Depression in later life: A closer look at the gender gap.

PubMed

Acciai, Francesco; Hardy, Melissa

2017-11-01

Gender differences in depressive symptoms have been extensively documented, with women reporting a higher number of depressive symptoms than men. However, studies offer different explanations for why such a gap exists. The goal of the current paper is to analyze how much of the observed gender gap in depression may be attributed to (1) compositional versus (2) reporting differences or (3) differences in reactivity to adversities. We contribute to this literature by testing, net of compositional differences, whether the relationship between reporting behavior and depressive symptoms is gendered and whether accounting for the possibility of gender-specific reactivity alters the structure of the gender gap at older ages. Our results show that the observed gender gap in depression (1) only partially derives from compositional differences; (2) is not an artifact of a gender-specific reporting style; and remarkably (3) men appear more sensitive to adversities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An investigation of gender and grade-level differences in middle school students' attitudes about science, in science process skills ability, and in parental expectations of their children's science performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, Terri Renee'

The primary purpose of the study was to examine different variables (i.e. science process skill ability, science attitudes, and parents' levels of expectation for their children in science, which may impinge on science education differently for males and females in grades five, seven, and nine. The research question addressed by the study was: What are the differences between science process skill ability, science attitudes, and parents' levels of expectation in science on the academic success of fifth, seventh, and ninth graders in science and do effects differ according to gender and grade level? The subjects included fifth, seven, and ninth grade students ( n = 543) and their parents (n = 474) from six rural, public elementary schools and two rural, public middle schools in Southern Mississippi. A two-way (grade x gender) multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to determine the differences in science process skill abilities of females and males in grade five, seven, and nine. An additional separate two-way multivariate analysis of variance (grade x gender) was also used to determine the differences in science attitudes of males and females in grade five, seven, and nine. A separate analysis of variance (PPSEX [parent's gender]) with the effects being parents' gender was used to determine differences in parents' levels of expectation for their childrens' performance in science. An additional separate analysis of variance (SSEX [student's gender]) with the effects being the gender of the student was also used to determine differences in parents' levels of expectation for their childrens' performance in science. Results of the analyses indicated significant main effects for grade level (p < .001) and gender (p < .001) on the TIPS II. There was no significant grade by gender interaction on the TIPS II. Results for the TOSRA also indicated a significant main effect for grade (p < .001) and the interaction of grade by sex ( p < .001). On variable ATT 5 (enjoyment of science lessons), males' attitudes toward science decreased across the grade levels; whereas, females decreased from grade five to seven, but showed a significant increase from grade seven to nine. Results from the analysis of variance with the parent's gender as the main effect showed no significant difference. The analysis of variance with student's gender as the main effect showed no significant difference.

Gender differences in human single neuron responses to male emotional faces

PubMed Central

Newhoff, Morgan; Treiman, David M.; Smith, Kris A.; Steinmetz, Peter N.

2015-01-01

Well-documented differences in the psychology and behavior of men and women have spurred extensive exploration of gender's role within the brain, particularly regarding emotional processing. While neuroanatomical studies clearly show differences between the sexes, the functional effects of these differences are less understood. Neuroimaging studies have shown inconsistent locations and magnitudes of gender differences in brain hemodynamic responses to emotion. To better understand the neurophysiology of these gender differences, we analyzed recordings of single neuron activity in the human brain as subjects of both genders viewed emotional expressions. This study included recordings of single-neuron activity of 14 (6 male) epileptic patients in four brain areas: amygdala (236 neurons), hippocampus (n = 270), anterior cingulate cortex (n = 256), and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (n = 174). Neural activity was recorded while participants viewed a series of avatar male faces portraying positive, negative or neutral expressions. Significant gender differences were found in the left amygdala, where 23% (n = 15∕66) of neurons in men were significantly affected by facial emotion, vs. 8% (n = 6∕76) of neurons in women. A Fisher's exact test comparing the two ratios found a highly significant difference between the two (p < 0.01). These results show specific differences between genders at the single-neuron level in the human amygdala. These differences may reflect gender-based distinctions in evolved capacities for emotional processing and also demonstrate the importance of including subject gender as an independent factor in future studies of emotional processing by single neurons in the human amygdala. PMID:26441597

Gender Differences in Faculty Productivity, Satisfaction, and Salary: What Really Separates Us?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hagedorn, Linda Serra

Gender differences in faculty productivity, satisfaction, and salary were studied using 2 large datasets, the 1999 Higher Education Research Institute Faculty Survey (n=55,081) and the 1993 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (n=25,780). Findings show very little evidence of gender differences in productivity, especially at the lower…

How Gender Differences in Academic Engagement Relate to Students' Gender Identity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kessels, Ursula; Heyder, Anke; Latsch, Martin; Hannover, Bettina

2014-01-01

Background: Gender differences in educational outcomes encompass many different areas. For example, in some educational settings, boys lag behind girls on indicators of educational success, such as leaving certificates and type of school attended. In studies testing performance, boys typically show lower competence in reading compared with girls,…

Gender Differences in Memory Processing: Evidence from Event-Related Potentials to Faces

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guillem, F.; Mograss, M.

2005-01-01

This study investigated gender differences on memory processing using event-related potentials (ERPs). Behavioral data and ERPs were recorded in 16 males and 10 females during a recognition memory task for faces. The behavioral data results showed that females performed better than males. Gender differences on ERPs were evidenced over anterior…

Configural information in gender categorisation.

PubMed

Baudouin, Jean-Yves; Humphreys, Glyn W

2006-01-01

The role of configural information in gender categorisation was studied by aligning the top half of one face with the bottom half of another. The two faces had the same or different genders. Experiment 1 shows that participants were slower and made more errors in categorising the gender in either half of these composite faces when the two faces had a different gender, relative to control conditions where the two faces were nonaligned or had the same gender. This result parallels the composite effect for face recognition (Young et al, 1987 Perception 16 747-759) and facial-expression recognition (Calder et al, 2000 Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 26 527-551). Similarly to responses to face identity and expression, the composite effect on gender discrimination was disrupted by inverting the faces (experiment 2). Both experiments also show that the composite paradigm is sensitive to general contextual interference in gender categorisation.

Marital quality, health, and aging: gender equity?

PubMed

Umberson, Debra; Williams, Kristi

2005-10-01

Recent research shows that poor marital quality adversely affects trajectories of physical health over time and that these adverse effects are similar for men and women. These studies test the possibility of gender differences in vulnerability to poor marital quality, but they fail to take into account possible gender differences in exposure to poor marital quality. We present longitudinal evidence to show that although the impact of marital quality on physical health trajectories may be similar for married men and women, generally lower levels of marital quality experienced by women may translate into a sustained disadvantage for the health of married women over the life course. These findings frame the call for renewed theoretical work on gender and marriage that takes into account both gender similarity in response to marital quality as well as gender differences in the experience of marriage over the life course.

Marital Quality, Health, and Aging: Gender Equity?

PubMed Central

Umberson, Debra; Williams, Kristi

2011-01-01

Recent research shows that poor marital quality adversely affects trajectories of physical health over time and that these adverse effects are similar for men and women. These studies test the possibility of gender differences in vulnerability to poor marital quality, but they fail to take into account possible gender differences in exposure to poor marital quality. We present longitudinal evidence to show that although the impact of marital quality on physical health trajectories may be similar for married men and women, generally lower levels of marital quality experienced by women may translate into a sustained disadvantage for the health of married women over the life course. These findings frame the call for renewed theoretical work on gender and marriage that takes into account both gender similarity in response to marital quality as well as gender differences in the experience of marriage over the life course. PMID:16251580

Time Course of Attentional Bias in Anxiety: Emotion and Gender Specificity

PubMed Central

Sass, Sarah M.; Heller, Wendy; Stewart, Jennifer L.; Silton, Rebecca Levin; Edgar, J. Christopher; Fisher, Joscelyn E.; Miller, Gregory A.

2011-01-01

Anxiety is characterized by cognitive biases, including attentional bias to emotional (especially threatening) stimuli. Accounts differ on the time course of attention to threat, but the literature generally confounds emotional valence and arousal and overlooks gender effects, both addressed in the present study. Nonpatients high in self-reported anxious apprehension, anxious arousal, or neither completed an emotion-word Stroop task during ERP recording. Hypotheses differentiated time course of preferential attention to emotional stimuli. Individuals high in anxious apprehension and anxious arousal showed distinct early ERP evidence of preferential processing of emotionally arousing stimuli along with some evidence for gender differences in processing. Healthy controls showed gender differences at both early and later processing stages. The conjunction of valence, arousal, and gender is critical in the time course of attentional bias. PMID:19863758

Multinational Business Gaming: Is Gender Important?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Scott D.; And Others

1997-01-01

A study investigated influence of gender on undergraduate students (n=119) involved in international business games. Females tended to view the simulation as less complex, have less cohesive group structures, and show less self-confidence than males. However, game performance measures showed no significant gender differences. Implications for…

Louisiana's Achievements for Gender Equity in Vocational Education. Executive Summary 1996-97.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hargroder, Margaret

Workplace and educational changes related to gender in Louisiana in 1996-97 suggest some progress but a continued need to reduce wide gender gaps in some occupational areas. Workplace data show a closing gender gap, but changes are occurring at different rates for different areas. Women's share of the total labor force continues to rise; wage…

Gender and Time for Sleep among U.S. Adults

PubMed Central

Burgard, Sarah A.; Ailshire, Jennifer A.

2014-01-01

Do women really sleep more than men? Biomedical and social scientific studies show longer sleep durations for women, a surprising finding given sociological research showing women have more unpaid work and less high-quality leisure time compared to men. We assess explanations for gender differences in time for sleep, including compositional differences in levels of engagement in paid and unpaid labor, gendered responses to work and family responsibilities, and differences in napping, bedtimes, and interrupted sleep for caregiving. We examine the overall gender gap in time for sleep as well as gaps within family life-course stages based on age, partnership, and parenthood statuses. We analyze minutes of sleep from a diary day collected from nationally representative samples of working-age adults in the American Time Use Surveys of 2003 to 2007. Overall and at most life course stages, women slept more than men. Much of the gap is explained by work and family responsibilities and gendered time tradeoffs; as such, gender differences vary across life course stages. The gender gap in sleep time favoring women is relatively small for most comparisons and should be considered in light of the gender gap in leisure time favoring men at all life course stages. PMID:25237206

Gender Differences in Emotion Explain Women's Lower Immoral Intentions and Harsher Moral Condemnation.

PubMed

Ward, Sarah J; King, Laura A

2018-05-01

Why do men view morally questionable behaviors as more permissible than women do? Five studies investigated emotional factors as explanations for gender differences in moral decision-making. In Study 1 ( N = 324), gender differences in perceptions of moral wrongness were explained by guilt and shame proneness. Studies 2a and 2b (combined N = 562) demonstrated that instructions to adopt an unemotional perspective (vs. standard instructions) led women to have higher immoral intentions, no longer lower than men's, as they were in the control group. Studies 3 and 4 ( N = 834) showed that men expected immoral actions to result in higher positive and lower self-conscious moral emotions than women do. Study 4 ( N = 424) showed that these emotional expectancies account for gender differences in immoral intentions. Study 5 ( N = 450) showed that women-but not men-experience heightened self-conscious moral emotions and regret when recalling past transgressions done for personal gain.

Nurture affects gender differences in spatial abilities.

PubMed

Hoffman, Moshe; Gneezy, Uri; List, John A

2011-09-06

Women remain significantly underrepresented in the science, engineering, and technology workforce. Some have argued that spatial ability differences, which represent the most persistent gender differences in the cognitive literature, are partly responsible for this gap(.) The underlying forces at work shaping the observed spatial ability differences revolve naturally around the relative roles of nature and nurture. Although these forces remain among the most hotly debated in all of the sciences, the evidence for nurture is tenuous, because it is difficult to compare gender differences among biologically similar groups with distinct nurture. In this study, we use a large-scale incentivized experiment with nearly 1,300 participants to show that the gender gap in spatial abilities, measured by time to solve a puzzle, disappears when we move from a patrilineal society to an adjoining matrilineal society. We also show that about one-third of the effect can be explained by differences in education. Given that none of our participants have experience with puzzle solving and that villagers from both societies have the same means of subsistence and shared genetic background, we argue that these results show the role of nurture in the gender gap in cognitive abilities.

Nurture affects gender differences in spatial abilities

PubMed Central

Hoffman, Moshe; Gneezy, Uri; List, John A.

2011-01-01

Women remain significantly underrepresented in the science, engineering, and technology workforce. Some have argued that spatial ability differences, which represent the most persistent gender differences in the cognitive literature, are partly responsible for this gap. The underlying forces at work shaping the observed spatial ability differences revolve naturally around the relative roles of nature and nurture. Although these forces remain among the most hotly debated in all of the sciences, the evidence for nurture is tenuous, because it is difficult to compare gender differences among biologically similar groups with distinct nurture. In this study, we use a large-scale incentivized experiment with nearly 1,300 participants to show that the gender gap in spatial abilities, measured by time to solve a puzzle, disappears when we move from a patrilineal society to an adjoining matrilineal society. We also show that about one-third of the effect can be explained by differences in education. Given that none of our participants have experience with puzzle solving and that villagers from both societies have the same means of subsistence and shared genetic background, we argue that these results show the role of nurture in the gender gap in cognitive abilities. PMID:21876159

The Difference It Makes: A Resource Book on Gender for Educators.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chapman, Anne

The recent flood of new information on structuring human experience along gender lines and on the female component of human experience has profound implications for education. The new scholarship shows that much of what people once assumed to be innate gender difference is in fact produced by adults' different behavior toward boys and girls, of…

Mathematics and Science Inequalities in the United Kingdom: When Elitism, Sexism and Culture Collide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boaler, Jo; Altendorff, Lori; Kent, Geoff

2011-01-01

An examination of gender, social class and ethnicity performance and participation patterns in different UK countries shows that inequities occur in relation to gender, class and ethnicity but that the patterns of inequity look quite different in the three domains. Achievement is equal for different genders but many more males take mathematics…

Gender Differences in Severity of Writing and Reading Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berninger, Virginia W.; Nielsen, Kathleen H.; Abbott, Robert D.; Wijsman, Ellen; Raskind, Wendy

2008-01-01

Gender differences in mean level of reading and writing skills were examined in 122 children (80 boys and 42 girls) and 200 adults (115 fathers and 85 mothers) who showed behavioral markers of dyslexia in a family genetics study. Gender differences were found in writing and replicated prior results for typically developing children: Boys and men…

Gender and migration on the labour market: Additive or interacting disadvantages in Germany?

PubMed

Fleischmann, Fenella; Höhne, Jutta

2013-09-01

Despite substantial differences in labour market attainment according to gender and migration status, gender and ethnic differences in labour market behaviour are most often studied separately. In contrast, this study describes and analyses interactions between gender, ethnic background and immigrant generation with regard to labour market participation, part-time work, and occupational status. The double comparison aims to reveal whether gender gaps in these labour market outcomes among the majority population generalise to ethnic minorities. Moreover, we ask whether variation in gender gaps in labour market behaviour follows the patterns in migrants' origin countries, and whether gender gaps show signs of intergenerational assimilation. Our heterogeneous choice and OLS regressions of 2009 German Microcensus data reveal considerable variation in gender gaps in labour market behaviour between East and West Germany, across ethnic groups and across generations. Intergenerational comparisons show that most ethnic minorities assimilate towards German patterns of gendered labour market attainment. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sex and cognition: gender and cognitive functions.

PubMed

Hyde, Janet S

2016-06-01

Gender stereotypes hold that males outperform females in mathematics and spatial tests, and females outperform males on verbal tests. According to meta-analyses, however, among both children and adults, females perform equally to males on mathematics assessments. The gender difference in verbal skills is small and varies depending on the type of skill assessed (e.g., vocabulary, essay writing). The gender difference in 3D mental rotation shows a moderate advantage for males, but this gender difference occurs in the absence of a spatial curriculum in the schools. Meta-analyses of gender differences across a wide array of psychological qualities support the Gender Similarities Hypothesis, which states that males and females are quite similar on most-but not all-psychological variables. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Students' Ranking of Reasons for Assessment: Gender Differences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Carl; Thomas, Richard; King, Karen

2000-01-01

Describes an explorative study to investigate the purposes of assessment as seen from the student perspective. Results showed strong correlation in the ranked reasons for assessment across gender and between the two institutions involved. Some significant differences in gender were observed in the top ranked reasons. Discusses possible extensions…

How Can Gender Affect Psychopathology in Lebanese School-Age Children?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khamis, Vivian

2018-01-01

This study investigated the extent to which gender differences in coping, school and family environments could account for variation in psychopathology among school-age children. Participants were 665 middle school students. Results showed no gender differences for PTSD. Females scored higher on emotional problems and prosocial behavior whereas…

Promoting Gender Equality in Digital Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ertl, Bernhard; Helling, Kathrin

2011-01-01

This article deals with gender phenomena in the context of digital literacy. Studies show that computer use, computer skills, and computer-related self-concepts are subject to gender differences. These differences may affect classroom interactions as well as learning processes and have therefore to be considered carefully by teachers who apply…

Gender Differences Regarding Peer Influence and Attitude toward Substance Abuse.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rienzi, Beth M.; And Others

1996-01-01

To investigate gender differences in acceptance of substance abuse behavior among adolescents, 968 students were administered a questionnaire to assess their perceptions. Results show that both genders felt that boys would be more approving of teenage substance abuse. Most students were disapproving of a teenager driving after drinking. Other…

Gender Difference as a Factor in Teachers' Perceptions of Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prawat, Richard S.; Jarvis, Robert

1980-01-01

Teacher perceptions of students as influenced by differences in student gender are examined. Elementary school teachers' perceptions of students were assessed by their rating children in their classes on various dimensions. Results showed student ability/achievement are more potent in teacher perceptions than gender. (Author/GK)

Gender Differences in International Students' Adjustment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Seungcheol Austin; Park, Hee Sun; Kim, Wonsun

2009-01-01

As gender roles in the society are being rapidly redefined, female students today are showing outstanding academic prowess and pursuing higher education. The current study recruited Korean international students (n = 76) enrolled in universities in the US and examined gender differences in academic adjustment. The findings of the current study…

Gender Differences of Brain Glucose Metabolic Networks Revealed by FDG-PET: Evidence from a Large Cohort of 400 Young Adults

PubMed Central

Li, Kai; Zhu, Hong; Qi, Rongfeng; Zhang, Zhiqiang; Lu, Guangming

2013-01-01

Background Gender differences of the human brain are an important issue in neuroscience research. In recent years, an increasing amount of evidence has been gathered from noninvasive neuroimaging studies supporting a sexual dimorphism of the human brain. However, there is a lack of imaging studies on gender differences of brain metabolic networks based on a large population sample. Materials and Methods FDG PET data of 400 right-handed, healthy subjects, including 200 females (age: 25∼45 years, mean age±SD: 40.9±3.9 years) and 200 age-matched males were obtained and analyzed in the present study. We first investigated the regional differences of brain glucose metabolism between genders using a voxel-based two-sample t-test analysis. Subsequently, we investigated the gender differences of the metabolic networks. Sixteen metabolic covariance networks using seed-based correlation were analyzed. Seven regions showing significant regional metabolic differences between genders, and nine regions conventionally used in the resting-state network studies were selected as regions-of-interest. Permutation tests were used for comparing within- and between-network connectivity between genders. Results Compared with the males, females showed higher metabolism in the posterior part and lower metabolism in the anterior part of the brain. Moreover, there were widely distributed patterns of the metabolic networks in the human brain. In addition, significant gender differences within and between brain glucose metabolic networks were revealed in the present study. Conclusion This study provides solid data that reveal gender differences in regional brain glucose metabolism and brain glucose metabolic networks. These observations might contribute to the better understanding of the gender differences in human brain functions, and suggest that gender should be included as a covariate when designing experiments and explaining results of brain glucose metabolic networks in the control and experimental individuals or patients. PMID:24358312

Gender differences of brain glucose metabolic networks revealed by FDG-PET: evidence from a large cohort of 400 young adults.

