Age and sex differences in dyadic and group interaction.

This study examined age and sex differences in dyadic and group interaction in a standardized setting. Seven classes of 4-year-old children and 6 classes of 6-year-old children participated. From these classes, 13 male playgroups and 13 female playgroups were formed. The playgroups were videotaped, and frequencies of dyadic and group interaction were tabulated. Results showed that boys and girls at both ages engaged in similar frequencies but different patterns of dyadic interaction. Only 6-year-old boys, however, interacted in groups. The discussion considers the etiology of these age and sex differences. (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)     

Age and sex differences in health beliefs and behaviours

BACKGROUND: Mushroom poisoning by some species of the Cortinarius (Agaricales) often lead to irreversible renal failure caused by the nephrotoxin orellanine. In 1994 and 1995, six poisoning outbreaks involving ten individuals in Northern Italy and in Austria were investigated. METHODS: A total of 87 clinical samples (urine and blood samples including renal biopsy material of three patients) were examined for the presence of orellanine by thin layer chromatography. RESULTS: Orellanine can be detected after a relatively long period following poisoning by performing a simple thin layer chromatography technique using small quantities of renal biopsy material. No toxin was found in urine or blood samples. CONCLUSIONS: Orellanine is rapidly concentrated in the kidneys in a relatively soluble form and cannot be detected in urine, blood and dialysis fluids at the time when first symptoms appear.     

Age and sex differences in behaviors mediated by the ventromedial hypothalamus.

Studied 28 male and 28 female Wistar rats. Circadian rhythm, emotionality, and taste responsiveness (except for responsiveness to quinine adulteration) were found to shift, in 1 or both sexes, toward a pattern suggesting decreased ventromedial hypothalamic (VMH) functioning with increasing age. A post hoc analysis of the configuration of positive and negative results suggests that, for those behaviors known to show both immediate and sustained effects of VMH lesion, male Ss showed a marked trend toward the lesioned pattern of behavior with increasing age, whereas females showed weaker or nonexistent age trends in the same behaviors. For those behaviors that changed only during the static, obese phase, or for which data are controversial as to whether changes took place as a result of the VMH lesion at all, this age and sex pattern did not emerge. (49 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age and sex differences in the mental health of older persons.

Administered the Trait Anxiety scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, a depression scale, and a general well-being scale to 2,051 respondents (aged 55+ yrs) to explore the age and sex relationships in the scales and the effects of age and sex when other correlated variables are considered. Results show that mental health was curvilinearly related to age with high symptom scores obtained in both 55–59 and 85–89 yr olds and lowest in 60–69 yr olds. Sex interacted with marital status, with higher symptoms among males in the never-married category and in females among the widowed and the married categories. When data were adjusted for correlations among these and other variables, the relationships between mental health with age and sex changed. In males, symptoms were unrelated to age, and in females, symptoms decreased with age down to the 80–84 yr old group. In the adjusted data, married females had lower symptoms than males. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multiple modes of right-hemisphere information processing: Age and sex differences in facial recognition.

Examined hemispheric differences in processing tachistoscopically presented faces in 8-, 11-, and 13-yr-old children of above-average intelligence. Ss viewed 4 female faces and were then asked to point to the face presented on each trial. The finding of a bimodal distribution of error scores among those Ss who showed a left visual-field (LVF) advantage supports the view that there are 2 types of information processing associated with the right hemisphere. The error scores of the younger Ss with an LVF advantage were unimodal and those of the 13-yr-olds bimodal. This bimodality characterized only the older girls. Since the unimodal error scores for the younger Ss were at a relatively high level, the data were interpreted as indicating that younger children and males at all ages use a diffuse right-hemisphere processing strategy in recognizing faces, whereas some older females use a more integrated right-hemisphere strategy. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age and sex differences in cerebral hemodynamics: a transcranial Doppler study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Hemodynamic factors seem to play an important role in the pathogenesis of cerebral ischemic events. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether changes in cerebrovascular reactivity occur in women after menopause. METHODS: Using transcranial Doppler ultrasonography, we studied the changes of flow velocity after hypercapnia in the middle cerebral arteries of 45 healthy premenopausal women (mean age, 32.3 years; range, 20 to 47 years) and 40 postmenopausal women (mean age, 54.4 years; range, 48 to 64 years). The same measurements were recorded in two groups of healthy male subjects age matched with premenopausal (45 subjects) and postmenopausal women (40 subjects). Moreover, a subgroup of postmenopausal women aged 48 to 53 years (15 subjects) were compared with a group of 15 premenopausal women of the same age. We obtained hypercapnia with breath holding and evaluated cerebrovascular reactivity with the breath-holding index (BHI). RESULTS: BHI was significantly lower in postmenopausal women (0.89+/-0.3) than in premenopausal women (1.59+/-0.3; P<0.0001) and in young (1.34+/-0.5; P<0.001) and old men (1.20+/-0.4; P<0.04). In the latter group, BHI was significantly lower than in premenopausal women (P<.0001). BHI values were also significantly lower in postmenopausal than in premenopausal women of the same age (0.81+/-0.1 versus 1.34+/-0.1; P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the large reduction of cerebrovascular reactivity in postmenopausal women cannot be considered a simple factor related to aging but is probably influenced by hormonal changes. The alteration in cerebrovascular regulation could be involved in the increase of cerebrovascular disease in postmenopausal women.     

