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 the sensitivity to posttraumatic stress disorder: An epidemiological study of urban young adults.

The authors examine the relationship between 2 separate but interrelated findings in the epidemiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): women's greater PTSD risk following traumatic events and the sensitizing effects of a prior trauma on the PTSD response to a subsequent trauma. Data come from a representative sample of 1,698 young adults from a large U.S. city. Analysis was conducted on the subset exposed to traumatic events. Women's risk for PTSD following assaultive violence was higher than men's. When assaultive violence preceded a later nonassaultive trauma in women, there was an increased risk (relative risk = 4.9) for PTSD, which was not observed in men. The relative risk estimate in women was significantly higher than in men. These findings suggest that assaultive violence elicits women's PTSD response directly and by sensitizing them to the effects of subsequent traumatic events of lesser magnitude. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Race differences in stress-induced reactivity in young adults.

Studied the cardiovascular response to the stress of mental arithmetic in 121 young Black and White adults. Stress-induced reactivity was studied before and following 14 days of oral sodium loading (10 gm NaCl per day). Marginal hypertensives, both Black and White, had greater systolic blood pressure (SBP) levels and greater diastolic BP levels in response to stress. Whites had a greater SBP level during mental stress than Blacks and greater reactivity. The prevalence of sodium sensitivity was greater in Blacks (37.3%) than in Whites (18.4%). Sodium loading did not augment the BP reactivity to the mental stress in any of the racial or BP groups. Data demonstrate racial variation in the cardiovascular response to centrally medicated adrenergic stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structure of abilities in math-precocious young children: Gender similarities and differences.

For this study of the organization of cognitive abilities and gender differences in young children advanced in mathematical reasoning, parents identified 778 preschoolers and kindergartners. After screening with 2 arithmetic subtests of standard intelligence tests, 310 high scorers (55% boys) were given 15 additional measures. Mean performance of these high scorers on all standardized measures was 1 to 2 standard deviations above the mean of the norming samples. Boys scored higher on 8 of 11 quantitative measures, 0 of 3 verbal measures, and l of 3 spatial measures, including quantitative and spatial working memory span. Three factors (quantitative, verbal, and spatial) were modeled using confirmatory factor analysis; patterns of relationships were similar for older and younger groups and for girls and boys. Spatial and quantitative factors were highly correlated; the verbal factor correlated weakly with the others but showed a stronger relationship with the spatial factor for boys than girls. (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)     

Gender differences in emotional risk for self- and other-directed violence among externalizing adults.

Objective: Women and men generally differ in how frequently they engage in other- and self-directed physical violence and may show distinct emotional risk factors for engagement in these high-impact behaviors. To inform this area, we investigated gender differences in the relationship of emotional tendencies (i.e., anger, hostility, and anhedonic depression) that may represent risk for other-directed violence (i.e., physical fighting, attacking others unprovoked) and self-directed violence (i.e., self-injury, suicide attempts). Method: The ethnically diverse sample consisted of 372 adults (252 men and 120 women age 18–55) with a history of criminal convictions. Facets of emotional risk assessed with the Aggression Questionnaire (Buss & Warren, 2000) and Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire (Watson et al., 1995) were entered simultaneously as explanatory variables in regression analyses to investigate their unique contributions to other- and self-directed physical violence in men and women. Results: Analyses revealed that anhedonic depressive tendencies negatively predicted other-directed violence and positively predicted self-directed violence in men and women, consistent with a model of depression in which aggression is turned inward (Henriksson et al., 1993). Gender differences, however, emerged for the differential contributions of anger and hostility to other- and self-directed violence. Trait anger (i.e., difficulty controlling one's temper) was associated with other-directed violence selectively in men, whereas trait hostility (i.e., suspiciousness and alienation) was associated with self- and other-directed violence among women. Conclusions: The divergent findings for trait anger and hostility underscore the need to examine gender-specific risk factors for physical violence to avoid excluding potentially useful clinical features of these mental health outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in sexual interest

A common gender stereotype is that males are more interested than females in sex for purely physical reasons. Sociobiologists claim that this difference is biologically determined. In contrast, many sociologists and anthropologists claim that the difference is cultural. The debate about nature versus nurture regarding sexual interest has been long-standing without resolution. We propose a biosocial model that integrates data about nature and nurture to show (i) how several biological factors tilt males and females in different directions related to sexual interest, and (ii) how numerous social factors influence the way the biological tilts can be redirected in countless different ways as individuals grow up in subsets of their culture and subculture. This interactionist approach does not down-play the importance of either biological or social factors: It avoids nature-nurture debates that pit nature against nurture by showing how biological and social factors act in concert, combining their influences. The resulting work contributes to both the theoretical and practical literature, not only showing how sexology can deal with issues of nature and nurture but also providing information useful to people who are troubled about common gender differences in sexual interest.     