PubMed

Hu, Yuxiao; Xu, Qiang; Li, Kai; Zhu, Hong; Qi, Rongfeng; Zhang, Zhiqiang; Lu, Guangming

2013-01-01

Gender differences of the human brain are an important issue in neuroscience research. In recent years, an increasing amount of evidence has been gathered from noninvasive neuroimaging studies supporting a sexual dimorphism of the human brain. However, there is a lack of imaging studies on gender differences of brain metabolic networks based on a large population sample. FDG PET data of 400 right-handed, healthy subjects, including 200 females (age: 25:45 years, mean age ± SD: 40.9 ± 3.9 years) and 200 age-matched males were obtained and analyzed in the present study. We first investigated the regional differences of brain glucose metabolism between genders using a voxel-based two-sample t-test analysis. Subsequently, we investigated the gender differences of the metabolic networks. Sixteen metabolic covariance networks using seed-based correlation were analyzed. Seven regions showing significant regional metabolic differences between genders, and nine regions conventionally used in the resting-state network studies were selected as regions-of-interest. Permutation tests were used for comparing within- and between-network connectivity between genders. Compared with the males, females showed higher metabolism in the posterior part and lower metabolism in the anterior part of the brain. Moreover, there were widely distributed patterns of the metabolic networks in the human brain. In addition, significant gender differences within and between brain glucose metabolic networks were revealed in the present study. This study provides solid data that reveal gender differences in regional brain glucose metabolism and brain glucose metabolic networks. These observations might contribute to the better understanding of the gender differences in human brain functions, and suggest that gender should be included as a covariate when designing experiments and explaining results of brain glucose metabolic networks in the control and experimental individuals or patients.

Sex, lies and fMRI--gender differences in neural basis of deception.

PubMed

Marchewka, Artur; Jednorog, Katarzyna; Falkiewicz, Marcel; Szeszkowski, Wojciech; Grabowska, Anna; Szatkowska, Iwona

2012-01-01

Deception has always been a part of human communication as it helps to promote self-presentation. Although both men and women are equally prone to try to manage their appearance, their strategies, motivation and eagerness may be different. Here, we asked if lying could be influenced by gender on both the behavioral and neural levels. To test whether the hypothesized gender differences in brain activity related to deceptive responses were caused by differential socialization in men and women, we administered the Gender Identity Inventory probing the participants' subjective social sex role. In an fMRI session, participants were instructed either to lie or to tell the truth while answering a questionnaire focusing on general and personal information. Only for personal information, we found differences in neural responses during instructed deception in men and women. The women vs. men direct contrast revealed no significant differences in areas of activation, but men showed higher BOLD signal compared to women in the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG). Moreover, this effect remained unchanged when self-reported psychological gender was controlled for. Thus, our study showed that gender differences in the neural processes engaged during falsifying personal information might be independent from socialization.

Gender and competitive preferences: The role of competition size.

PubMed

Hanek, Kathrin J; Garcia, Stephen M; Tor, Avishalom

2016-08-01

In a series of 8 studies, we examine whether gender differences in competition entry preferences are moderated by the size of the competition. Drawing on theories of gender roles and stereotypes, we show that women, relative to men, prefer to enter smaller compared with larger competitions. Studies 1a and 1b demonstrate this effect in observational data on preferences for working in differently sized firms and applying to differently sized colleges. Studies 2a and 2b replicate the effect with real behavioral decisions in different domains. We also find empirical evidence that prescriptive gender norms and stereotypes underlie this effect. In Study 3, we find experimental evidence that women and men differ in their preferences for differently sized groups under competition, but not in noncompetitive settings. Three additional experimental studies (Studies 4, 5a, and 5b) show that perceptions of comfort in small versus larger competitions underlie women's preferences. These findings suggest that women's preferences for smaller competitions may be driven by an adherence to prescriptive gender norms. We discuss the implications of the current findings for gender inequalities in organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Sex, Lies and fMRI—Gender Differences in Neural Basis of Deception

PubMed Central

Falkiewicz, Marcel; Szeszkowski, Wojciech; Grabowska, Anna; Szatkowska, Iwona

2012-01-01

Deception has always been a part of human communication as it helps to promote self-presentation. Although both men and women are equally prone to try to manage their appearance, their strategies, motivation and eagerness may be different. Here, we asked if lying could be influenced by gender on both the behavioral and neural levels. To test whether the hypothesized gender differences in brain activity related to deceptive responses were caused by differential socialization in men and women, we administered the Gender Identity Inventory probing the participants’ subjective social sex role. In an fMRI session, participants were instructed either to lie or to tell the truth while answering a questionnaire focusing on general and personal information. Only for personal information, we found differences in neural responses during instructed deception in men and women. The women vs. men direct contrast revealed no significant differences in areas of activation, but men showed higher BOLD signal compared to women in the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG). Moreover, this effect remained unchanged when self-reported psychological gender was controlled for. Thus, our study showed that gender differences in the neural processes engaged during falsifying personal information might be independent from socialization. PMID:22952631

Gender differences in variance and means on the Naglieri Non-verbal Ability Test: data from the Philippines.

PubMed

Vista, Alvin; Care, Esther

2011-06-01

Research on gender differences in intelligence has focused mostly on samples from Western countries and empirical evidence on gender differences from Southeast Asia is relatively sparse. This article presents results on gender differences in variance and means on a non-verbal intelligence test using a national sample of public school students from the Philippines. More than 2,700 sixth graders from public schools across the country were tested with the Naglieri Non-verbal Ability Test (NNAT). Variance ratios (VRs) and log-transformed VRs were computed. Proportion ratios for each of the ability levels were also calculated and a chi-square goodness-of-fit test was performed. An analysis of variance was performed to determine the overall gender difference in mean scores as well as within each of three age subgroups. Our data show non-existent or trivial gender difference in mean scores. However, the tails of the distributions show differences between the males and females, with greater variability among males in the upper half of the distribution and greater variability among females in the lower half of the distribution. Descriptions of the results and their implications are discussed. Results on mean score differences support the hypothesis that there are no significant gender differences in cognitive ability. The unusual results regarding differences in variance and the male-female proportion in the tails require more complex investigations. ©2010 The British Psychological Society.

The Influence of Sex Information on Gender Word Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Casado, Alba; Palma, Alfonso; Paolieri, Daniela

2018-01-01

Three different tasks (word repetition, lexical decision, and gender decision) were designed to explore the impact of the sex clues (sex of the speaker, sex of the addressee) and the type of gender (semantic, arbitrary) on the processing of isolated Spanish gendered words. The findings showed that the grammatical gender feature was accessed when…

Developing a Teachers' Gender Stereotype Scale toward Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nurlu, Özge

2017-01-01

Gender has become a focus of mathematics education research. While some research show that there are no differences between boys and girls, numerous research studies have indicated that boys have outperformed girls. It is suggested that gender stereotypes, such as expecting girls to show less achievement in mathematics compared to boys, have an…

Gender differences in facial imitation and verbally reported emotional contagion from spontaneous to emotionally regulated processing levels.

PubMed

Sonnby-Borgström, Marianne; Jönsson, Peter; Svensson, Owe

2008-04-01

Previous studies on gender differences in facial imitation and verbally reported emotional contagion have investigated emotional responses to pictures of facial expressions at supraliminal exposure times. The aim of the present study was to investigate how gender differences are related to different exposure times, representing information processing levels from subliminal (spontaneous) to supraliminal (emotionally regulated). Further, the study aimed at exploring correlations between verbally reported emotional contagion and facial responses for men and women. Masked pictures of angry, happy and sad facial expressions were presented to 102 participants (51 men) at exposure times from subliminal (23 ms) to clearly supraliminal (2500 ms). Myoelectric activity (EMG) from the corrugator and the zygomaticus was measured and the participants reported their hedonic tone (verbally reported emotional contagion) after stimulus exposures. The results showed an effect of exposure time on gender differences in facial responses as well as in verbally reported emotional contagion. Women amplified imitative responses towards happy vs. angry faces and verbally reported emotional contagion with prolonged exposure times, whereas men did not. No gender differences were detected at the subliminal or borderliminal exposure times, but at the supraliminal exposure gender differences were found in imitation as well as in verbally reported emotional contagion. Women showed correspondence between their facial responses and their verbally reported emotional contagion to a greater extent than men. The results were interpreted in terms of gender differences in emotion regulation, rather than as differences in biologically prepared emotional reactivity.

Processes and content of narrative identity development in adolescence: gender and well-being.

PubMed

McLean, Kate C; Breen, Andrea V

2009-05-01

The present study examined narrative identity in adolescence (14-18 years) in terms of narrative content and processes of identity development. Age- and gender-related differences in narrative patterns in turning point memories and gender differences in the content and functions for sharing those memories were examined, as was the relationship between narrative patterns and self-esteem. The narrative patterns focused on were meaning-making (learning from past events) and emotionality of the narratives, specified as overall positive emotional tone and redemptive sequencing. Results showed an age-related increase in meaning-making but no gender differences in the degree of meaning-making. Results further showed that gender predicted self-esteem and that boys evidenced higher self-esteem. Emotionality also predicted self-esteem; this was especially true for redemption and for boys. In terms of telling functions, girls endorsed more relational reasons for telling memories than did boys. Results are discussed in terms of potential gendered and nongendered pathways for identity development in adolescence. Copyright 2009 APA, all rights reserved

Gender-specific hemodynamics in prefrontal cortex during a verbal working memory task by near-infrared spectroscopy.

PubMed

Li, Ting; Luo, Qingming; Gong, Hui

2010-05-01

The presence or absence of gender differences in working memory, localized in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), has been debated in a few fMRI studies. However, the hypothesis of gender differences in PFC function has not been elaborated, and comparisons among hemodynamic parameters designed to test for gender differences are scarce. We utilized near-infrared spectroscopy during verbal N-back tasks on 26 male and 24 female healthy volunteers. Changes in the concentrations of oxy- (Delta[oxy-Hb]), deoxy- (Delta[deoxy-Hb]) and total hemoglobin (Delta[tot-Hb]) were recorded simultaneously. Delta[oxy-Hb] and Delta[tot-Hb] exhibited obvious gender differences, but Delta[deoxy-Hb] did not. Males showed bilateral activation with slight left-side dominance, whereas females showed left activation. The activation in males was more wide-spread and stronger than in females. Furthermore, females required a lower hemodynamic supply than males to obtain comparable performance, and only females exhibited positive correlations between hemodynamic parameters and behavioral performance. The results reinforce the existence of a gender effect in hemodynamic-based functional imaging studies. Our findings suggest that females possess more efficient hemodynamics in the PFC during working memory and emphasize the importance of studying the PFC to further a scientific understanding of gender differences.

[Gender representations in nursing student and client relations: contributions to the learning process].

PubMed

Muroya, Renata de Lima; Auad, Daniela; Brêtas, José Roberto da Silva

2011-01-01

The purpose of the study was to identity, to know, and to improve the knowledge about the relationships of gender among the students and the clients in the practice of nursing care. That was a qualitative study, based in the theory of social representation and analyzed concerning the gender theoretical references. Concerning the data base made, based in the technique of Central Core Theory. The results were organized in a "tree". Two main thematic ways were arisen as second interest elements: "The triad equality/difference/inequality in the nursing care" and "The lack of knowledge: a gap in the learning process". The results have showed a students' difficulty in the process to take care a patient who has a different gender of theirs; showed a speech based in the perception of the gender differences and in the belief of heterosexuality presumed.

Investigating gender differences in alcohol problems: a latent trait modeling approach.

PubMed

Nichol, Penny E; Krueger, Robert F; Iacono, William G

2007-05-01

Inconsistent results have been found in research investigating gender differences in alcohol problems. Previous studies of gender differences used a wide range of methodological techniques, as well as limited assortments of alcohol problems. Parents (1,348 men and 1,402 women) of twins enrolled in the Minnesota Twin Family Study answered questions about a wide range of alcohol problems. A latent trait modeling technique was used to evaluate gender differences in the probability of endorsement at the problem level and for the overall 105-problem scale. Of the 34 problems that showed significant gender differences, 29 were more likely to be endorsed by men than women with equivalent overall alcohol problem levels. These male-oriented symptoms included measures of heavy drinking, duration of drinking, tolerance, and acting out behaviors. Nineteen symptoms were denoted for removal to create a scale that favored neither gender in assessment. Significant gender differences were found in approximately one-third of the symptoms assessed and in the overall scale. Further examination of the nature of gender differences in alcohol problem symptoms should be undertaken to investigate whether a gender-neutral scale should be created or if men and women should be assessed with separate criteria for alcohol dependence and abuse.

Gender Differences in the Routine Activities Associated With Risks for Larceny in South Korea.

PubMed

Moon, Byongook; Morash, Merry; Jeong, SeokJin; Yoon, Hae-Sung

2016-08-01

The present research uses data from the 2010 Korean National Criminal Victimization Survey to examine gender differences in larceny victimization and in predictors of victimization (i.e., target attractiveness, exposure to potential offenders, target hardening, guardianship, and proximity to crime and social disorder) identified by routine activity theory. The findings show no significant gender difference in general larceny victimization, suggesting that Korean females are just as likely to be victims of theft of personal belongings as males. Consistent with the theory, physical proximity to crime and social disorder are significant predictors of larceny victimization for both males and females. However, public transportation appears to have unexpected protective influences for both gender groups, showing the importance of differences in national context. Overall, the current research provides partial support for routine activity theory's applicability in explaining larceny victimization across gender groups outside of the Western context. It also raises questions about reasons for women's increasing larceny victimization rates in Korea. © The Author(s) 2015.

Small Business Development and Gender of Owner.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Catley, Suzanne; Hamilton, R. T.

1998-01-01

A literature review shows that few fundamental differences between men and women business owners have been substantiated. Primary reasons for self-employment are not gender specific, and research on psychological differences is inconclusive. (SK)

Dialectal and gender differences in nasalance for a Mandarin population.

PubMed

Kim, Ha-Kyung; Yu, Xiao-meng; Cao, Yan-jing; Liu, Xiao-ming; Huang, Zhao-Ming

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are dialectal and gender related differences in nasalance of main Mandarin vowels and three sentences in 400 Chinese normal adults. The mean nasalance score difference for dialect and gender was significant (p < .001) in all speech materials. For different dialects, the average nasalance scores show that Chongqing > Beijing > Shanghai > Guangzhou for the nasal sentence, oro-nasal sentence, /a/, /i/ and /u/. In addition, the average nasalance scores of females were higher than those of males for all speech materials in all dialects. The clinical significance of this study can be helpful in making nasalance clinical decisions for Chinese people with cleft palate, hearing disorders and dysarthria with resonance disorders. It also shows the theoretical and socio-cultural features for linguists considering dialects and gender.

Population Representation in the Military Services, Fiscal Year 1991.

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-10-01

Gender ) and B-5 (tispanic by Service and Gender ). There were significant race/ethnicity differences among the Services. The Army has long had the highest... women constituted only 25 percent of assigned strength. Both Table 25 and Table 26 reflect that gender differences still exist. Table 25 shows that...Accessions and Officer Corps by Gender and Service.) Women had higher representation among Active Component officers than among enlisted I personnel in FY

Men, Women and War: Gender Differences in Attitudes towards War.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zur, O.; And Others

This study showed that war does have an appeal to both men and women, but that appeal is different and is related to the set of moral concerns that are unique to each gender. To assess the different aspects of men's and women's attitudes towards war, a 48-item Likert-type scale was constructed and administered to 148 students. Results showed that…

Using Technology to Break Gender Barriers: Gender Differences in Teachers' Information and Communication Technology Use in Saudi Arabian Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiseman, Alexander W.; Al-bakr, Fawziah; Davidson, Petrina M.; Bruce, Elizabeth

2018-01-01

How does teachers' gender influence their information and communication technology-based instruction in Saudi Arabian government schools? Using unique data collected in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2014, the analyses presented here show that male and female teachers in intermediate school classrooms differently use information and communication…

Differences in Gender Norms Between Countries: Are They Valid? The Issue of Measurement Invariance.

PubMed

Weziak-Bialowolska, Dorota

The values and attitudes towards gender roles are often investigated and compared from a cross-country perspective without the proper statistical treatment of the measurement invariance (MI) assessment. This implies that the conclusions based on composite scales of gender norms, gender role attitudes or gender egalitarianism, to name only a few, may be questionable. In this study, we address this lack by investigating the cross-country MI properties of the Gender Equality Scale (GES) based on World Value Survey data. We use multi-group confirmatory factor analysis with and without alignment to determine the configural, weak, strong and strict MI. The results show that the concept of gender equality is not comparable across all countries involved in the survey. In particular, it seems to differ between Western Europe and Central and Eastern Europe. We claim that only selected Central and Eastern European countries exhibit a configural MI but fail to show full weak MI and definitely fail to show full strong and full strict MI. However, under the aligned measurement framework, we succeeded in showing that for these countries, comparisons of the country rankings with respect to the GES are valid provided that a correction for non-invariance of certain factor loadings and/or intercepts is applied. Our study shows that the most egalitarian gender role attitudes measured by the GES are observed in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania and Croatia. They are significantly higher than the gender equality attitudes recorded in the lowest scoring countries Poland, Slovakia, Albania and Romania.