Age and sex differences in strategies of coping and defense across the life span.

Age and sex differences in the use of coping and defense strategies were examined in a life-span sample of 381 individuals. Participants responded to 2 self-report measures assessing mechanisms of coping and defense and measures assessing their level of cognitive complexity. Older adults used a combination of coping and defense strategies indicative of greater impulse control and the tendency to positively appraise conflict situations. Adolescents and younger adults used strategies that were outwardly aggressive and psychologically undifferentiated, indicating lower levels of impulse control and self-awareness. Women used more internalizing defenses than men and used coping strategies that flexibly integrated intra- and interpersonal aspects of conflict situations. Taken together, findings provide evidence for the age- and sex-specific use of strategies of coping and defense, suggesting that men and women may face different developmental tasks in the process toward maturity in adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age differences in reaction time and attention in a national telephone sample of adults: Education, sex, and task complexity matter.

This study demonstrated effects of age, education, and sex on complex reaction time in a large national sample (N = 3,616) with a wide range in age (32-85) and education. Participants completed speeded auditory tasks (from the MIDUS [Midlife in the U.S.] Stop and Go Switch Task) by telephone. Complexity ranged from a simple repeated task to an alternating task that involved central executive processes including attention switching and inhibitory control. Increased complexity was associated with slower responses in older adults, those with lower education, and women, even after controlling for differences in health status. Higher levels of education were associated with greater central executive efficiency across adulthood: Overall, adults with college degrees performed on complex tasks like less educated individuals who were 10 years younger, up to age 75. These findings suggest that advanced education can moderate age differences on complex speeded tasks that require central executive processes, at least up to the point in old age at which biological declines predominate. The approach demonstrates the utility of combining laboratory paradigms with survey methods to enable the study of larger, more diverse and representative samples across the lifespan. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in family roles, socialization, and sex differences.

Sex differences in socialization experiences reflect adult role expectations that females will be mothers and males will be workers. However, because of smaller family size, longer life expectancy, and higher employment rates for women, motherhood has come to occupy less of a woman's adult life, and work outside of the home has come to occupy more. As awareness of these social changes increases, the sex-linked differences in socialization may be expected to diminish, with the result that sex differences in behavior will also eventually diminish. The research literature supporting this thesis is reviewed. This includes findings bearing on (a) changes in the role of women, (b) sex differences in socialization and behavior that appear to reflect traditional sex role expectations, and (c) the direct effects of maternal employment on sex differences in children. (59 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Shame, guilt, narcissism, and depression: Correlates and sex differences.

This study examines the relationships between shame, guilt, narcissism, and depression and the gender differences connected with these states. We hypothesize that shame would be a more powerful contributor to narcissism and depression than guilt and that women would score higher in shame, higher in depression, and lower in narcissism than men. The Adapted Shame/Guilt Scale, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, and the Self-Rating Depression Scale were administered to male and female undergraduates. The results show that shame plays an important role in both narcissism and depression, and that its role in depression is stronger than that of guilt. It was also concluded that men are more prone to narcissism and women to depression, and sex differences related to shame and guilt are linked to specific situations and self-images. Implications for treatment are also noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age and sex differences in reaction time in adulthood: Results from the United Kingdom Health and Lifestyle Survey.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 24(1) of Psychology and Aging (see record 2009-03151-017). In the article, “Age and Sex Differences in Reaction Time in Adulthood: Results From the United Kingdom Health and Lifestyle Survey” by Geoff Der and Ian J. Deary (Psychology and Aging, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 62–73), the link to supplemental material is incorrect. The correct supplemental link follows. Supplemental materials are available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.21.1.62.supp.] Reaction times (RTs) slow and become more variable with age. Research samples are typically small, biased, and of restricted age range. Consequently, little is known about the precise pattern of change, whereas evidence for sex differences is equivocal. The authors reanalyzed data for 7,130 adult participants in the United Kingdom Health and Lifestyle Survey, originally reported by F. A. Huppert (1987). The authors modeled the age differences in simple and 4-choice reaction time means and variabilities and tested for sex differences. Simple RT shows little slowing until around 50, whereas choice RT slows throughout the adult age range. The aging of choice RT variability is a function of its mean and the error rate. There are significant sex differences, most notably for choice RT variability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in love, sex, and motivation for sex

The overall prognosis of patients afflicted with cancer of the esophagus is dismal and has not changed greatly over the last few decades. Improvements have largely been due to better perioperative care rather than new surgical techniques. There remain, about the optimal treatment of these patients, and these differences are summarized in this article. The principal elements required to make an appropriate surgical decision also are outlined. Until new markers for early detection and effective systematic therapy emerge, improvement is likely to occur only in subsets of patients referred early and treated in an environment that guarantees low operative mortality.     