Gender differences in dream perspectives

A study exploring gender differences in self-reported dream perspectives was performed with 282 college students. Significantly more of the 164 women reported dreaming exclusively in first person and more of the 114 men exclusively in third person. Also, gender differences were found for those who dreamed in mixed perspective, a combination of first- and third-person points of view. Possible reasons for these differences were suggested and further research posited.     

Gender differences in personality disorders

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess gender differences in personality disorders. Since heterogeneity of axis I diagnoses could introduce variability in the assessment of axis II diagnoses, the authors studied a group of patients with a primary diagnosis of major depression. METHOD: A total of 316 patients were evaluated with the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire--Revised, a self-rating measure, or the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders (SCID-II), a clinician-rated instrument, or both. Axis II disorders were assessed with the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire--Revised for 288 patients with major depression. The SCID-II was administered to 117 subjects, with an additional 95 subjects receiving the SCID-II for cluster B diagnoses only. RESULTS: The mean 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores for 108 men (mean age = 39.28 years) and 208 women (mean age = 39.11) were 19.0 (SD = 3.8) and 19.6 (SD = 6.9), respectively. Men were significantly more likely than women to meet criteria for narcissistic, antisocial, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders as measured by the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire--Revised and for narcissistic and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders as measured by the SCID-II. CONCLUSIONS: These findings are consistent with those of previous studies showing a greater prevalence of antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders in men. In contrast with other investigations, however, neither the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire--Revised nor the SCID-II revealed a higher prevalence of any personality disorder in women.     

Gender differences in human sepsis

Severe tricuspid valve regurgitation and decreased pulmonary blood flow in neonatal Ebstein's anomaly with pulmonary atresia, may result in cardiac respiratory failure and hypoxemia. The poor natural course and lack of standard surgical treatment make treatment for neonatal Ebstein's anomaly very difficult. The Blalock-Taussig operation was performed for hypoxemia in Ebstein's anomaly associated with pulmonary atresia and severe tricuspid regurgitation on 36th day after birth. On the 63rd day after birth, tricuspid valve orifice closure and right atrium plication (Starnes procedure) were accomplished under cardiopulmonary bypass. Heart failure became controllable and the patient condition was satisfactory at one year after surgery.     

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)     

Back pain in young athletes. Significant differences from adults in causes and patterns

The ubiquitous occurrence of Legionellae requires an exact typing of isolated strains in order to demonstrate the source of infection. Monoclonal antibodies, analysis of genomic and plasmid DNAs, and the typing of alloenzymes are suitable for this purpose. Typing of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 strains by using monoclonal antibodies was found to be a rapid and adequate method. Other serogroups of L. pneumophila and non-pneumophila species are of considerably less antigenic diversity, so that the use of monoclonal antibodies is not particular profitable. In such cases, genotypic methods are needed to discriminate between unrelated strains. There are no changes in the genome structure, defined as restriction patterns, during passages on artificial media and cultured Acanthamoeba. The possibility that different species, serogroups and monoclonal or genomic subtypes can be isolated in a given water supply points to necessity to test a sufficiently large number of colonies grown from the water samples. A clonal distribution of some Legionella strains has been observed.     

Measures of postural steadiness: differences between healthy young and elderly adults

Measures of postural steadiness are used to characterize the dynamics of the postural control system associated with maintaining balance during quiet standing. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relative sensitivity of center-of-pressure (COP)-based measures to changes in postural steadiness related to age. A variety of time and frequency domain measures of postural steadiness were compared between a group of twenty healthy young adults (21-35 years) and a group of twenty healthy elderly adults (66-70 years) under both eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions. The measures that identified differences between the eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions in the young adult group were different than those that identified differences between the eye conditions in the elderly adult group. Mean velocity of the COP was the only measure that identified age-related changes in both eye conditions, and differences between eye conditions in both groups. The results of this study will be useful to researchers and clinicians using COP-based measures to evaluate postural steadiness.     

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 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 sexual attitudes.

Developed a 102-item sexual attitudes questionnaire that was completed by 439 female and 374 male undergraduates as part of a larger attitude study. Factor analyses yielded 8 factors on which 74 of the 102 items loaded. ANOVA of the individual items showed that female and male Ss differed on 73 of the 102 items. Females were more responsible, conventional, and idealistic, whereas males were more permissive, instrumental, and control- and power-oriented. The means suggested that females were moderately conservative in sexual attitudes, while males were moderately permissive. Based on the factor analysis, the present authors formed 5 preliminary sexual attitudes scales. Correlations among the summed scale scores indicated that the scales were largely independent of each other. It is suggested that the multidimensional complexity of sexual attitudes and empirical explanations for the continuing gender differences in sexual attitudes should be studied. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in moral reasoning.