Global differences between women and men in the prevalence of obesity: is there an association with gender inequality?

PubMed

Garawi, F; Devries, K; Thorogood, N; Uauy, R

2014-10-01

In most populations the prevalence of obesity is greater in women than in men; however, the magnitude of the difference between the sexes varies significantly by country. We considered the role of gender inequality in explaining these disparities. We undertook an ecological analysis of internationally comparable obesity prevalence data to examine the association between indicators of gender inequality and the differences between men and women in obesity prevalence. Gender inequality was assessed using three measures: the Gender Inequality Index, the Global Gender Gap Index and the Social Institutions and Gender Index. We fitted multiple regression models to examine the association. We found that the prevalence of obesity across countries shows gendered patterning with greater prevalence and greater heterogeneity in women than in men (P<0.001). We also found that two of three measures of gender inequality were significantly associated with the sex differences in obesity prevalence across countries. The patterning of obesity across countries is gendered. However, the association between global measures of gender inequality and the sex gap in obesity is dependent on the measure used. Further research is needed to investigate the mechanisms that underpin the gendered nature of obesity prevalence.

Gender, culture, and sex-typed cognitive abilities.

PubMed

Reilly, David

2012-01-01

Although gender differences in cognitive abilities are frequently reported, the magnitude of these differences and whether they hold practical significance in the educational outcomes of boys and girls is highly debated. Furthermore, when gender gaps in reading, mathematics and science literacy are reported they are often attributed to innate, biological differences rather than social and cultural factors. Cross-cultural evidence may contribute to this debate, and this study reports national gender differences in reading, mathematics and science literacy from 65 nations participating in the 2009 round of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Consistently across all nations, girls outperform boys in reading literacy, d = -.44. Boys outperform girls in mathematics in the USA, d = .22 and across OECD nations, d = .13. For science literacy, while the USA showed the largest gender difference across all OECD nations, d = .14, gender differences across OECD nations were non-significant, and a small female advantage was found for non-OECD nations, d = -.09. Across all three domains, these differences were more pronounced at both tails of the distribution for low- and high-achievers. Considerable cross-cultural variability was also observed, and national gender differences were correlated with gender equity measures, economic prosperity, and Hofstede's cultural dimension of power distance. Educational and societal implications of such gender gaps are addressed, as well as the mechanisms by which gender differences in cognitive abilities are culturally mediated.

Rigidity in Gender-Typed Behaviors in Early Childhood: A Longitudinal Study of Ethnic Minority Children

PubMed Central

Ruble, Diane; Tamis-LeMonda, Catherine; Shrout, Patrick E.

2014-01-01

A key prediction of cognitive theories of gender development concerns developmental trajectories in the relative strength or rigidity of gender typing. To examine these trajectories in early childhood, 229 children (African American, Mexican, Dominican) were followed annually from age 3 to 5 and gender-stereotypical appearance, dress-up play, toy play, and sex segregation were examined. High gender-typing was found across ethnic group, and most behaviors increased in rigidity, especially from age 3 to 4. In addressing controversy surrounding the stability and structure of gender-typing it was found that from year to year, most behaviors showed moderately stable individual differences. Behaviors were uncorrelated within age, but showed more concordance in change across time, suggesting that aspects of gender-typing are multidimensional but still show coherence. PMID:23432471

Reduced Metabolsim in Brain 'Control Networks' Following Cocaine-Cues Exposure in Female Cocaine Abusers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Volkow, N.D.; Wang, G.; Volkow, N.D.

Gender differences in vulnerability for cocaine addiction have been reported. Though the mechanisms are not understood, here we hypothesize that gender differences in reactivity to conditioned-cues, which contributes to relapse, are involved. To test this we compared brain metabolism (using PET and {sup 18}FDG) between female (n = 10) and male (n = 16) active cocaine abusers when they watched a neutral video (nature scenes) versus a cocaine-cues video. Self-reports of craving increased with the cocaine-cue video but responses did not differ between genders. In contrast, changes in whole brain metabolism with cocaine-cues differed by gender (p<0.05); females significantly decreasedmore » metabolism (-8.6% {+-} 10) whereas males tended to increase it (+5.5% {+-} 18). SPM analysis (Cocaine-cues vs Neutral) in females revealed decreases in frontal, cingulate and parietal cortices, thalamus and midbrain (p<0.001) whereas males showed increases in right inferior frontal gyrus (BA 44/45) (only at p<0.005). The gender-cue interaction showed greater decrements with Cocaine-cues in females than males (p<0.001) in frontal (BA 8, 9, 10), anterior cingulate (BA 24, 32), posterior cingulate (BA 23, 31), inferior parietal (BA 40) and thalamus (dorsomedial nucleus). Females showed greater brain reactivity to cocaine-cues than males but no differences in craving, suggesting that there may be gender differences in response to cues that are not linked with craving but could affect subsequent drug use. Specifically deactivation of brain regions from 'control networks' (prefrontal, cingulate, inferior parietal, thalamus) in females could increase their vulnerability to relapse since it would interfere with executive function (cognitive inhibition). This highlights the importance of gender tailored interventions for cocaine addiction.« less

[Sexual orientation and partner-choice of transsexual women and men before gender-confirming interventions].

PubMed

Cerwenka, Susanne; Nieder, Timo Ole; Richter-Appelt, Hertha

2012-06-01

Diverse partner relationship constellations of gender dysphoric women and men with different sexual orientations are explored in a sample of 93 persons before gender-confirming interventions in persons with female gender identity and male body characteristics (MF) and persons with male gender identity and female body characteristics (FM). While in both gender groups the majority is single, relationship patterns show differences. Apart from working life, FM already live predominantly in the new, male gender role and have partners by whom they are desired as males. In contrast, only a small proportion of MF already conduct their private lives in the new, female gender role, and they often have relationships with partners sexually attracted to males and not to their female gender identity. The findings indicate a need for differing resources for gender dysphoric women and men in the process of a transsexual course of development. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Editorial: Let's talk about sex - the gender binary revisited.

PubMed

Oldehinkel, Albertine J

2017-08-01

Sex refers to biological differences and gender to socioculturally delineated masculine and feminine roles. Sex or gender are included as a covariate or effect modifier in the majority of child psychology and psychiatry studies, and differences found between boys and girls have inspired many researchers to postulate underlying mechanisms. Empirical tests of whether including these proposed explanatory variables actually reduces the variance explained by gender are lagging behind somewhat. That is a pity, because a lot can be gained from a greater focus on the active agents of specific gender differences. As opposed to biological sex as such, some of the processes explaining why a specific outcome shows gender differences may be changeable and so possible prevention targets. Moreover, while the sex binary may be reasonable adequate as a classification variable, the gender binary is far from perfect. Gender is a multidimensional, partly context-dependent factor, and the dichotomy generally used in research does not do justice to the diversity existing within boys and girls. © 2017 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Content-specific gender differences in emotion ratings from early to late adulthood.

PubMed

Gomez, Patrick; von Gunten, Armin; Danuser, Brigitta

2013-12-01

The investigation of gender differences in emotion has attracted much attention given the potential ramifications on our understanding of sexual differences in disorders involving emotion dysregulation. Yet, research on content-specific gender differences across adulthood in emotional responding is lacking. The aims of the present study were twofold. First, we sought to investigate to what extent gender differences in the self-reported emotional experience are content specific. Second, we sought to determine whether gender differences are stable across the adult lifespan. We assessed valence and arousal ratings of 14 picture series, each of a different content, in 94 men and 118 women aged 20 to 81. Compared to women, men reacted more positively to erotic images, whereas women rated low-arousing pleasant family scenes and landscapes as particularly positive. Women displayed a disposition to respond with greater defensive activation (i.e., more negative valence and higher arousal), in particular to the most arousing unpleasant contents. Importantly, significant interactions between gender and age were not found for any single content. This study makes a novel contribution by showing that gender differences in the affective experiences in response to different contents persist across the adult lifespan. These findings support the "stability hypothesis" of gender differences across age. © 2013 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

Gender Insights Coming to Your Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sadker, David; Koch, Melissa

2016-01-01

The research about gender differences and gender inequities in education continues to yield new insights that are relevant to schools, write David Sadker and Melissa Koch. In this article, they discuss four of these insights. (1) Stereotype threat is real, but malleable. For example, research shows that simply reminding females of their gender can…

Gender and Ethnic-Group Differences in Causal Attributions for Success and Failure in Mathematics and Language Examinations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birenbaum, Menucha; Kraemer, Roberta

1995-01-01

Examines gender and ethnic differences among Jewish and Arab high school students in Israel with respect to their causal attributions for success and failure in mathematics and language examinations. Results from 333 ninth graders show larger effects of ethnicity than of gender, with effects more pronounced in success than in failure attributions.…

Mathematics and Sciences Course Taking among Arab Students in Israel: A Case of Unexpected Gender Equality.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ayalon, Hanna

2002-01-01

Using multilevel analysis on a sample of academic-track 12th graders in Israel, compared gender inequality in course taking of mathematics and sciences in Arab and Jewish high schools. Findings show gender inequality to be almost nonexistent in Arab schools, but prominent in Jewish schools. Differences are explained by the differences in…

Gender Difference Added? Institutional Variations in the Gender Gap in First Class Degree Awards in Mathematical Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simonite, Vanessa

2005-01-01

This article shows how multilevel modelling can be used to study institutional variations in the gender differences in achievement. The results presented are from analyses of the degree classifications of 22,433 individuals who graduated in mathematical sciences, from universities in the UK, between 1994/95 and 1999/2000. The analyses were…

Linking Gender-Related Toy Preferences to Social Structure: Changes in Children's Letters to Santa since 1978.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freeman, George; And Others

A study explored gender differences in toy preferences, using 824 children's responses to a southeastern newspaper's request for letters to Santa Claus. The results suggested that it is in the choice of toys associated with some aspect of the adult social structure where children's preferences show the greatest gender differences. Changes in toy…

Gender differences in psychotic disorders with concurrent substance use.

PubMed

Caton, Carol L M; Xie, Haiyi; Drake, Robert E; McHugo, Gregory

2014-01-01

We conducted a comparative analysis of gender differences in patients with primary psychotic disorders with concurrent substance use and in those with substance-induced psychoses. A total of 385 individuals admitted to psychiatric emergency departments with early-onset psychosis and recent substance use were interviewed at baseline and at six-month intervals for two years. Using a standardized research diagnostic assessment instrument, we classified patients at baseline into primary and substance-induced psychosis groups and analyzed the effects of gender on demographic, family, and clinical characteristics at baseline, the interaction of gender and diagnosis, and gender main effects on illness course, adjustment, and service use over the two-year follow-up period. Women had better premorbid adjustment, less misattribution of symptoms, and a later age at onset of regular drug use compared to men. Women, however, showed greater depression and histories of abuse compared to men. Men had greater arrest histories. No interactions between gender and diagnosis were significant. Both genders in the primary and substance-induced psychosis groups showed clinical and functional improvement over the follow-up period despite the overall minimal use of mental health and substance abuse treatment services. Women and men with psychosis and substance use differ on several dimensions. Our findings suggest the need for gender-specific treatment programming across both diagnostic groups.

Sex, trauma, stress hormones and depression.

PubMed

Young, E; Korszun, A

2010-01-01

Although few studies dispute that there are gender differences in depression, the etiology is still unknown. In this review, we cover a number of proposed factors and the evidences for and against these factors that may account for gender differences in depression. These include the possible role of estrogens at puberty, differences in exposure to childhood trauma, differences in stress perception between men and women and the biological differences in stress response. None of these factors seem to explain gender differences in depression. Finally, we do know that when depressed, women show greater hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation than men and that menopause with loss of estrogens show the greatest HPA axis dysregulation. It may be the constantly changing steroid milieu that contributes to these phenomena and vulnerability to depression.

Dentist-assistant communication style: perceived gender differences in The Netherlands and Northern Ireland.

PubMed

Gorter, Ronald C; Freeman, Ruth

2005-04-01

To assess communication style differences with the (female) dental assistant, as perceived by male and female dentists. Data were collected from 216 Dutch (male: 99; female: 117) and 261 Northern Irish (male: 135; female: 126) dentists (overall response rate: 60%). Respondents filled in a self-report questionnaire (one follow-up mailing), with 22 items on staff communication style. Using principal component analysis, four distinguishable factors could be extracted: businesslike leadership style (seven items, Cronbach's alpha = 0.87), friendly leadership style (seven items, alpha = 0.87), professional interacting style (four items, alpha = 0.83) and gender interacting style (four items, alpha = 0.83). manova indicated a main effect for gender [F(8,946) = 10.905, P < 0.001] and for country [F(4,474) =4.197, P = 0.002] on the communication style scales. Male dentists, compared with female colleagues, showed higher mean scores on businesslike leadership style and gender interacting style, whereas female dentists showed higher mean scores on friendly leadership style and professional interacting style. Dutch dentists showed higher mean scores on friendly leadership style and professional interacting style than their Northern Irish colleagues. No interaction effect between gender and country was found. Dentist's age and length of assistant's employment (in years) partly explained differences in means. Male and female dentists perceive their communication with the assistant differently; male dentists tend to be influenced by the gender differences, female dentists by striving for friendliness. Some country differences were found. Increasing influx of young female dentists underlines the relevance of this topic in dental education and for future research.

Gender and racial favouritism in black and white preschool girls.

PubMed

Kurtz-Costes, Beth; Defreitas, Stacie C; Halle, Tamara G; Kinlaw, C Ryan

2011-06-01

The authors examined gender and racial preferential behaviour in 108 3- and 5-year-old Black and White girls. Children set up a birthday party for dolls that differed in gender and racial physical characteristics. Whereas White girls showed favouritism towards the doll most closely resembling themselves in both gender and race, Black girls showed most favouritism towards the White girl doll. Black girls were more likely to show preference based on gender rather than race, whereas White girls were equally likely to show race- or gender-based favouritism. Among White 5-year-olds, greater prior interaction with Blacks was positively associated with race-related favouritism (i.e., secondary preference to the White boy doll rather than the Black girl doll). Interracial contact was unrelated to racial favouritism among the other three groups. Results demonstrate the salience of gender identity during the preschool years, and indicate that majority/minority status and intergroup contact shape the development of collective identity and social behaviour.

Gender-specific development of nonverbal behaviours and mild depression in adolescence.

PubMed

van Beek, Yolanda; van Dolderen, Marlies S M; Demon Dubas, Judith J S

2006-12-01

Individual differences in depressive symptoms have been linked with social skill deficits in adults and children, yet empirical studies on adolescents are lacking. The present research examines age and gender differences in nonverbal behaviour between mildly depressed and nondepressed (pre-) adolescents during conversations with an adult (study 1) and a same-aged peer (study 2). Both studies also examine whether conversation partners respond differently to mildly depressed versus nondepressed (pre)adolescents. Study 1 reports on observations of conversations of 9-15-year-old children (n = 122) with a female adult partner. Study 2 reports findings of observations of 12-17-year-old adolescents (n = 154) in conversation with same-age, same-sex peers. Both studies show gender and/or age effects in gazing, smiling and backchannel behaviours that indicate that as adolescents mature they increasingly behave according to gender-specific display rules. While talking to an adult, depressed (pre-)adolescents and the adult partner differed in backchannel behaviours. While talking to peers, only depressed adolescent girls showed less gazing towards the partner during listening. Moreover, adolescents smiled less often towards depressed than nondepressed partners. Gender-specific development of nonverbal behaviour may help to understand the development of gender differences in depression in adolescence. Females who fail to exhibit other-oriented social skills may be particularly at risk for depressive symptoms.

Heart rate variability changes during stroop color and word test among genders.

PubMed

Satish, Priyanka; Muralikrishnan, Krishnan; Balasubramanian, Kabali; Shanmugapriya

2015-01-01

Stress is the reaction of the body to a change that requires physical, mental or emotional adjustments. Individual differences in stress reactivity are a potentially important risk factor for gender-specific health problems in men and women. The Autonomic regulation of the cardiovascular system is most commonly affected by stress and is assessed by means of short term heart rate variability (HRV).The present study was undertaken to investigate the difference in the cardiovascular Autonomic Nervous System response to mental stress between the genders using HRV as tool. We compared the mean RR interval, Blood pressure and indices of HRV during the StroopColor Word Test (SCWT).Twenty five male (Age 19.52±0.714, BMI 22.73±2 kg/m2) and twenty five female subjects (Age 19.80±0.65, BMI 22.39±1.9) performed SCWT for five minutes. Blood Pressure (SBP p<0.01, DBP p<0.042) & Mean HR (p<0.010) values showed statistically significant difference among the genders. HRV indices like LFms2 (p<0.051), HF nu (p<0.029) and LF/HF ratio (p<0.025, p<0.052) show statistically significant difference among the genders. The response by the cardiovascular system to a simple mental stressor exhibits difference among the genders.

Gender Differences in Emotion Regulation: An fMRI Study of Cognitive Reappraisal.

PubMed

McRae, Kateri; Ochsner, Kevin N; Mauss, Iris B; Gabrieli, John J D; Gross, James J

2008-04-01

Despite strong popular conceptions of gender differences in emotionality and striking gender differences in the prevalence of disorders thought to involve emotion dysregulation, the literature on the neural bases of emotion regulation is nearly silent regarding gender differences (Gross, 2007; Ochsner & Gross, in press). The purpose of the present study was to address this gap in the literature. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we asked male and female participants to use a cognitive emotion regulation strategy (reappraisal) to down-regulate their emotional responses to negatively valenced pictures. Behaviorally, men and women evidenced comparable decreases in negative emotion experience. Neurally, however, gender differences emerged. Compared with women, men showed (a) lesser increases in prefrontal regions that are associated with reappraisal, (b) greater decreases in the amygdala, which is associated with emotional responding, and (c) lesser engagement of ventral striatal regions, which are associated with reward processing. We consider two non-competing explanations for these differences. First, men may expend less effort when using cognitive regulation, perhaps due to greater use of automatic emotion regulation. Second, women may use positive emotions in the service of reappraising negative emotions to a greater degree. We then consider the implications of gender differences in emotion regulation for understanding gender differences in emotional processing in general, and gender differences in affective disorders.

Gender Differences in Emotion Regulation: An fMRI Study of Cognitive Reappraisal

PubMed Central

McRae, Kateri; Ochsner, Kevin N.; Mauss, Iris B.; Gabrieli, John J. D.; Gross, James J.

