendship quality and less positive parental relationships predicting higher frequency of Internet use. Importantly, moderate use of the Internet was associated with a more positive academic orientation than nonuse or high levels of use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)