Marital roles, sex differences, and interpersonal attraction.

Tested the hypothesis that role and dispositional factors can alter the usual link between similarity and attraction. In 2 replications, 64 undergraduate females and 64 males with traditional or nontraditional attitudes toward sex roles and marriage (measured by the Marital Role Decisions Questionnaire) rated similar or dissimilar opposite-sex strangers on 3 attraction measures. Results show that sex and traditionality interacted with similarity in determining ratings of the strangers' general likability and personal role attraction (e.g., desirability as a dating partner), but not their functional role attraction (e.g., desirability as a debater on sex roles). The discussion suggests that previous attempts to find interactions have often failed because of a lack of correspondence between dispositional factors and similarity manipulations. Reinforcement and informational explanations could account for the overall findings, but communication factors of extremity and discrepancy could not. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reporting sex differences.

Comments on an article by M. D. McHugh et al (see record 1987-00069-001) advocating rules to limit the reporting of sex differences in psychological research. The present author takes issue with the views expressed and concludes that the complete and precise reporting of all sex comparisons should foster accurate scientific understanding of the importance—or unimportance—of sex and gender. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age and sex differences in children's reports of dental anxiety and self-efficacy relating to dental visits.

In 2 related studies (cross-sectional and longitudinal) of the dental experience and behavior of 784 boys and 741 girls aged between 9 and 12 yrs, it was found that dental anxiety increased with age; sex differences became marked after age 9 yrs and girls contributed significantly more to the increase than boys. Self-efficacy ratings regarding future good behavior in the dental operatory were taken to reflect emotional processing of past dental experiences. Low self-efficacy predictions and perception of dental anxiety in peers contributed significantly to self-reports of dental anxiety. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age differences in recall and recognition.

An experiment is reported in which young and elderly adults performed cued-recall and recognition tests while carrying out a choice reaction-time task. An analysis of covariance, with recognition performance as the covariate, showed a reliable age decrement in recall. It was therefore concluded that older people perform more poorly on recall tasks than they do on recognition tasks. Performance on the secondary (reaction time) task showed that recall was associated with greater resource "costs" than was recognition and that this effect was amplified by increasing age. The results are in line with the suggestion that recall requires more processing resources than does recognition and that such resources are depleted as people grow older. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in effects of social and value similarity in same-sex friendship.

Explored sex differences in effects of social and value similarity in a longitudinal study of 146 same-sex college roommate pairs (62 male and 84 female). The clearest findings concerned actual value similarity among women; those who chose each other as roommates were more similar than those who had been assigned to be roommates. Actual value similarity (measured in the fall quarter) was correlated with liking in the fall and liking in the spring among female chosen pairs; it also predicted which female assigned pairs would remain roommates. None of the analyses of actual value similarity was significant for men, although tests of sex differences in effects yielded mixed results. Few effects were obtained for similarity on social characteristics, except for similarity on year in college. Results are discussed in terms of prior roommate studies, and issues are raised concerning the use of roommates in research on friendship development. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of friendship reasoning: A study of interindividual differences in intraindividual change.

Structure and content aspects of interpersonal understanding in friendship reasoning (based on R. L. Selman's [1980] model) are investigated by examining microdevelopmental processes and individual differences. In a longitudinal study, 97 Icelandic subjects at 9, 12, and 15 years of age were interviewed about six issues concerning Ss' own close friendships. The sample was stratified according to gender, social class, and level of cognitive development. Results of the microdevelopmental analysis support the cumulative nature of the development of friendship reasoning. Statistically significant differences between issues were obtained for each measurement. Furthermore, prerequisite relationships among issues are observed to emerge over time. Analysis of individual differences shows that social class and level of cognitive development exert a stable influence over time on friendship reasoning. The order of development of the issues is not affected by individual differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age, gender, and individual differences in memory failure appraisal.

Young adults (22 men and 24 women) and older adults (24 men and 24 women) rated 12 gender-neutral vignettes describing short-term, long-term, and very-long-term memory failures. Vignette target persons were young (aged 21–32 yrs) or older (aged 65–75 yrs) men or women. Ss of both age and gender groups used a double standard: Failures of older targets of both genders were rated as signifying greater mental difficulty than failures of young targets; failures of young targets were attributed to lack of effort and attention. Young Ss judged very-long-term failures more harshly than did older Ss. Ss' objective memory performance, self-rated memory failure frequency, memory failure discomfort, and depression made little difference in their target person ratings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)