2009-01-01

Despite strong popular conceptions of gender differences in emotionality and striking gender differences in the prevalence of disorders thought to involve emotion dysregulation, the literature on the neural bases of emotion regulation is nearly silent regarding gender differences (Gross, 2007; Ochsner & Gross, in press). The purpose of the present study was to address this gap in the literature. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we asked male and female participants to use a cognitive emotion regulation strategy (reappraisal) to down-regulate their emotional responses to negatively valenced pictures. Behaviorally, men and women evidenced comparable decreases in negative emotion experience. Neurally, however, gender differences emerged. Compared with women, men showed (a) lesser increases in prefrontal regions that are associated with reappraisal, (b) greater decreases in the amygdala, which is associated with emotional responding, and (c) lesser engagement of ventral striatal regions, which are associated with reward processing. We consider two non-competing explanations for these differences. First, men may expend less effort when using cognitive regulation, perhaps due to greater use of automatic emotion regulation. Second, women may use positive emotions in the service of reappraising negative emotions to a greater degree. We then consider the implications of gender differences in emotion regulation for understanding gender differences in emotional processing in general, and gender differences in affective disorders. PMID:29743808

Rigidity in gender-typed behaviors in early childhood: a longitudinal study of ethnic minority children.

PubMed

Halim, May Ling; Ruble, Diane; Tamis-LeMonda, Catherine; Shrout, Patrick E

2013-01-01

A key prediction of cognitive theories of gender development concerns developmental trajectories in the relative strength or rigidity of gender typing. To examine these trajectories in early childhood, 229 children (African American, Mexican American, and Dominican American) were followed annually from age 3 to 5 years, and gender-stereotypical appearance, dress-up play, toy play, and sex segregation were examined. High gender-typing was found across ethnic groups, and most behaviors increased in rigidity, especially from age 3 to 4 years. In addressing controversy surrounding the stability and structure of gender-typing it was found that from year to year, most behaviors showed moderately stable individual differences. Behaviors were uncorrelated within age but showed more concordance in change across time, suggesting that aspects of gender-typing are multidimensional, but still show coherence. © 2013 The Authors. Child Development © 2013 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Gender Differences in Borderline Personality Disorder: Results From a Multinational, Clinical Trial Sample.

PubMed

Silberschmidt, Amy; Lee, Susanne; Zanarini, Mary; Schulz, S Charles

2015-12-01

This study aims to extend previous research by considering gender differences in borderline personality (BPD) using both dimensional self-reported and clinical measures of symptomatology. Drawing from a cross-cultural, clinical trial sample, the authors compared female and male BPD subjects (N = 770; 211 male) between the ages of 18 and 65 using diagnostic and self-report data. The authors found that women with BPD have greater hostility and relationship disruption than men. Gender differences in eating disorders, particularly bulimia, are more divergent than in the general population. Generally, gender differences in BPD in this sample are consistent with known general population differences. Women show greater overall symptomatology, including depressive, anxious, and somatic symptoms. Men have higher rates of antisocial personality disorder and a trend toward higher rates of narcissistic personality disorder. However, several gender differences consistently found in the general population are not present in this BPD sample. There are no differences in aggression, suicidality, substance abuse, panic disorder, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Gender differences in major depression and posttraumatic stress disorder are attenuated. These findings support the conclusion that BPD may diminish normal gender differences.

Culture, gender, and self: a perspective from individualism-collectivism research.

PubMed

Kashima, Y; Yamaguchi, S; Kim, U; Choi, S C; Gelfand, M J; Yuki, M

1995-11-01

Individualism and collectivism are often equated with independent vs. interdependent, agentic vs. communal, and separate vs. relational self-construals. Although these same concepts have been used to characterize both cultural and gender differences, a perspective of cultural evolution suggests it is unlikely. A division of labor within society may produce gender differences, but this cannot explain cultural differences. A study of self-construal involving 5 cultures (Australia, the United States, Hawaii, Japan, and Korea) shows that differences between these cultures are captured mostly by the extent to which people see themselves as acting as independent agents, whereas gender differences are best summarized by the extent to which people regard themselves as emotionally related to others.

Gender, Culture, and Sex-Typed Cognitive Abilities

PubMed Central

Reilly, David

2012-01-01

Although gender differences in cognitive abilities are frequently reported, the magnitude of these differences and whether they hold practical significance in the educational outcomes of boys and girls is highly debated. Furthermore, when gender gaps in reading, mathematics and science literacy are reported they are often attributed to innate, biological differences rather than social and cultural factors. Cross-cultural evidence may contribute to this debate, and this study reports national gender differences in reading, mathematics and science literacy from 65 nations participating in the 2009 round of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Consistently across all nations, girls outperform boys in reading literacy, d = −.44. Boys outperform girls in mathematics in the USA, d = .22 and across OECD nations, d = .13. For science literacy, while the USA showed the largest gender difference across all OECD nations, d = .14, gender differences across OECD nations were non-significant, and a small female advantage was found for non-OECD nations, d = −.09. Across all three domains, these differences were more pronounced at both tails of the distribution for low- and high-achievers. Considerable cross-cultural variability was also observed, and national gender differences were correlated with gender equity measures, economic prosperity, and Hofstede’s cultural dimension of power distance. Educational and societal implications of such gender gaps are addressed, as well as the mechanisms by which gender differences in cognitive abilities are culturally mediated. PMID:22808072

Using the TAT to Assess the Relation Between Gender Identity and the Use of Defense Mechanisms.

PubMed

Cramer, Phebe

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to explore whether 2 different dimensions of personality, when assessed at an implicit level with the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT; Murray, 1943 ) will show a theoretically meaningful coherence not demonstrated when 1 is assessed at an implicit level and the other at an explicit level. Gender identity and defense mechanisms were assessed implicitly using the TAT. Gender identity was compared with a self-report measure of gender-related attributes assessed at the explicit level. The results showed a theoretically meaningful coherence when different dispositions were assessed at the same level, but a lack of agreement when similar dispositions were assessed at different levels. The study is based on a secondary analysis of data from 2 previously published papers (Cramer, 1998 ; Cramer & Westergren, 1999 ).

Chemical composition of fingerprints for gender determination.

PubMed

Asano, Keiji G; Bayne, Charles K; Horsman, Katie M; Buchanan, Michelle V

2002-07-01

This work investigates the chemical nature of fingerprints to ascertain whether differences in chemical composition or the existence of chemical markers can be used to determine personal traits, such as age, gender, and personal habits. This type of information could be useful for reducing the pool of potential suspects in criminal investigations when latent fingerprints are unsuitable for comparison by traditional methods. Fingertip residue that has been deposited onto a bead was extracted with a solvent such as chloroform. Samples were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The chemical components identified include fatty acids, long chain fatty acid esters, cholesterol and squalene. The area ratios of ten selected components relative to squalene were calculated for a small preliminary experiment that showed a slight gender difference for three of these components. However, when the experiment was repeated with a larger, statistically designed experiment no significant differences between genders were detected for any of the component ratios. The multivariate Hotelling's T2 test that tested all ten-component ratios simultaneously also showed no gender differences at the 5% significance level.

The publication gender gap in US academic surgery.

PubMed

Mueller, Claudia; Wright, Robert; Girod, Sabine

2017-02-14

Terms such as "glass ceiling" and "sticky floor" are still commonly used to describe women's role in academic surgery. Despite continued efforts to address disparities between men and women in the field, gender inequalities persist. In this investigation we highlight gender differences in published surgical literature by both quantity and impact. Websites for departments of surgery of three academic centers were reviewed to assess the bibliometrics of publications by gender over a two-week period. A one-way ANOVA showed a significantly higher H-index for men than women (p > .05). Further, one-way ANOVA showed significantly more articles published by men than women (p = .019). These differences are most dramatic at the rank of associate professor where the H-index for men is three times that of the women. The rank of full professor showed men had double the number of articles published. These findings align with the previous research that shows a disparity between males and females as they climb the academic ladder. Conducting and publishing research is a vital part of advancement in academic medicine. This study suggests that publication productivity may be a factor that hinders women from advancing within surgery compared to men. Continuing to explore and identify reasons for this gender difference in academic surgery may highlight ways to address the imbalance.

Methodologies, bioindicators, and biomarkers for assessing gender-related differences in wildlife exposed to environmental chemicals.

PubMed

Burger, Joanna; Fossi, Cristina; McClellan-Green, Patricia; Orlando, Edward F

2007-05-01

Male and female organisms may have significant differences in their exposure, toxicokinetics, and response to chemicals, but gender effects have received relatively little attention, often viewed as a confounder rather than of primary importance. In this paper, we examine some of the key issues and methodologies for incorporating gender in studies of the effects of chemicals on wildlife, and explore bioindicators and biomarkers of gender effects. Examining gender-related differences in response to chemicals is complicated in wildlife because of the vast array of species, and differences in niches, lifespans, reproductive cycles and modes, and population dynamics. Further, organisms are more at risk in some ecosystems than others, which may increase the magnitude of effects. Only by studying wild animals, especially native species, can we truly understand the potential impact of gender-specific effects of chemical exposure on populations. Several factors affect gender-related differences in responses to chemicals, including exposure, age, size, seasonality, and genetic and phenotypic variation. There are clear examples where gender-related differences have had significant effects on reproductive success and population stability, including destabilization of gamete release in invertebrates, and alterations of endocrine and neuroendocrine system functioning in vertebrates. A wide range of new technologies and methods are available for examining gender-related differences in responses to chemicals. We provide examples that show that there are gender-related differences in responses to chemicals that have significant biological effects, and these gender-related differences should be taken into account by scientists, regulators, and policy makers, as well as the public.

Age and Gender Differences in Relationships Among Emotion Regulation, Mood, and Mental Health.

PubMed

Masumoto, Kouhei; Taishi, Nozomi; Shiozaki, Mariko

2016-01-01

Objective: We investigated the effects of age on mood and mental health-mediated emotion regulation, such as cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression, and examined whether these relationships differ according to gender. Method: We recruited 936 Japanese participants. They comprised six age groups ranging from 20 to 70 years old, with 156 participants in each age group and equal numbers of men and women. Results: Structural equation model analysis showed that older participants were more likely to use cognitive reappraisal, further enhancing positive mood and reducing negative mood, whereas, age did not affect expressive suppression. Moreover, expressive suppression had a smaller impact on mood than cognitive reappraisal. A multi-group analysis showed significant gender differences. In men, cognitive reappraisal increased with age and influenced mood more positively than in women. Discussion: Our findings indicated gender differences in aging effects on emotion regulation. We discussed about these results from the cognitive process, motivation to emotion regulation, and cultural differences.

A Preliminary Study on Motivation and Gender in CLIL and Non-CLIL Types of Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fontecha, Almudena Fernández; Alonso, Andrés Canga

2014-01-01

This paper sets out to enquiry about gender-based differences in motivation towards EFL in two different types of instruction, i.e. CLIL and EFL (non-CLIL). The study was carried out with 4th Primary education Spanish students randomly selected from two mixed-gender schools in La Rioja (Spain). The results show that non-CLIL learners are…

Gender Differences in Online High School Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lowes, Susan; Lin, Peiyi; Kinghorn, Brian R. C.

2016-01-01

Prior research has suggested that there may be differences in the ways that male and female students approach their online courses. Using data for 802 high school students enrolled in 14 online courses, this study explored gender differences in the interrelationships among online behaviors and course performance. The findings show that females…

Boys vs. girls: Gender differences in the neural development of trust and reciprocity depend on social context.

PubMed

Lemmers-Jansen, Imke L J; Krabbendam, Lydia; Veltman, Dick J; Fett, Anne-Kathrin J

2017-06-01

Trust and cooperation increase from adolescence to adulthood, but studies on gender differences in this development are rare. We investigated gender and age-related differences in trust and reciprocity and associated neural mechanisms in 43 individuals (16-27 years, 22 male). Participants played two multi-round trust games with a cooperative and an unfair partner. Males showed more basic trust towards unknown others than females. Both genders increased trust during cooperative interactions, with no differences in average trust. Age was unrelated to trust during cooperation. During unfair interactions males decreased their trust more with age than females. ROI analysis showed age-related increases in activation in the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) during cooperative investments, and increased age-related caudate activation during both cooperative and unfair repayments. Gender differences in brain activation were only observed during cooperative repayments, with males activating the TPJ more than females, and females activating the caudate more. The findings suggest relatively mature processes of trust and reciprocity in the investigated age range. Gender differences only occur in unfair contexts, becoming more pronounced with age. Largely similar neural activation in males and females and few age effects suggest that similar, mature cognitive strategies are employed. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Determinants of gender differences in health among the elderly in Latin America.

PubMed

Trujillo, Antonio J; Mroz, Thomas A; Piras, Claudia; Vernon, John A; Angeles, Gustavo

2010-01-01

This paper identifies the main gender differences in health and socio-economic characteristics of the elderly in four Latin American cities. Using locally weighted regressions as well as a flexible model specification that treats age non-parametrically, we investigate whether these unadjusted gender gaps in health are due to gender differences in the distribution of age and other explanatory variables. Interestingly, for all cities, the analyses show a gender gap in health in favour of males at each age. The gaps are larger when one uses functional impairment in mobility and personal self-care as indicators of an individual's health instead of self-reported health. Furthermore, controlling for demographic characteristics, baseline health and the availability of family support do little to change the disadvantage for women in measured health outcomes. Controlling for socio-economic variables does, however, reduce most of the gender differences in health.

A construct-driven investigation of gender differences in a leadership-role assessment center.

PubMed

Anderson, Neil; Lievens, Filip; van Dam, Karen; Born, Marise

2006-05-01

This study examined gender differences in a large-scale assessment center for officer entry in the British Army. Subgroup differences were investigated for a sample of 1,857 candidates: 1,594 men and 263 women. A construct-driven approach was chosen (a) by examining gender differences at the construct level, (b) by formulating a priori hypotheses about which constructs would be susceptible to gender effects, and (c) by using both effect size statistics and latent mean analyses to investigate gender differences in assessment center ratings. Results showed that female candidates were rated notably higher on constructs reflecting an interpersonally oriented leadership style (i.e., oral communication and interaction) and on drive and determination. These results are discussed in light of role congruity theory and of the advantages of using latent mean analyses.

Pathways of equality through education: impact of gender (in)equality and maternal education on exclusive breastfeeding among natives and migrants in Belgium.

PubMed

Vanderlinden, Karen; Van de Putte, Bart

2017-04-01

Even though breastfeeding is typically considered the preferred feeding method for infants worldwide, in Belgium, breastfeeding rates remain low across native and migrant groups while the underlying determinants are unclear. Furthermore, research examining contextual effects, especially regarding gender (in)equality and ideology, has not been conducted. We hypothesized that greater gender equality scores in the country of origin will result in higher breastfeeding chances. Because gender equality does not operate only at the contextual level but can be mediated through individual level resources, we hypothesized the following for maternal education: higher maternal education will be an important positive predictor for exclusive breastfeeding chances in Belgium, but its effects will differ over subsequent origin countries. Based on IKAROS data (GeÏntegreerd Kind Activiteiten en Regio Ondersteunings Systeem), we perform multilevel analyses on 27 936 newborns. Feeding method is indicated by exclusive breastfeeding 3 months after childbirth. We measure gender (in)equality using Global Gender Gap scores from the mother's origin country. Maternal education is a metric variable based on International Standard Classification of Education indicators. Results show that 3.6% of the variation in breastfeeding can be explained by differences between the migrant mother's country of origin. However, the effect of gender (in)equality appears to be non-significant. After adding maternal education, the effect for origin countries scoring low on gender equality turns significant. Maternal education on its own shows strong positive association with exclusive breastfeeding and, furthermore, has different effects for different origin countries. Possible explanations are discussed in-depth setting direction for further research regarding the different pathways gender (in)equality and maternal education affect breastfeeding. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Gender-specificity of solitary and dyadic sexual desire among gynephilic and androphilic women and men.

PubMed

Dawson, Samantha J; Chivers, Meredith L

2014-04-01

Incentive motivation theory proposes that sexual desire emerges from sexual arousal, and is triggered by sexually competent stimuli. Research demonstrates gender and sexual orientation differences in the features that contribute to the competency of sexual stimuli. Men's and gynephilic women's genital arousal tends to be gender-specific with preferred gender eliciting significantly greater genital arousal than nonpreferred gender. In contrast, stimuli depicting preferred and nonpreferred gender elicit similar degrees of genital arousal among androphilic women, termed a gender-nonspecific pattern. Given these differences in the features that elicit a sexual response, and that sexual desire is proposed to emerge from sexual arousal, the question remains as to whether sexual desire would emerge only through exposure to preferred stimuli or whether patterns of responsive desire would parallel those observed for genital arousal. The study aims to examine patterns of dyadic and solitary sexual desire in response to stimuli differing in incentive value. Thirty androphilic women, 21 gynephilic women, 21 gynephilic men, and 16 androphilic men participated in a sexual psychophysiological session. Participants viewed sexual stimuli that varied the gender of the actors and the intensity of sexual activities depicted. Participants reported their degree of desire for sex with a partner (dyadic desire) and desire to masturbate (solitary desire), before and after each film. Men and gynephilic women exhibited gender-specific patterns of sexual desire. Androphilic women's dyadic desire showed significantly less differentiation between genders, and their solitary desire did not differentiate at all. No gender difference was observed for either type of desire. All groups reported greater desire as stimulus intensity increased. Gender-nonspecific sexual response is not limited to the sexual arousal patterns of androphilic women, but extends to include responsive sexual desire. Men and gynephilic women, however, show gender-specific responsive sexual desire that parallels their sexual arousal patterns. © 2014 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Direct and indirect aggression during childhood and adolescence: a meta-analytic review of gender differences, intercorrelations, and relations to maladjustment.

PubMed

Card, Noel A; Stucky, Brian D; Sawalani, Gita M; Little, Todd D

2008-01-01

This meta-analytic review of 148 studies on child and adolescent direct and indirect aggression examined the magnitude of gender differences, intercorrelations between forms, and associations with maladjustment. Results confirmed prior findings of gender differences (favoring boys) in direct aggression and trivial gender differences in indirect aggression. Results also indicated a substantial intercorrelation (r = .76) between these forms. Despite this high intercorrelation, the 2 forms showed unique associations with maladjustment: Direct aggression is more strongly related to externalizing problems, poor peer relations, and low prosocial behavior, and indirect aggression is related to internalizing problems and higher prosocial behavior. Moderation of these effect sizes by method of assessment, age, gender, and several additional variables were systematically investigated.