Explored the possibility that socialization into different sex roles for men and women may contribute to the observed sex difference in moral development. 40 undergraduates were classified as either masculine, feminine, or androgynous according to the Bem Sex-Role Inventory and were administered the Moral Judgment Interview (MJI). For half the Ss, the central character in the MJI dilemmas was a male and for the remaining half, a female. Results reveal that males, when judging from the perspective of a female character, provided reasons for her actions congruent with the Stage 3 level of moral reasoning. However, for the same action portrayed by a male character, reasons for his behavior were in accord with Stage 4. No difference for the female judges was found between the characters of either sex. Regardless of the protagonist's sex, Ss scored at Stage 3. Ss' moral reasoning did not differ according to their sex-role classification. Males, however, held more strongly than females the belief that male decisions on morality are based on law-and-order reasoning, and female decisions are made from an emotional perspective. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in adverse drug reactions

The objective of this study is to identify gender-related differences in the types of symptoms and drugs reported to cause an adverse drug reaction. Patient data from the Sunnybrook Health Science Centre ADR Clinic for the period from April 1986 to May 1996 were reviewed. Of the 2,367 patients assessed, 74.1% were female. The mean age of the patients was 43 +/- 17 years. Drug classes most frequently reported to elicit an adverse event were general antiinfectives (60.4%), nervous system agents (21.5%), and musculoskeletal agents (3.7%). Skin-related reactions accounted for 49.0% of all reported adverse drug reactions. More than one agent was reported to be responsible for the adverse drug reaction(s) in 50% of the female patients, versus 33.1% of all male patients. Of the female patients, 47.6% were referred for skin or oral challenge testing, versus 41.6% of the male patients. Of the female patients, 6.2% tested positive to the agent compared with 6.1% of all male patients. These results support previous findings that female gender is a risk factor for the development of adverse drug reactions. Further work is required to elucidate the mechanisms explaining the differences observed between male and female patients.     

Gender differences in cognitive development.

The potential effect of gender on intellectual abilities remains controversial. The purpose of this research was to analyze gender differences in cognitive test performance among children from continuous age groups. For this purpose, the normative data from 7 domains of the newly developed neuropsychological test battery, the Evaluación Neuropsicológica Infantil [Child Neuropsychological Assessment] (Matute, Rosselli, Ardila, & Ostrosky-Solis, 2007), were analyzed. The sample included 788 monolingual children (350 boys, 438 girls) ages 5 to 16 years from Mexico and Colombia. Gender differences were observed in oral language (language expression and language comprehension), spatial abilities (recognition of pictures seen from different angles), and visual (Object Integration Test) and tactile perceptual tasks, with boys outperforming girls in most cases, except for the tactile tasks. Gender accounted for only a very small percentage of the variance (1%–3%). Gender × Age interactions were observed for the tactile tasks only. It was concluded that gender differences during cognitive development are minimal, appear in only a small number of tests, and account for only a low percentage of the score variance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in platelet GPIIb-IIIa activation

Gender differences in the development of thrombotic diseases have been described in numerous clinical settings. Enhanced platelet reactivity in both sexes is associated with the development of vascular thromboses. Because activation of platelet GPIIb-IIIa receptors is a central event in thrombus formation, we examined GPIIb-IIIa function in normal male and female volunteers. Using flow cytometry, we quantitated gender differences in the number of binding sites for FITC-labeled fibrinogen (FITC-FGN) and FITC-labeled PAC-1 antibody (FITC-PAC-1). Washed platelets were incubated with either FITC-FGN or FITC-PAC-1 and activated with either ADP or thrombin receptor activating peptide (TRAP) prior to cytometric acquisition of data. The dissociation constant for FITC-FGN was the same in both sexes (approx. 1.6 x 10(-7)M), however, the number of GPIIb-IIIa receptors per platelet capable of binding fibrinogen was significantly greater in women than men in response to 2 microM ADP (16,319 +/- 1871 vs 9669 +/- 1994, p = 0.02), 20 microM ADP (39,951 +/- 4711 vs 25,948 +/- 4953, p = 0.05) and 50 microM TRAP (39,236 +/- 3965 vs 21,848 +/- 4159, p = 0.007). Similarly, the number of GPIIb-IIIa receptors capable of binding PAC-1 in response to ADP and TRAP was 50% to 80% greater in women than men. Binding experiments using specific anti-GPIIb-IIIa monoclonal antibodies (P2 and 10E5), as well as quantitative Western blotting experiments, showed no gender difference in the total number of GPIIb-IIIa molecules expressed. Analysis of data from female subgroups demonstrated an association of GPIIb-IIIa reactivity with menstrual phase. We conclude that GPIIb-IIIa receptors on platelets from premenopausal women are more "activatable" than those on platelets from young men. Variations in the serum concentrations of estrogens and/or progestins may modulate GPIIb-IIIa function.