The changing face of cognitive gender differences in Europe.

PubMed

Weber, Daniela; Skirbekk, Vegard; Freund, Inga; Herlitz, Agneta

2014-08-12

Cognitive gender differences and the reasons for their origins have fascinated researchers for decades. Using nationally representative data to investigate gender differences in cognitive performance in middle-aged and older populations across Europe, we show that the magnitude of these differences varies systematically across cognitive tasks, birth cohorts, and regions, but also that the living conditions and educational opportunities individuals are exposed to during their formative years are related to their later cognitive performance. Specifically, we demonstrate that improved living conditions and less gender-restricted educational opportunities are associated with increased gender differences favoring women in some cognitive functions (i.e., episodic memory) and decreases (i.e., numeracy) or elimination of differences in other cognitive abilities (i.e., category fluency). Our results suggest that these changes take place due to a general increase in women's cognitive performance over time, associated with societal improvements in living conditions and educational opportunities.

The changing face of cognitive gender differences in Europe

PubMed Central

Weber, Daniela; Skirbekk, Vegard; Freund, Inga; Herlitz, Agneta

2014-01-01

Cognitive gender differences and the reasons for their origins have fascinated researchers for decades. Using nationally representative data to investigate gender differences in cognitive performance in middle-aged and older populations across Europe, we show that the magnitude of these differences varies systematically across cognitive tasks, birth cohorts, and regions, but also that the living conditions and educational opportunities individuals are exposed to during their formative years are related to their later cognitive performance. Specifically, we demonstrate that improved living conditions and less gender-restricted educational opportunities are associated with increased gender differences favoring women in some cognitive functions (i.e., episodic memory) and decreases (i.e., numeracy) or elimination of differences in other cognitive abilities (i.e., category fluency). Our results suggest that these changes take place due to a general increase in women’s cognitive performance over time, associated with societal improvements in living conditions and educational opportunities. PMID:25071201

Gender differences in ethical perceptions of business practices: a social role theory perspective.

PubMed

Franke, G R; Crown, D F; Spake, D F

1997-12-01

This study presents a meta-analysis of research on gender differences in perceptions of ethical decision making. Data from more than 20,000 respondents in 66 samples show that women are more likely than men to perceive specific hypothetical business practices as unethical. As suggested by social role theory (A. H. Eagly, 1987), the gender difference observed in precareer (student) samples declines as the work experience of samples increases. Social role theory also accounts for greater gender differences in nonmonetary issues than in monetary issues. T. M. Jones's (1991) issue-contingent model of moral intensity helps explain why gender differences vary across types of behavior. Contrary to expectations, differences are not influenced by the sex of the actor or the target of the behavior and do not depend on whether the behavior involves personal relationships or action vs. inaction.

Gender Differences in Subjective and Physiological Responses to Caffeine and the Role of Steroid Hormones

PubMed Central

Ziegler, Amanda M.

2011-01-01

Background We have shown previously that male and female adolescents differ in their responses to caffeine, but to date, the mechanisms underlying these gender differences are unknown. Objective The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that differences in circulating steroid hormones mediate gender differences in response to caffeine. Methods Subjective and physiological responses to caffeine were tested in adolescents using a double-blind, placebo controlled, crossover design. Participants were tested every 2 weeks for 8 weeks and received placebo and caffeine (2 mg/kg) twice each. Females were tested with placebo and caffeine in each phase of their menstrual cycle. Salivary concentrations of testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone were also measured. Results Males showed greater positive subjective effects than females. In females, higher levels of estradiol were associated with little or no subjective responses to caffeine, but lower levels of estradiol were associated with negative subjective responses to caffeine relative to placebo. There were gender differences in cardiovascular responses to caffeine, with males showing greater decreases in heart rate after caffeine administration than females, but females showing greater increases in diastolic blood pressure than males after caffeine administration. These gender differences may be related to steroid hormone concentrations. Blood pressure responses to caffeine were lower in males when estradiol was high, but higher in females when estradiol was high. Conclusions When taken together, these findings suggest that males and females differ in their responses to caffeine and that these differences may be mediated by changes in circulating steroid hormones. PMID:24761262

Sex Differences in Balance Among Alpine Ski Racers: Cross-Sectional Age Comparisons.

PubMed

Raschner, Christian; Hildebrandt, Carolin; Mohr, Johanna; Müller, Lisa

2017-12-01

Although balance is a key ability in the strength demands of alpine ski racing, affecting both performance and injury prevention, few studies have examined balance or related sex differences among still-maturing athletes. In this 10-year study, we investigated cross-sectional balance performances at different age periods of a representative sample of over 500 11-18-year-old elite skiers of both genders. Participants performed balance tests using the MFT S3-Check. Left-right and forward-backward movements were used to calculate sensory and symmetry balance scores, which were both incorporated into a stability score. Mann-Whitney U tests assessed gender-specific differences by age-group with a significance level set at p < .05. Results showed gender differences only on forward-backward measurements for 14-16-year-olds, with females showing better stability and sensory (but not symmetry) scores than males. Thus, gender interacted with age and maturation to influence balance ability in these participants. Additionally, these rare 10-year data support coaches in their training and talent development of maturing athletes by providing important sport-, age-, and gender-specific normative comparison data for individual trainees.

Integrating gender and number information in Spanish word pairs: an ERP study.

PubMed

Barber, Horacio; Carreiras, Manuel

2003-06-01

The aim of the current study was to explore the integration processes of gender and number morphological features, since it has been proposed that grammatical gender and number features might be associated with different strength with the word stem in lexical representation. Event related potentials (ERPs) were recorded using a 128-channel sensor net while twenty-four volunteers read Spanish word pairs and performed a syntactic judgment task. The word pairs which could agree or disagree in gender or number or in gender and number at the same time, were formed by a noun and an adjective (e.g. faro-alto [lighthouse-high]). A negativity around 400 msec with posterior distribution, which has been related to lexical integration processes, was found in response to both gender and number violations. No differences were found between gender disagreement, number disagreement and the double disagreement. Therefore, ERPs suggest that integration of gender and number features may not be different, and that the detection of disagreement may work under a binary state, since the double disagreement condition did not differ from the others. In addition, a subsequent component (identified as P3) showed delayed latencies in the gender disagreement condition as compared to the number disagreement condition, while the double disagreement conditions showed a shorter peak latency than the other two disagreement conditions and similar to the agreement condition. The variations in the latency of the P3 component, which has been related to categorization processes, suggest that these processes are quickly triggered by the accumulation of two incongruent as compared to one disagreement features, and that reanalysis is costlier in the case of gender disagreement as compared to the number disagreement.

Gender differences in mathematics achievement in Beijing: A meta-analysis.

PubMed

Li, Meijuan; Zhang, Yongmei; Liu, Hongyun; Hao, Yi

2017-12-19

The topic of gender differences in mathematical performance has received considerable attention in the fields of education, sociology, economics and psychology. We analysed gender differences based on data from the Beijing Assessment of Educational Quality in China. A large data set of Grade 5 and Grade 8 students who took the mathematical test from 2008 to 2013 (n = 73,318) were analysed. Meta-analysis was used in this research. The findings were as follows. (1) No gender differences in mathematical achievement exist among students in Grade 5, relatively small gender differences exist in Grade 8, females scored higher than males, and variance of male students is larger than that of females in both Grade 5 and Grade 8. (2) Except for statistics and probability, gender differences in other domains in Grade 8 are significantly higher than those in Grade 5, and female students outperform males. (3) The ratio of students of both gender in Grade 5 and Grade 8 at the 95-100% percentile level shows no significant differences. However, the ratio of male students is significantly higher than that of females at the 0-5% percentile level. (4) In Grade 5, the extent to which females outperformed males in low SES group is larger than that in higher SES groups, and in Grade 8, the magnitude of gender differences in urban schools is smaller than that in rural schools. There is a small gender difference among the 8th graders, with the male disadvantage at the bottom of the distribution. And gender differences also vary across school locations. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

Gender differences in trait aggression in young adults with drug and alcohol dependence compared to the general population.

PubMed

Bácskai, Erika; Czobor, Pál; Gerevich, József

2011-07-01

Data in gender differences in aggression among alcohol and drug dependent subjects are lacking, and no published data are available about gender differences among various subtypes of substance using populations. The goal of this cross-sectional study was to investigate gender differences with regard to types of trait aggression in substance dependent young populations (age: 20-35 years) compared to the general population. Subjects were selected from two clinical samples with a diagnosis of alcohol and drug dependence as well as from a representative sample of the general population. Trait aggression was measured by the four individual subscales of the Buss Perry Aggression Questionnaire (physical-PA, verbal aggression-VA, hostility-H and anger AN) whereas alcohol and drug use were characterized by the AUDIT and EuroADAD scales, respectively. Alcohol and drug dependent subjects showed higher severity on all four subscales of trait aggression compared to the general population. The male-female difference was the highest in the cannabis group. General Linear Model analysis for PA indicated a significant main effect of gender (higher PA for males, p=0.034) with no interaction between substance dependence and gender. For VA, no main effect or interaction for gender was found. Effect sizes for gender difference indicated that while males and females were similar in the control group in the severity in H and A, the level of H and AN was substantially higher in females than in males in the clinical group. These differences between the two genders reached statistical significance in the marijuana group, where female subjects showed a significantly higher severity in these two domains. Compared to the normal sample chronic substance use is associated with higher scores on certain factors of trait aggression, including hostility and anger, in females than in males. Our data suggest that aggression in substance dependent females is more provocable by chronic use of alcohol and drugs than in males. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gender equity in health: A secondary analysis of data in Iran.

PubMed

Hosseini, Masoumeh; Olyaeemanesh, Alireza; Ahmadi, Batoul; Nedjat, Saharnaz; Farzadi, Faranak; Arab, Mohammad; Rashidian, Arash

2016-01-01

Gender inequality harms the health of millions of women and girls in all over the world. This study aimed to identify the state of gender equity in the health sector of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This study was based on the secondary analysis of the available data in four provinces. The research team held three sessions to select the appropriate indicators for measuring gender equity in Iran. Moreover, using the data of different sources, the indexes were evaluated by applying the brain storming method. To demonstrate the difference between females and males, the ratio of females to males was measured in each indicator. The confidence intervals were used to show significant differences in the gap between men and women. Educational indicators were analyzed using the appraisal framework of UNESCO and International Institute for Education Planning. Findings revealed gender equality in the indicators of education and under-five underweight in all the provinces. However, the indicator of information on the mild psychological diseases showed inequality in favor of males. Infants' mortality, under-five mortality, crude death, drug abuse and smoking showed inequality in favor of females in all the four provinces. The incidence of tuberculosis, severe psychological diseases, and basic and supplementary insurance coverage was equal in all provinces except Tehran. This study revealed gender inequality in many indicators among the provinces. Therefore, improving this condition requires policymaking, planning, and conducting appropriate strategies with proper gender approaches.

Gender differences in the relationship between built environment and non-communicable diseases: A systematic review.

PubMed

Valson, Joanna Sara; Kutty, V Raman

2018-02-05

Non-communicable diseases are on the rise globally. Risk factors of non-communicable diseases continue to be a growing concern in both developed and developing countries. With significant rise in population and establishment of buildings, rapid changes have taken place in the built environment. Relationship between health and place, particularly with non-communicable diseases has been established in previous literature. This systematic review assesses the current evidence on influence of gender in the relationship between built environment and non-communicable diseases. A systematic literature search using PubMed was done to identify all studies that reported relationship between gender and built environment. All titles and abstracts were scrutinised to include only articles based on risk factors, prevention, treatment and outcome of non-communicable diseases. The Gender Analysis Matrix developed by the World Health Organization was used to describe the findings of gender differences. Sex differences, biological susceptibility, gender norms/ values, roles and activities related to gender and access to/control over resources were themes for the differences in the relationship. A total of 15 out of 214 articles met the inclusion criteria. Majority of the studies were on risk factors of non-communicable diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases. Gender differences in physical access to recreational facilities, neighbourhood perceptions of safety and walkability have been documented. Men and women showed differential preferences to walking, engaging in physical activity and in perceiving safety of the neighbourhood. Girls and boys showed differences in play activities at school and in their own neighbourhood environment. Safety from crime and safety from traffic were also perceived important to engage in physical activity. Gender norms and gender roles and activities have shown basis for the differences in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases. Sparse evidence was found on how built environment affects health seeking behaviour, preventive options or experience with health providers. Though yet unexplored in the developing or low/middle income countries, there seems to be a major role in the gendered perception of how men and women are affected by noncommunicable diseases. Large gaps still exist in the research evidence on gender-based differences in non-communicable diseases and built environment relationship. Future research directions could bring out underpinnings of how perceived and objective built environment could largely affect the health behaviour of men and women across the globe.

Discriminating male and female voices: differentiating pitch and gender.

PubMed

Latinus, Marianne; Taylor, Margot J

2012-04-01

Gender is salient, socially critical information obtained from faces and voices, yet the brain processes underlying gender discrimination have not been well studied. We investigated neural correlates of gender processing of voices in two ERP studies. In the first, ERP differences were seen between female and male voices starting at 87 ms, in both spatial-temporal and peak analyses, particularly the fronto-central N1 and P2. As pitch differences may drive gender differences, the second study used normal, high- and low-pitch voices. The results of these studies suggested that differences in pitch produced early effects (27-63 ms). Gender effects were seen on N1 (120 ms) with implicit pitch processing (study 1), but were not seen with manipulations of pitch (study 2), demonstrating that N1 was modulated by attention. P2 (between 170 and 230 ms) discriminated male from female voices, independent of pitch. Thus, these data show that there are two stages in voice gender processing; a very early pitch or frequency discrimination and a later more accurate determination of gender at the P2 latency.

Religion and Education Gender Gap: Are Muslims Different?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hajj, Mandana; Panizza, Ugo

2009-01-01

This paper uses individual-level data and a differences-in-differences estimation strategy to test whether the education gender gap of Muslims is different from that of Christians. In particular, the paper uses data for young Lebanese and shows that, other things equal, girls (both Muslim and Christian) tend to receive more education than boys and…

The impact of nontraditionalism on the malleability of gender stereotypes in Spain and Germany.

PubMed

Zafra, Esther Lopez; Garcia-Retamero, Rocio

2011-08-01

Gender stereotypes and inequalities are based on and sustained by people's perception of gender roles. The evolution of these gender roles, however, might be substantially different depending on cultural and social evolution in different countries. In a study, we investigated stereotypes in Germany and Spain, where residents might have different beliefs about gender roles due to their different social evolution after the Second World War and their economic and social advances. Results showed that in both countries people's expectations of differences in masculine characteristics between men and women were less noticeable than perceptions in the past or present. We also demonstrated that people perceive an increase in masculinity in women. This increase is more evident in Spaniards than in Germans. In estimations about the past, present, and future, Spaniards also perceived an increase of gender-stereotypic feminine characteristics more in men than in women. Our results are consistent with the predictions of social role theory, as gender stereotypes can include dynamic aspects and the content of these stereotypes is rooted in social roles.

Gender differences in self-conscious emotional experience: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Else-Quest, Nicole M; Higgins, Ashley; Allison, Carlie; Morton, Lindsay C

2012-09-01

The self-conscious emotions (SCE) of guilt, shame, pride, and embarrassment are moral emotions, which motivate adherence to social norms and personal standards and emerge in early childhood following the development of self-awareness. Gender stereotypes of emotion maintain that women experience more guilt, shame, and embarrassment but that men experience more pride. To estimate the magnitude of gender differences in SCE experience and to determine the circumstances under which these gender differences vary, we meta-analyzed 697 effect sizes representing 236,304 individual ratings of SCE states and traits from 382 journal articles, dissertations, and unpublished data sets. Guilt (d = -0.27) and shame (d = -0.29) displayed small gender differences, whereas embarrassment (d = -0.08), authentic pride (d = -0.01), and hubristic pride (d = 0.09) showed gender similarities. Similar to previous findings of ethnic variations in gender differences in other psychological variables, gender differences in shame and guilt were significant only for White samples or samples with unspecified ethnicity. We found larger gender gaps in shame with trait (vs. state) scales, and in guilt and shame with situation- and scenario-based (vs. adjective- and statement-based) items, consistent with predictions that such scales and items tend to tap into global, nonspecific assessments of the self and thus reflect self-stereotyping and gender role assimilative effects. Gender differences in SCE about domains such as the body, sex, and food or eating tended to be larger than gender differences in SCE about other domains. These findings contribute to the literature demonstrating that blanket stereotypes about women's greater emotionality are inaccurate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

[Using the sequenced sample cluster analysis to study the body mass index distribution characteristics of adults in different age groups and genders].

PubMed

Cai, Y N; Pei, X T; Sun, P P; Xu, Y P; Liu, L; Ping, Z G

2018-06-10

Objective: To explore the characteristics of distribution on Chinese adult body mass index (BMI) in different age groups and genders and to provide reference related to obesity and related chronic diseases. Methods: Data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey in 2009 were used. Sequential sample cluster method was used to analyze the characteristics of BMI distribution in different age groups and genders by SAS. Results: Our results showed that the adult BMI in China should be divided into 3 groups according to their age, as 20 to 40 years old, 40 to 65 years old, and> 65 years old, in females or in total when grouped by difference of 5 years. For groupings in male, the three groups should be as 20 to 40, 40 to 60 years old and>60 years old. There were differences on distribution between the male and female groups. When grouped by difference of 10 years, all of the clusters for male, female and total groups as 20-40, 40-60 and>60 years old, became similar for the three classes, respectively, with no differences of distribution between gender, suggesting that the 5-years grouping was more accurate than the 10-years one, and BMI showing gender differences. Conclusions: BMI of the Chinese adults should be divided into 3 categories according to the characteristics of their age. Our results showed that BMI was increasing with age in youths and adolescents, remained unchanged in the middle-aged but decreasing in the elderly.

College Chemistry and Piaget: An Analysis of Gender Difference, Cognitive Abilities, and Achievement Measures Seventeen Years Apart

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shibley, Ivan A., Jr.; Milakofsky, Louis M.; Bender, David S.; Patterson, Henry O.

2003-05-01

This study revisits an analysis of gender difference in the cognitive abilities of college chemistry students using scores from "Inventory of Piaget's Developmental Tasks" (IPDT), the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), and final grades from an introductory college chemistry course. Comparison of 1998 scores with those from 1981 showed an overall decline on most of the measures and a changing pattern among males and females. Gender differences were found in the IPDT subtests measuring imagery, classification, and proportional reasoning, but not conservation, a pattern that differs from the findings reported 17 years earlier. The generational and gender differences revealed in this study suggest that instructors should be cognizant of, and should periodically assess, the diversity of students' cognitive abilities.

Gender Differences in Psychotic Disorders with Concurrent Substance Use

PubMed Central

Caton, Carol L.M.; Xie, Haiyi; Drake, Robert E.; McHugo, Gregory

2015-01-01

Objective We conducted a comparative analysis of gender differences in patients with primary psychotic disorders with concurrent substance use and in those with substance-induced psychoses. Methods A total of 385 individuals admitted to psychiatric emergency departments with early onset psychosis and recent substance use were interviewed at baseline and at 6-month intervals for two years. Using a standardized research diagnostic assessment instrument, we classified patients at baseline into primary and substance-induced psychosis groups and analyzed the effects of gender on demographic, family, and clinical characteristics at baseline, the interaction of gender and diagnosis, and gender main effects on illness course, adjustment, and service use over the two-year follow-up period. Results Women had better premorbid adjustment, less misattribution of symptoms, and a later age of onset of regular drug use compared to men. Women, however, showed greater depression and histories of abuse compared to men. Men had greater arrest histories. No interactions between gender and diagnosis were significant. Both genders in the primary and substance-induced psychosis groups showed clinical and functional improvement over the follow-up period despite the overall minimal use of mental health and substance abuse treatment services. Conclusions Women and men with psychosis and substance use differ on several dimensions. Our findings suggest the need for gender-specific treatment programming across both diagnostic groups. PMID:25391275

A parent-report Gender Identity Questionnaire for Children: A cross-national, cross-clinic comparative analysis.

PubMed

Cohen-Kettenis, Peggy T; Wallien, Madeleine; Johnson, Laurel L; Owen-Anderson, Allison F H; Bradley, Susan J; Zucker, Kenneth J

2006-07-01

A one-factor, 14-item parent-report Gender Identity Questionnaire for Children (GIQC) was developed in a sample of 325 clinic-referred children with gender identity problems and 504 controls from Toronto, Canada (Johnson et al., 2004). In this study, we report a cross-national, cross-clinic comparative analysis of the GIQC on gender-referred children (N = 338) from Toronto and gender-referred children (N = 175) from Utrecht, The Netherlands. Across clinics, the results showed both similarities and differences. Gender-referred boys from Utrecht had a significantly higher total score (indicating more cross-gender behavior) than did gender-referred boys from Toronto, but there was no significant difference for girls. In the Toronto sample, the gender-referred girls had a significantly higher total score than the gender-referred boys, but there was no significant sex difference in the Utrecht sample. Across both clinics, gender-referred children who met the complete DSM criteria for gender identity disorder (GID) had a significantly higher cross-gender score than the gender-referred children who were subthreshold for GID (Cohen's d = 1.11). The results of this study provide the first empirical evidence of relative similarity in cross-gender behavior in a sample of gender-referred children from western Europe when compared to North American children. The results also provide some support for cross-clinic consistency in clinician-based diagnosis of GID.

Gender Classification Based on Eye Movements: A Processing Effect During Passive Face Viewing

PubMed Central

Sammaknejad, Negar; Pouretemad, Hamidreza; Eslahchi, Changiz; Salahirad, Alireza; Alinejad, Ashkan

2017-01-01

Studies have revealed superior face recognition skills in females, partially due to their different eye movement strategies when encoding faces. In the current study, we utilized these slight but important differences and proposed a model that estimates the gender of the viewers and classifies them into two subgroups, males and females. An eye tracker recorded participant’s eye movements while they viewed images of faces. Regions of interest (ROIs) were defined for each face. Results showed that the gender dissimilarity in eye movements was not due to differences in frequency of fixations in the ROI s per se. Instead, it was caused by dissimilarity in saccade paths between the ROIs. The difference enhanced when saccades were towards the eyes. Females showed significant increase in transitions from other ROI s to the eyes. Consequently, the extraction of temporal transient information of saccade paths through a transition probability matrix, similar to a first order Markov chain model, significantly improved the accuracy of the gender classification results. PMID:29071007

Gender Classification Based on Eye Movements: A Processing Effect During Passive Face Viewing.

PubMed

Sammaknejad, Negar; Pouretemad, Hamidreza; Eslahchi, Changiz; Salahirad, Alireza; Alinejad, Ashkan

2017-01-01

Studies have revealed superior face recognition skills in females, partially due to their different eye movement strategies when encoding faces. In the current study, we utilized these slight but important differences and proposed a model that estimates the gender of the viewers and classifies them into two subgroups, males and females. An eye tracker recorded participant's eye movements while they viewed images of faces. Regions of interest (ROIs) were defined for each face. Results showed that the gender dissimilarity in eye movements was not due to differences in frequency of fixations in the ROI s per se. Instead, it was caused by dissimilarity in saccade paths between the ROIs. The difference enhanced when saccades were towards the eyes. Females showed significant increase in transitions from other ROI s to the eyes. Consequently, the extraction of temporal transient information of saccade paths through a transition probability matrix, similar to a first order Markov chain model, significantly improved the accuracy of the gender classification results.

Staging gender and sexuality in experimental TV entertainment.

PubMed

Mühleisen, Wencke

2008-01-01

Via examples from recent Norwegian experimental TV shows, this article explores the function of "eye-catchers," parodic (hetero)sexualization, female masquerade and neo-masculinization as strategies for "repetitions with a difference" of traditional styles and motifs by female show hosts, as well as the queer gendering and sexualization of men and masculinities by their male counterparts. Both formats represent innovative renegotiations of gender and sexuality that illustrate the relationship between post-modernism and queer aesthetics.

Effects of Gender Color-Coding on Toddlers' Gender-Typical Toy Play.

PubMed

Wong, Wang I; Hines, Melissa

2015-07-01

Gender color-coding of children's toys may make certain toys more appealing or less appealing to a given gender. We observed toddlers playing with two gender-typical toys (a train, a doll), once in gender-typical colors and once in gender-atypical colors. Assessments occurred twice, at 20-40 months of age and at 26-47 months of age. A Sex × Time × Toy × Color ANOVA showed expected interactions between Sex and Toy and Sex and Color. Boys played more with the train than girls did and girls played more with the doll and with pink toys than boys did. The Sex × Toy × Color interaction was not significant, but, at both time points, boys and girls combined played more with the gender-atypical toy when its color was typical for their sex than when it was not. This effect appeared to be caused largely by boys' preference for, or avoidance of, the doll and by the use of pink. Also, at both time points, gender differences in toy preferences were larger in the gender-typical than in the gender-atypical color condition. At Time 2, these gender differences were present only in the gender-typical color condition. Overall, the results suggest that, once acquired, gender-typical color preferences begin to influence toy preferences, especially those for gender-atypical toys and particularly in boys. They thus could enlarge differences between boys' and girls' toy preferences. Because boys' and girls' toys elicit different activities, removing the gender color-coding of toys could encourage more equal learning opportunities.

Lack of Gender and Age Differences in Pain Measurements Following Exercise in People with Chronic Whiplash-Associated Disorders.

PubMed

Ickmans, Kelly; Malfliet, Anneleen; De Kooning, Margot; Goudman, Lisa; Hubloue, Ives; Schmitz, Tom; Goubert, Dorien; Aguilar-Ferrandiz, Maria Encarnacion

2017-09-01

Individuals with chronic whiplash associated disorders (WAD) present persistent pain in the absence of structural pathology. In these people, altered central pain processing and central sensitization are observed. The role of personal factors, such as gender and age, on pain processing mechanisms in chronic WAD, however, is still unclear. This study investigated possible gender- and age-related differences in self-reported and experimental pain measurements in people with chronic WAD. Besides the exercise-induced response on pain measurements between gender and age subgroups was recorded. Case-control study. University Hospital, Brussels. Self-reported pain and experimental pain measurements (pressure pain thresholds [PPT], occlusion cuff pressure, temporal summation, and conditioned pain modulation) were performed in 52 individuals (26 chronic WAD patients and 26 healthy controls), before and after a submaximal cycle exercise. Lower PPTs and occlusion cuff pressures were shown in chronic WAD in comparison with healthy controls. No gender and age differences regarding PPTs, occlusion cuff pressures and conditioned pain modulation were found in chronic WAD. Within the chronic WAD group, men showed higher self-reported pain compared to women and younger adults showed enhanced generalized pain facilitation compared to older adults. In addition, chronic WAD patients are able to inhibit exercise-induced hyperalgesia, but no gender and age differences in pain response following exercise were found. This study was sufficiently powered to detect differences between the chronic WAD and control group. However, a sufficient power was not reached when patients were divided in age and gender groups. Furthermore, only mechanical stimuli were included in the experimental pain measurements. Besides, psychosocial factors were not taken into account. Some alterations of altered pain processing are present in chronic WAD patients, however not in response to exercise. No gender and age differences in pain measurements were observed in people with chronic WAD.Key words: Neck pain, whiplash associated disorders, chronic pain, personal factors, age, gender, central sensitization, exercise induced hyperalgesia, pressure pain thresholds, self reported pain.

The spatial distribution of gender differences in obesity prevalence differs from overall obesity prevalence among US adults

PubMed Central

Gartner, Danielle R.; Taber, Daniel R.; Hirsch, Jana A.; Robinson, Whitney R.

2016-01-01

Purpose While obesity disparities between racial and socioeconomic groups have been well characterized, those based on gender and geography have not been as thoroughly documented. This study describes obesity prevalence by state, gender, and race/ethnicity to (1) characterize obesity gender inequality, (2) determine if the geographic distribution of inequality is spatially clustered and (3) contrast the spatial clustering patterns of obesity gender inequality with overall obesity prevalence. Methods Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) were used to calculate state-specific obesity prevalence and gender inequality measures. Global and Local Moran’s Indices were calculated to determine spatial autocorrelation. Results Age-adjusted, state-specific obesity prevalence difference and ratio measures show spatial autocorrelation (z-score=4.89, p-value <0.001). Local Moran’s Indices indicate the spatial distributions of obesity prevalence and obesity gender inequalities are not the same. High and low values of obesity prevalence and gender inequalities cluster in different areas of the U.S. Conclusion Clustering of gender inequality suggests that spatial processes operating at the state level, such as occupational or physical activity policies or social norms, are involved in the etiology of the inequality and necessitate further attention to the determinates of obesity gender inequality. PMID:27039046

Do students' and authors' genders affect evaluations? A linguistic analysis of Medical Student Performance Evaluations.

PubMed

Isaac, Carol; Chertoff, Jocelyn; Lee, Barbara; Carnes, Molly

2011-01-01

Recent guidelines for the Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) have standardized the "dean's letter." The authors examined MSPEs for linguistic differences according to student or author gender. This 2009 study analyzed 297 MSPEs for 227 male and 70 female medical students applying to a diagnostic radiology residency program. Text analysis software identified word counts, categories, frequencies, and contexts; factor analysis detected patterns of word categories in student-author gender pairings. Analyses showed a main effect for student gender (P=.046) and a group difference for the author-student gender combinations (P=.048). Female authors of male student MSPEs used the fewest "positive emotion" words (P=.006). MSPEs by male authors were shorter than those by females (P=.014). MSPEs for students ranked in the National Resident Matching Program contained more "standout" (P=.002) and "positive emotion" (P=.001) words. There were no differences in the author-gender pairs in the proportion of students ranked, although predominant word categories differed by author and student gender. Factor analysis revealed differences among the author-student groups in patterns of correlations among word categories. MSPEs differed slightly but significantly by student and author gender. These differences may derive from societal norms for male and female behaviors and the subsequent linguistic interpretation of these behaviors, which itself may be colored by the observer's gender. Although the differences in MSPEs did not seem to influence students' rankings, this work underscores the need for awareness of the complex effects of gender in evaluating students and guiding their specialty choices.

The gender difference on the Mental Rotations test is not due to performance factors.

PubMed

Masters, M S

1998-05-01

Men score higher than women on the Mental Rotations test (MRT), and the magnitude of this gender difference is the largest of that on any spatial test. Goldstein, Haldane, and Mitchell (1990) reported finding that the gender difference on the MRT disappears when "performance factors" are controlled--specifically, when subjects are allowed sufficient time to attempt all items on the test or when a scoring procedure that controls for the number of items attempted is used. The present experiment also explored whether eliminating these performance factors results in a disappearance of the gender difference on the test. Male and female college students were allowed a short time period or unlimited time on the MRT. The tests were scored according to three different procedures. The results showed no evidence that the gender difference on the MRT was affected by the scoring method or the time limit. Regardless of the scoring procedure, men scored higher than women, and the magnitude of the gender difference persisted undiminished when subjects completed all items on the test. Thus there was no evidence that performance factors produced the gender difference on the MRT. These results are consistent with the results of other investigators who have attempted to replicate Goldstein et al.'s findings.

Trends in Gender Differences in Academic Achievement from 1960 to 1994: An Analysis of Differences in Mean, Variance, and Extreme Scores.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nowell, Amy; Hedges, Larry V.

1998-01-01

Uses evidence from seven surveys of the U.S. 12th-grade population and the National Assessment of Educational Progress to show that gender differences in mean and variance in academic achievement are small from 1960 to 1994 but that differences in extreme scores are often substantial. (SLD)

WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT AND GENDER INEQUALITY IN ADOLESCENT NUTRITIONAL STATUS: EVIDENCE FROM THE INDONESIAN FAMILY LIFE SURVEY.

PubMed

Kunto, Yohanes Sondang; Bras, Hilde

2017-11-23

In contrast to the extensive knowledge on the association between women's empowerment and the nutritional status of children under the age of five, relatively little is known about the influence of women's empowerment on adolescents' nutritional status. This study aimed to assess the association between women's empowerment and gender inequalities in adolescent nutritional status. Data were from the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) covering the period 1997 to 2015, and consisted of 16,683 observations from 13,396 adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 years born in 6781 families. Three indicators of women's empowerment were used: mother's education, mother's bargaining power and mother's working status. Multivariate linear regression with robust standard errors was used to examine whether and how these indicators of women's empowerment influenced adolescent nutritional status. Interaction terms were added to analyse how the association between women's empowerment and adolescent nutritional status differed by gender. The results showed that mother's education and mother's working status were significantly associated with adolescent nutritional status, particularly with height-for-age. Adolescents of well-educated mothers had a higher height-for-age while those who were raised by mothers with a blue-collar job had a lower height-for-age. Although no gender differences were found for height-for-age, gender differences for BMI-for-age were obvious, with boys having a lower BMI-for-age than girls. Interactions between indicators of mother's empowerment and gender showed that the gender gap in BMI-for-age was smaller for adolescents of more educated mothers. However, further analyses of food consumption patterns showed that boys whose mothers were more educated consumed more fast food and had higher instant noodle consumption than girls, thus suggesting gender bias in new disguise.

Moral Judgments on Short-Term Sexual Behaviors among Chinese College Students: Exploring the Roles of Gender and Physical Attractiveness.

PubMed

Xiao, Qianguo; Li, Aijuan; Zhu, Yi

2017-01-01

This study primarily investigated the effects of gender and physical attractiveness on moral judgments on three typical kinds of short-term sexual behaviors (short-term fling, one-night stand, and hookup) in the Chinese culture context. A total of 120 university student subjects were presented with a series of stereotypically physically attractive (versus physically unattractive) photos before they rated the extent to which each of the three short-term sexual behaviors are morally acceptable. The results showed that male students judged all three behaviors to be more morally acceptable than female students did. Further analyses showed that this gender difference was moderated by the level of physical attractiveness. Under the high attractiveness condition, short-term flings and hookups were judged more morally acceptable by male students than by female students, but this gender difference was not significant under the low attractiveness condition. However, with regard to one-night stands, the data showed that male students judged this type of behavior to be more morally acceptable than did female students under the low attractiveness condition, while this gender difference was not significant under the high attractiveness condition. Thus, these findings further our understanding of how Chinese young people view different types of short-term sexual behaviors, and provide novel evidence regarding how physical attractiveness influences people's moral judgments on short-term sexual behaviors.

Moral Judgments on Short-Term Sexual Behaviors among Chinese College Students: Exploring the Roles of Gender and Physical Attractiveness

PubMed Central

Xiao, Qianguo; Li, Aijuan; Zhu, Yi

2017-01-01

This study primarily investigated the effects of gender and physical attractiveness on moral judgments on three typical kinds of short-term sexual behaviors (short-term fling, one-night stand, and hookup) in the Chinese culture context. A total of 120 university student subjects were presented with a series of stereotypically physically attractive (versus physically unattractive) photos before they rated the extent to which each of the three short-term sexual behaviors are morally acceptable. The results showed that male students judged all three behaviors to be more morally acceptable than female students did. Further analyses showed that this gender difference was moderated by the level of physical attractiveness. Under the high attractiveness condition, short-term flings and hookups were judged more morally acceptable by male students than by female students, but this gender difference was not significant under the low attractiveness condition. However, with regard to one-night stands, the data showed that male students judged this type of behavior to be more morally acceptable than did female students under the low attractiveness condition, while this gender difference was not significant under the high attractiveness condition. Thus, these findings further our understanding of how Chinese young people view different types of short-term sexual behaviors, and provide novel evidence regarding how physical attractiveness influences people’s moral judgments on short-term sexual behaviors. PMID:28243218

Gender Differences in Pay Expectations: The Roles of Job Intention and Self-View

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hogue, Mary; Dubois, Cathy L. Z.; Fox-Cardamone, Lee

2010-01-01

Because pay expectations play a role in the persistent gender pay gap, we surveyed 435 undergraduate students to examine the impacts of gender, job intentions, and self-views on the pay expectations of pre-career women and men. Our findings showed a gender gap in which women expected to be paid less than men expected to be paid at the beginning…

A cross-culture, cross-gender comparison of perspective taking mechanisms.

PubMed

Kessler, Klaus; Cao, Liyu; O'Shea, Kieran J; Wang, Hongfang

2014-06-22

Being able to judge another person's visuo-spatial perspective is an essential social skill, hence we investigated the generalizability of the involved mechanisms across cultures and genders. Developmental, cross-species, and our own previous research suggest that two different forms of perspective taking can be distinguished, which are subserved by two distinct mechanisms. The simpler form relies on inferring another's line-of-sight, whereas the more complex form depends on embodied transformation into the other's orientation in form of a simulated body rotation. Our current results suggest that, in principle, the same basic mechanisms are employed by males and females in both, East-Asian (EA; Chinese) and Western culture. However, we also confirmed the hypothesis that Westerners show an egocentric bias, whereas EAs reveal an other-oriented bias. Furthermore, Westerners were slower overall than EAs and showed stronger gender differences in speed and depth of embodied processing. Our findings substantiate differences and communalities in social cognition mechanisms across genders and two cultures and suggest that cultural evolution or transmission should take gender as a modulating variable into account.

A Single-Unit Design Structure and Gender Differences in the Swimming World Championships

PubMed Central

Pushkar, Svetlana; Issurin, Vladimir B.; Verbitsky, Oleg

2014-01-01

Four 50 meter male/female finals - the freestyle, butterfly, breaststroke, and backstroke - swum during individual events at the Swimming World Championships (SWCs) can be defined in four clusters. The aim of the present study was to use a single-unit design structure, in which the swimmer was defined at only one scale, to evaluate gender differences in start reaction times among elite swimmers in 50 m events. The top six male and female swimmers in the finals of four swimming stroke final events in six SWCs were analyzed. An unpaired t-test was used. The p-values were evaluated using Neo-Fisherian significance assessments (Hurlbert and Lombardi, 2012). For the freestyle, gender differences in the start reaction times were positively identified for five of the six SWCs. For the backstroke, gender differences in the start reaction times could be dismissed for five of the six SWCs. For both the butterfly and breaststroke, gender differences in the start reaction times yielded inconsistent statistical differences. Pooling all swimmers together (df = 286) showed that an overall gender difference in the start reaction times could be positively identified: p = 0.00004. The contrast between the gender differences in start reaction times between the freestyle and backstroke may be associated with different types of gender adaptations to swimming performances. When the natural groupings of swimming stroke final events were ignored, sacrificial pseudoreplication occurred, which may lead to erroneous statistical differences. PMID:25414754

The role played by depression associated with somatic symptomatology in accounting for the gender difference in the prevalence of depression.

PubMed

Silverstein, B; Edwards, T; Gamma, A; Ajdacic-Gross, V; Rossler, W; Angst, J

2013-02-01

A variety of studies suggest the existence of a distinct phenotype of somatic depression, i.e., depression accompanied by significant somatic symptomatology. Previous research suggests that the gender difference in the prevalence of depression is primarily due to a difference in somatic depression. The aim of this study was to compare the gender difference in the prevalence of somatic depression and of depression not accompanied by significant somatic symptomatology (labelled "pure" depression) in two representative samples, the National Comorbidity Survey-Replication (NCS-R) and the Zurich Study. The gender difference in lifetime somatic depression was compared to that of pure depression based on analyses weighted back to the general population in two representative samples. The NCS-R analyses involved a narrow definition of somatic depression with items from the DSM criteria for depression--appetite, sleep, and fatigue. The analysis of the Zurich study added headaches, body image issues, and breathing difficulties to the criteria and comparison to atypical depression. In both samples, the gender difference in depressive prevalence was due to a large difference in somatic depression with other phenotypes showing little or no gender difference. The gender differences were found to be due to the somatic symptoms rather than the number of symptoms and were much larger for somatic than for atypical depression. The gender difference in the prevalence of depression results from the higher prevalence among women of a specific phenotype, somatic depression.

Gender Stereotypes.

PubMed

Ellemers, Naomi

2018-01-04

There are many differences between men and women. To some extent, these are captured in the stereotypical images of these groups. Stereotypes about the way men and women think and behave are widely shared, suggesting a kernel of truth. However, stereotypical expectations not only reflect existing differences, but also impact the way men and women define themselves and are treated by others. This article reviews evidence on the nature and content of gender stereotypes and considers how these relate to gender differences in important life outcomes. Empirical studies show that gender stereotypes affect the way people attend to, interpret, and remember information about themselves and others. Considering the cognitive and motivational functions of gender stereotypes helps us understand their impact on implicit beliefs and communications about men and women. Knowledge of the literature on this subject can benefit the fair judgment of individuals in situations where gender stereotypes are likely to play a role.

The impact of age vs. life experience on the gender role attitudes of women in different cohorts.

PubMed

Lynott, P P; McCandless, N J

2000-01-01

Much research has concluded that the gender role attitudes of older women are more traditional in orientation. This line of research, however, has often confounded the impact of age and cohort. Consequently, cohort differences in life experiences have not been systematically explored. This study addresses the relationship between age and gender role attitudes, taking into account the potential mediating effects of life experiences and controlling for cohort. The conclusions suggest that the impact of age on gender role attitudes is not as strong as might be expected. Rather, the results show that the life experiences of different cohorts are better predictors of gender role attitudes among older women, though such experiences do not have the same impact on all women.

Talk Show Viewing Motives: Does Gender Make a Difference?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cress, Stacy L.; Rapert, Kevin D.

A study explored the relationship between gender and talk show viewing motives. Students (109) from 6 randomly selected introductory communication classes in a midwestern university, 30 people belonging to a non-traditional student organization called "Oasis," and 8 residents of a retirement home were given Rubin's instrument to assess…

Confidence in Mathematics and Its Consequences: Gender Differences among Israeli Jewish and Arab Youth.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mittelberg, David; Lev-Ari, Lilach

1999-01-01

Studied the relative weight of personal, social, and cultural variables that explain gender differences in mathematics learning in different sectors of Israeli society. Results from 106 Jewish and 105 Arab high school students show the higher perceived achievement and mathematics self-confidence of the Arab girls. Explores reasons for the…

Gender Differences in Emotional Risk for Self- and Other-Directed Violence among Externalizing Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sadeh, Naomi; Javdani, Shabnam; Finy, M. Sima; Verona, Edelyn

2011-01-01

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…

Gender Differences in French Undergraduates' Academic Plans and Wage Expectations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonnard, Claire; Giret, Jean-Francois

2016-01-01

Gender differences in wage expectations may affect investment in human capital and increase inequalities in the labour market. Our research based on a survey of first-year students at a French university aims to focus on expectations at the beginning of the career. Our results show that anticipated earnings differ significantly between men and…

Gender differences in attitudes toward gay men and lesbians: the role of motivation to respond without prejudice.

PubMed

Ratcliff, Jennifer J; Lassiter, G Daniel; Markman, Keith D; Snyder, Celeste J

2006-10-01

Research has uncovered consistent gender differences in attitudes toward gay men, with women expressing less prejudice than men (Herek, 2003). Attitudes toward lesbians generally show a similar pattern, but to a weaker extent. The present work demonstrated that motivation to respond without prejudice importantly contributes to these divergent attitudes. Study 1 revealed that women evince higher internal motivation to respond without prejudice (IMS, Plant & Devine, 1998) than do men and that this difference partially mediates the relationship between gender and attitudes toward gay men. The second study replicated this finding and demonstrated that IMS mediates the relationship between gender and attitudes toward lesbians. Study 2 further revealed that gender-role variables contribute to the observed gender differences in motivation to respond without prejudice. These findings provide new insights into the nature of sexual prejudice and for the first time point to possible antecedents of variation in motivation to respond without prejudice.

Gender-Mainstreaming in Technical and Vocational Education and Training

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nurhaeni, I. D. A.; Kurniawan, Y.

2018-02-01

Gender differences should be considered in vocational high schools so women and men can develop their potentials without being inhibited by gender bias. Gender mainstreaming in vocational high schools is a strategy to integrate gender differences at all stages in teaching-learning process for achieving gender equality and equity. This research evaluates the implementation of gender mainstreaming in vocational high schools consisting of seven key components of gender mainstreaming. Four vocational high schools in Sragen Regency Indonesia have been purposively selected. The data were obtained through in-depth interviews and documentation studies. The data were analyzed using Kabeer’s model of gender analysis. The findings show that not all key components of gender mainstreaming have been implemented in vocational high schools. Most vocational high schools have implemented three of seven key components of gender mainstreaming, namely political will and leadership, policy framework and gender statistics. Meanwhile four of seven key components of gender mainstreaming, namely structure and mechanism, resources, infra structures and civil society have not been well-implemented. In conclusion gender mainstreaming has not been implemented effectively in vocational high schools. Accordingly, the government’s education office should continue to encourage and publish guidelines on the implementation of gender-mainstreaming in vocational high schools.

Gender stereotyping in television advertisements: a study of French and Danish television.

PubMed

Furnham, A; Babitzkow, M; Uguccioni, S

2000-02-01

Two similar, but not identical, content analyses of the portrayals of men and women in French and Danish television advertisements are reported. By partially replicating and extending past investigations conducted in America, Australia, Britain, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, and New Zealand, it was predicted that there would be more gender stereotyping in French television advertisements and less gender stereotyping in Danish television advertisements. In the first study, 165 French television advertisements were analyzed by following established coding categories (A. Furnham & E. Skae, 1997; L. Z. McArthur & B. G. Resko, 1975). Contrary to prediction, the results showed that traditional gender role portrayal on French television was no different from that found in other countries. Separate statistical analyses were carried out for visually versus aurally classified central figures, yet this yielded relatively few significant differences. In the second study, a sample of 151 Danish advertisements was analyzed; results showed that Danish television was generally less gender stereotypic than French television in its portrayal of women. Exactly half (5) of the coding categories showed significant differences. Finally, an international statistical comparison between these two studies and similar research in Australia, Britain, and Italy was carried out. The methodological implications of these results are discussed as well as the theoretical issues arising from other studies of this sort.

Gender influences on career opportunities, practice choices, and job satisfaction in a cohort of physicians with certification in sports medicine.

PubMed

Pana, A L; McShane, J

2001-04-01

To examine the gender differences in practice patterns, experiences, and career opportunities for family physicians who practice sports medicine. Descriptive, self-administered questionnaire. Family physicians with Certificate of Added Qualification (CAQ) in sports medicine were surveyed. The survey was sent to all women with a CAQ in Sports Medicine and a random sample of 20% of the men with CAQs in sports medicine. Survey consisted of multiple choice, Likert scale, and opened-ended questions. The data was analyzed with contingency tables, with gender as the dependent variable. Response rate to the survey was 75%, which included 42 females and 102 males. Demographics of our population demonstrated some gender differences. Males were of higher average age (41.1 vs. 38.1), and more likely to be married and have children. Practice types, location, and time spent in sports medicine did not differ with the exception of training room and event coverage. Males were more likely to cover all levels of training room except at the Division I level, where the percent of males and females covering training rooms were equal. Males were also more likely to cover all types of sporting events. Job satisfaction and reasons for choosing current jobs did not show significant gender differences. However, factors affecting career opportunities did vary. Professional relationships with athletic trainers and coaches were perceived to be different by males and females surveyed. Our survey of sports medicine physicians showed some gender differences in practice patterns relative to training room and sporting event coverage. Surprisingly, there were not many differences in the factors that affected job choice and factors affecting job opportunities with the exception of gender itself. However, our study does not conclude how or when gender begins to affect the female sports medicine physician's career opportunities.

Gender differences in highway driving performance after administration of sleep medication: a review of the literature.

PubMed

Verster, Joris C; Roth, Thomas

2012-01-01

It is generally assumed that there are minimal gender differences in the safety and efficacy of central nervous system drugs, as is evidenced by men and women receiving the same drug dosage. There is, however, evidence that drugs may have a differential effect on performance in men and women, given reported differences in pharmacokinetics as well as the presence or absence and severity of adverse effects. It is especially important to verify whether gender differences in performance exist in case of activities that have potentially dangerous outcomes such as driving a car. This review summarizes the current scientific evidence on gender differences in driving performance after treatment with hypnotic drugs. A literature search was conducted to obtain all studies that conducted on-road driving tests to examine the effects hypnotic drugs on driving. Cross-references were checked and technical reports and raw data were obtained, if possible. Fourteen studies were evaluated. Many studies did not allow analyses of gender effects because only women were included. Others did not report data on gender analyses. Technical reports and additional data analyses revealed significant gender differences in driving performance the morning following bedtime administration of flurazepam (30 mg) and after middle-of-the-night administration of zolpidem (10 mg). No significant gender differences were found for ramelteon (8 mg), lormetazepam (1 and 2 mg), zaleplon (10 and 20 mg), and zopiclone (7.5 mg). Although the available data are limited, the results show that significant gender differences have been found for some drugs but not others. Therefore, in the future more research is needed to reveal potential gender differences and to determine what mediates them.

An epidemiologic study on anthropometric dimensions of 7-11-year-old Iranian children: considering ethnic differences.

PubMed

Mirmohammadi, Seyyed Jalil; Hafezi, Rahmatollah; Mehrparvar, Amir Houshang; Gerdfaramarzi, Raziyeh Soltani; Mostaghaci, Mehrdad; Nodoushan, Reza Jafari; Rezaeian, Bibiseyedeh

2013-01-01

Anthropometric data can be used to identify the physical dimensions of equipment, furniture, clothing and workstations. The use of poorly designed furniture that fails to fulfil the users' anthropometric dimensions, has a negative impact on human health. In this study, we measured some anthropometric dimensions of Iranian children from different ethnicities. A total of 12,731 Iranian primary school children aged 7-11 years were included in the study and their static anthropometric dimensions were measured. Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation and key percentiles were calculated. All dimensions were compared among different ethnicities and different genders. This study showed significant differences in a set of 22 anthropometric dimensions with regard to gender, age and ethnicity. Turk boys and Arab girls were larger than their contemporaries in different ages. According to the results of this study, difference between genders and among different ethnicities should be taken into account by designers and manufacturers of school furniture. In this study, we measured 22 static anthropometric dimensions of 12,731 Iranian primary school children aged 7-11 years from different ethnicities. Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation and key percentiles were measured for each dimension. This study showed significant differences in a set of 22 anthropometric dimensions in different genders, ages and ethnicities.

Following the time course of face gender and expression processing: a task-dependent ERP study.

PubMed

Valdés-Conroy, Berenice; Aguado, Luis; Fernández-Cahill, María; Romero-Ferreiro, Verónica; Diéguez-Risco, Teresa

2014-05-01

The effects of task demands and the interaction between gender and expression in face perception were studied using event-related potentials (ERPs). Participants performed three different tasks with male and female faces that were emotionally inexpressive or that showed happy or angry expressions. In two of the tasks (gender and expression categorization) facial properties were task-relevant while in a third task (symbol discrimination) facial information was irrelevant. Effects of expression were observed on the visual P100 component under all task conditions, suggesting the operation of an automatic process that is not influenced by task demands. The earliest interaction between expression and gender was observed later in the face-sensitive N170 component. This component showed differential modulations by specific combinations of gender and expression (e.g., angry male vs. angry female faces). Main effects of expression and task were observed in a later occipito-temporal component peaking around 230 ms post-stimulus onset (EPN or early posterior negativity). Less positive amplitudes in the presence of angry faces and during performance of the gender and expression tasks were observed. Finally, task demands also modulated a positive component peaking around 400 ms (LPC, or late positive complex) that showed enhanced amplitude for the gender task. The pattern of results obtained here adds new evidence about the sequence of operations involved in face processing and the interaction of facial properties (gender and expression) in response to different task demands. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Gender Differences in Game Behaviour in Invasion Games

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gutierrez, David; Garcia-Lopez, Luis M.

2012-01-01

Background: Previous research has revealed the existence of gender differences in physical education. Most descriptive studies show that boys are more physically active than girls, have greater self-perception of enjoyment and competence in physical education, attach more importance to sports and participation in them and demonstrate higher game…

Siblings and Gender Differences in African-American College Attendance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loury, Linda Datcher

2004-01-01

Differences in college enrollment growth rates for African-American men and women have resulted in a large gender gap in college attendance. This paper shows that, controlling for spurious correlation with unobserved variables, having more college-educated older siblings raises rather than lowers the likelihood of college attendance for…

Student Engagement at a Large Suburban Community College: Gender and Race Differences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sontam, Varalakshmi; Gabriel, George

2012-01-01

Previous research shows that there are individual differences in academic achievement associated with gender and race. Research also suggests that student engagement is an important determinant of student outcomes/achievement. The present study explored student engagement at an extra-large community college. It specifically investigated possible…

Interactions between patients and dental care providers: does gender matter?

PubMed

Inglehart, Marita R

2013-04-01

Research findings concerning the role of gender in patient-physician interactions can inform considerations about the role of gender in patient-dental care provider interactions. Medical research showed that gender differences in verbal and nonverbal communication in medical settings exist and that they affect the outcomes of these interactions. The process of communication is shaped by gender identities, gender stereotypes, and attitudes. Future research needs to consider the cultural complexity and diversity in which gender issues are embedded and the degree to which ongoing value change will shape gender roles and in turn interactions between dental patients and their providers. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Patients with fibromyalgia: gender differences].

PubMed

Lange, M; Karpinski, N; Krohn-Grimberghe, B; Petermann, F

2010-06-01

The aim of this study was to investigate how sex differences affect psychological measures and coping with pain of patients with fibromyalgia. Gender differences in pain coping strategies would require different gender-specific interventions. Men with fibromyalgia were matched to women with fibromyalgia. Data were collected using the German pain questionnaire (DSF), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D) and the questionnaire for assessment of level of coping with pain (FESV). Multivariate variance models were used for data analysis. No gender differences were found in pain measures. Differences were found regarding psychological measures and coping strategies. Women showed more psychological strains and used more adaptive coping strategies on the scales "cognitive restructuring", "perceived self-competence", "mental diversion" and "counterbalancing activities" than men. This implies that women need more treatment for psychological aspects and men need assistance in pain management.

Effects of aging and gender on micro-rheology of blood in 3 to 18 months old male and female Wistar (Crl:WI) rats.

PubMed

Somogyi, Viktoria; Peto, Katalin; Deak, Adam; Tanczos, Bence; Nemeth, Norbert

2018-01-01

Age- and gender-related alterations of hemorheological parameters have not been completely elucidated to date. Experiments on older animals may give valuable information on this issue. However, the majority of rheological studies have been performed in young rodents. We aimed to investigate the influence of aging and gender on hemorheological parameters in rats. Coeval male (n=10) and female (n=10) Wistar (Crl:WI) rats were followed-up over 15 months. Blood samples were obtained from the lateral tail vein at 3, 4, 5, 9, 12, 15 and 18 months of age. Hematological parameters, red blood cell deformability (elongation under shear), osmotic gradient deformability and erythrocyte aggregation were tested. Body weight and the estrus cycle (in females) were also examined. Erythrocyte aggregation showed age- and gender-related variations. Red blood cell deformability was greater in females and gradually decreased over the 15-month period in both genders. Erythrocyte aggregation was greater in male rats at most ages, but did not show consistent changes with age. The micro-rheological parameters showed age-related alterations with gender differences. The effect of the estrous cycle cannot be excluded in female rats. The results provide reference data for studies of aging in rats and of the mechanism related to age and gender differences in hemorheology.

Who Gets Promoted? Gender Differences in Science and Engineering Academia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olson, Kristen

Using a nationally representative sample of doctoral academic scientists and engineers, this study examines gender differences in the likelihood of having tenure and senior faculty ranks after controlling for academic age, field, doctoral origins, employing educational institution, productivity, postdoctoral positions, work activities, and family characteristics. Logistic regressions show that many of these controls are significant; that biology and employment at comprehensive universities have a gender-specific advantage for women; and that postdoctoral positions, teaching instead of doing administrative work, and having children have a gender-specific disadvantage. Although the statistical methods employed here do not reveal the exact nature of how gender inequities in science and engineering careers arise, the author suggests that they exist.

Asymmetries in gender-related familiarity with different semantic categories. Data from normal adults.

PubMed

Gainotti, Guido; Spinelli, Pietro; Scaricamazza, Eugenia; Marra, Camillo

2013-01-01

The mechanisms subsuming the brain organization of categories and the corresponding gender related asymmetries are controversial. Some authors believe that the brain organization of categories is innate, whereas other authors maintain that it is shaped by experience. According to these interpretations, gender-related asymmetries should respectively be inborn or result from the influence of social roles. In a previous study, assessing the familiarity of young students with different 'biological' and 'artefact' categories, we had observed no gender-related difference on any of these categories. Since these data could be due to the fact that our students belonged to a generation in which the traditional social roles have almost completely disappeared, we predicted that gender-related asymmetries should be found in older men and women. The familiarity of young and elderly men and women with various semantic categories was, therefore, studied presenting in the verbal and pictorial modality different kinds of living and artefact categories. Results confirmed the hypothesis, because elderly women showed a greater familiarity for flowers and elderly men for animals. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis assuming that gender-related asymmetries for different semantic categories is due to the influence of gender-related social roles.

Factors affecting cognitive function according to gender in community-dwelling elderly individuals.

PubMed

Kim, Miwon; Park, Jeong-Mo

2017-01-01

This study aimed to identify the factors affecting the cognitive function of elderly people in a community by gender. We obtained 4,878 secondary data of people aged ≥65 years in 2016 at a dementia prevention center in Gyeyang-gu, Incheon. Data were obtained through Mini-Mental Status Examination optimized for screening dementia and a questionnaire. The data were statistically analyzed using analysis of variance, analysis of covariance, and hierarchical regression. There were significant differences in cognitive function according to gender, and the differences were significant even when age was controlled, but gender differences disappeared when education was controlled. Age, education, social activities, number of comorbid diseases, and alcohol drinking affected cognitive function through interaction with gender, but interaction with gender disappeared when education was controlled. Regression analysis showed that depression, cohabitant, social activities etc., had a significant impact on both men and women under controlled education and age. In men, the effect of social activities was greater than that of women, and hyperlipidemia had the effect only in women. The differences in gender-related cognitive functions were due to differences in gender education period. The period of education is considered to have a great influence on cognitive function in relation to the economic level, occupation, and social activity.

Factors affecting cognitive function according to gender in community-dwelling elderly individuals

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to identify the factors affecting the cognitive function of elderly people in a community by gender. METHODS We obtained 4,878 secondary data of people aged ≥65 years in 2016 at a dementia prevention center in Gyeyang-gu, Incheon. Data were obtained through Mini-Mental Status Examination optimized for screening dementia and a questionnaire. The data were statistically analyzed using analysis of variance, analysis of covariance, and hierarchical regression. RESULTS There were significant differences in cognitive function according to gender, and the differences were significant even when age was controlled, but gender differences disappeared when education was controlled. Age, education, social activities, number of comorbid diseases, and alcohol drinking affected cognitive function through interaction with gender, but interaction with gender disappeared when education was controlled. Regression analysis showed that depression, cohabitant, social activities etc., had a significant impact on both men and women under controlled education and age. In men, the effect of social activities was greater than that of women, and hyperlipidemia had the effect only in women. CONCLUSIONS The differences in gender-related cognitive functions were due to differences in gender education period. The period of education is considered to have a great influence on cognitive function in relation to the economic level, occupation, and social activity. PMID:29141399

Gender, aging and longevity in humans: an update of an intriguing/neglected scenario paving the way to a gender-specific medicine

PubMed Central

Ostan, Rita; Monti, Daniela; Gueresi, Paola; Bussolotto, Mauro; Franceschi, Claudio

2016-01-01

Data showing a remarkable gender difference in life expectancy and mortality, including survival to extreme age, are reviewed starting from clinical and demographic data and stressing the importance of a comprehensive historical perspective and a gene–environment/lifestyle interaction. Gender difference regarding prevalence and incidence of the most important age-related diseases, such as cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, Type 2 diabetes, disability, autoimmunity and infections, are reviewed and updated with particular attention to the role of the immune system and immunosenescence. On the whole, gender differences appear to be pervasive and still poorly considered and investigated despite their biomedical relevance. The basic biological mechanisms responsible for gender differences in aging and longevity are quite complex and still poorly understood. The present review focuses on centenarians and their offspring as a model of healthy aging and summarizes available knowledge on three basic biological phenomena, i.e. age-related X chromosome inactivation skewing, gut microbiome changes and maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA genetic variants. In conclusion, an appropriate gender-specific medicine approach is urgently needed and should be systematically pursued in studies on healthy aging, longevity and age-related diseases, in a globalized world characterized by great gender differences which have a high impact on health and diseases. PMID:27555614

An Analysis of Gender Differences in Household Education Expenditure: The Case of Thailand

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wongmonta, Sasiwooth; Glewwe, Paul

2017-01-01

This study uses data on educational expenditure, including specific types of educational expenditure, from the 2009 Socioeconomic Survey of Thailand to investigate gender bias in the allocation of educational resources. Empirical Engel's curves are estimated to test for gender bias. The results show that girls receive more education expenditure…

The Effect of Gender Stereotypes on Explicit and Implicit Career Preferences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gadassi, Reuma; Gati, Itamar

2009-01-01

The present study compared gender differences in directly reported and indirectly derived career preferences and tested the hypothesis that individuals' implicit preferences would show less gender-biased occupational choices than their directly elicited ones. Two hundred sixty-six visitors to a career-related Internet site were asked to (a) list 5…

Early Gender Test Score Gaps across OECD Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bedard, Kelly; Cho, Insook

2010-01-01

The results reported in this paper contribute to the debate about gender skill gaps in at least three ways. First, we document the large differences in early gender gaps across developed countries using a large scale, modern, representative data source. Second, we show that countries with pro-female sorting, countries that place girls in classes…

Cognitive ability and cerebral lateralisation in transsexuals.

PubMed

Cohen-Kettenis, P T; van Goozen, S H; Doorn, C D; Gooren, L J

1998-08-01

It is still unclear to what extent cross-gender identity is due to pre- and perinatal organising effects of sex hormones on the brain. Empirical evidence for a relationship between prenatal hormonal influences and certain aspects of gender typical (cognitive) functioning comes from pre- and postpubertal clinical samples, such as women suffering from congenital adrenal hyperplasia and studies in normal children. In order to further investigate the hypothesis that cross-gender identity is influenced by prenatal exposure to (atypical) sex steroid levels we conducted a study with early onset, adult male-to-female and female-to-male transsexuals, who were not yet hormonally treated, and nontranssexual adult female and male controls. The aim of the study was to find out whether early onset transsexuals performed in congruence with their biological sex or their gender identity. The results on different tests show that gender differences were pronounced, and that the two transsexual groups occupied a position in between these two groups, thus showing a pattern of performance away from their biological sex. The findings provide evidence that organisational hormonal influences may have an effect on the development of cross-gender identity.

A narrative insight into disability pensioners' work experiences in highly gender-segregated occupations.

PubMed

Reinholdt, Sofia; Alexanderson, Kristina

2009-01-01

This study examined some plausible explanations for the higher rates of ill-health seen in extremely gender-segregated occupations. The focus was on the work experiences of disability pensioners with last jobs prior to pensioning characterized by segregated conditions (i.e., less than 10% of the employees of their own sex). Seven interviews were subjected to qualitative content analyses focusing on aspects of health selection, gender differences in work tasks, and in the work situation. The results show a negative health selection into occupations in which the participants constitute an extreme minority. There were some differences in work tasks between the gender in extreme minority and the other gender. Exposure to different stress factors related to the minority status included increased visibility, performance pressure, and harassment. Gender had been of main importance for differences in exposure, for assigning work tasks, and for interaction dynamics between the groups in majority and extreme minority. A combination of negative health selection, gender marking of work tasks, and group interaction dynamics related to group proportions and gender may play a role in cumulative health risks. Additional longitudinal studies are needed to identify mechanisms and interactions in this context in order to better understand possible relationships between occupational gender segregation and increased health risks.

Sex differences and gender-invariance of mother-reported childhood problem behavior.

PubMed

van der Sluis, Sophie; Polderman, Tinca J C; Neale, Michael C; Verhulst, Frank C; Posthuma, Danielle; Dieleman, Gwen C

2017-09-01

Prevalence and severity of childhood behavioral problems differ between boys and girls, and in psychiatry, testing for gender differences is common practice. Population-based studies show that many psychopathology scales are (partially) Measurement Invariance (MI) with respect to gender, i.e. are unbiased. It is, however, unclear whether these studies generalize towards clinical samples. In a psychiatric outpatient sample, we tested whether the Child Behavior Checklist 6-18 (CBCL) is unbiased with respect to gender. We compared mean scores across gender of all syndrome scales of the CBCL in 3271 patients (63.3% boys) aged 6-18. Second, we tested for MI on both the syndrome scale and the item-level using a stepwise modeling procedure. Six of the eight CBCL syndrome scales included one or more gender-biased items (12.6% of all items), resulting in slight over- or under-estimation of the absolute gender difference in mean scores. Two scales, Somatic Complaints and Rule-breaking Behavior, contained no biased items. The CBCL is a valid instrument to measure gender differences in problem behavior in children and adolescents from a clinical sample; while various gender-biased items were identified, the resulting bias was generally clinically irrelevant, and sufficient items per subscale remained after exclusion of biased items. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Effect of Prior Knowledge and Gender on Physics Achievement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stewart, John; Henderson, Rachel

2017-01-01

Gender differences on the Conceptual Survey in Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM) have been extensively studied. Ten semesters (N=1621) of CSEM data is presented showing male students outperform female students on the CSEM posttest by 5 % (p < . 001). Male students also outperform female students on qualitative in-semester test questions by 3 % (p = . 004), but no significant difference between male and female students was found on quantitative test questions. Male students enter the class with superior prior preparation in the subject and score 4 % higher on the CSEM pretest (p < . 001). If the sample is restricted to students with little prior knowledge who answer no more than 8 of the 32 questions correctly (N=822), male and female differences on the CSEM and qualitative test questions cease to be significant. This suggests no intrinsic gender bias exists in the CSEM itself and that gender differences are the result of prior preparation measured by CSEM pretest score. Gender differences between male and female students increase with pretest score. Regression analyses are presented to further explore interactions between preparation, gender, and achievement.

Cross-cultural differences in physical aggression between partners: a social-role analysis.

PubMed

Archer, John

2006-01-01

In developed western nations, both sexes commit acts of physical aggression against their partners. Data from 16 nations showed that this pattern did not generalize to all nations. The magnitude and direction of the sex difference was highly correlated with national-level variations in gender empowerment and individualism-collectivism. As gender equality and individualism increased, the sex difference in partner violence moved in the direction of lesser female victimization and greater male victimization. A second analysis of 52 nations showed that 3 indexes of women's victimization were also inversely correlated with gender equality and individualism. Sexist attitudes and relative approval of wife beating were also associated with women's victimization rates, but general levels of violent crime were not. The findings are discussed in terms of a social role approach to variations in sex differences between cultures.

Do Students’ and Authors’ Genders Affect Evaluations? A Linguistic Analysis of Medical Student Performance Evaluations

PubMed Central

Isaac, Carol; Chertoff, Jocelyn; Lee, Barbara; Carnes, Molly

2012-01-01

Purpose Recent guidelines for the Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) have standardized the “dean’s letter.” The authors examined MSPEs for linguistic differences according to student or author gender. Method This 2009 study analyzed 297 MSPEs for 227 male and 70 female medical students applying to a diagnostic radiology residency program. Text analysis software identified word counts, categories, frequencies, and contexts; factor analysis detected patterns of word categories in student–author gender pairings. Results Analyses showed a main effect for student gender (P=.046) and a group difference for the author–student gender combinations (P=.048). Female authors of male student MSPEs used the fewest “positive emotion” words (P=.006). MSPEs by male authors were shorter than those by females (P=.014). MSPEs for students ranked in the National Resident Matching Program contained more “standout” (P=.002) and “positive emotion” (P=.001) words. There were no differences in the author–gender pairs in the proportion of students ranked, although predominant word categories differed by author and student gender. Factor analysis revealed differences among the author–student groups in patterns of correlations among word categories. Conclusions MSPEs differed slightly but significantly by student and author gender. These differences may derive from societal norms for male and female behaviors and the subsequent linguistic interpretation of these behaviors, which itself may be colored by the observer’s gender. Although the differences in MSPEs did not seem to influence students’ rankings, this work underscores the need for awareness of the complex effects of gender in evaluating students and guiding their specialty choices. PMID:21099389

The gender congruency effect during bilingual spoken-word recognition

PubMed Central

Morales, Luis; Paolieri, Daniela; Dussias, Paola E.; Valdés kroff, Jorge R.; Gerfen, Chip; Bajo, María Teresa

2016-01-01

We investigate the ‘gender-congruency’ effect during a spoken-word recognition task using the visual world paradigm. Eye movements of Italian–Spanish bilinguals and Spanish monolinguals were monitored while they viewed a pair of objects on a computer screen. Participants listened to instructions in Spanish (encuentra la bufanda / ‘find the scarf’) and clicked on the object named in the instruction. Grammatical gender of the objects’ name was manipulated so that pairs of objects had the same (congruent) or different (incongruent) gender in Italian, but gender in Spanish was always congruent. Results showed that bilinguals, but not monolinguals, looked at target objects less when they were incongruent in gender, suggesting a between-language gender competition effect. In addition, bilinguals looked at target objects more when the definite article in the spoken instructions provided a valid cue to anticipate its selection (different-gender condition). The temporal dynamics of gender processing and cross-language activation in bilinguals are discussed. PMID:28018132

Prospective clinical observational study evaluating gender-associated differences of preoperative pain intensity.

PubMed

Tafelski, Sascha; Kerper, Léonie F; Salz, Anna-Lena; Spies, Claudia; Reuter, Eva; Nachtigall, Irit; Schäfer, Michael; Krannich, Alexander; Krampe, Henning

2016-07-01

Previous studies reported conflicting results concerning different pain perceptions of men and women. Recent research found higher pain levels in men after major surgery, contrasted by women after minor procedures. This trial investigates differences in self-reported preoperative pain intensity between genders before surgery.Patients were enrolled in 2011 and 2012 presenting for preoperative evaluation at the anesthesiological assessment clinic at Charité University hospital. Out of 5102 patients completing a computer-assisted self-assessment, 3042 surgical patients with any preoperative pain were included into this prospective observational clinical study. Preoperative pain intensity (0-100 VAS, visual analog scale) was evaluated integrating psychological cofactors into analysis.Women reported higher preoperative pain intensity than men with median VAS scores of 30 (25th-75th percentiles: 10-52) versus 21 (10-46) (P < 0.001). Adjusted multiple regression analysis showed that female gender remained statistically significantly associated with higher pain intensity (P < 0.001). Gender differences were consistent across several subgroups especially with varying patterns in elderly. Women scheduled for minor and moderate surgical procedures showed largest differences in overall pain compared to men.This large clinical study observed significantly higher preoperative pain intensity in female surgical patients. This gender difference was larger in the elderly potentially contradicting the current hypothesis of a primary sex-hormone derived effect. The observed variability in specific patient subgroups may help to explain heterogeneous findings of previous studies.

Effects of Single-Gender Middle School Classes on Science Achievement and Attitude

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brooks, Tanisha

Many girls continue to achieve below their male counterparts and portray negative attitudes towards science classes. Some school districts are using single-gender education as a way to shrink the gender gap in school achievement and science related attitude. The purpose of this study was to compare achievement and science-related attitudes of 7th grade girls in single-gender education to 7th grade girls in mixed-gender education. The theoretical base for this study included knowledge from brain-based learning and assimilation, accommodation and age factors of Piaget's theory of cognitive development. The 12-week study included 48 7th grade girls, 21 in the single-gender classroom and 14 in each mixed-gender classroom. This quantitative randomized posttest only control group design utilized the TerraNova Science Assessment and the Test of Science Related Attitudes. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to determine if significant differences existed in the achievement and attitudes of girls in single and mixed-gender science classes. ANOVA analyses revealed that the girls in the single-gender classroom showed a significantly higher achievement level when compared to girls in the mixed-gender classrooms. Results showed no significant difference in attitude between the two groups. The results of this study contribute to social change by raising awareness about gender issues in science achievement and attitude, addressing a deficiency in the single-gender science education literature, and assisting educational systems in decision making to address achievement gaps while moving toward adequate yearly progress and meeting the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

Object-based and egocentric mental rotation performance in older adults: the importance of gender differences and motor ability.

PubMed

Jansen, Petra; Kaltner, Sandra

2014-01-01

In this study, mental rotation performance was assessed in both an object-based task, human figures and letters as stimuli, and in an egocentric-based task, a human figure as a stimulus, in 60 older persons between 60 and 71 years old (30 women, 30 men). Additionally all participants completed three motor tests measuring balance and mobility. The results show that the reaction time was slower for letters than for both human figure tasks and the mental rotation speed was faster over all for egocentric mental rotation tasks. Gender differences were found in the accuracy measurement, favoring males, and were independent of stimulus type, kind of transformation, and angular disparity. Furthermore, a regression analysis showed that the accuracy rate for object-based transformations with body stimuli could be predicted by gender and balance ability. This study showed that the mental rotation performance in older adults depends on stimulus type, kind of transformation, and gender and that performance partially relates to motor ability.

The numerology of gender: gendered perceptions of even and odd numbers

PubMed Central

Wilkie, James E. B.; Bodenhausen, Galen V.

2015-01-01

Do numbers have gender? Wilkie and Bodenhausen (2012) examined this issue in a series of experiments on perceived gender. They examined the perceived gender of baby faces and foreign names. Arbitrary numbers presented with these faces and names influenced their perceived gender. Specifically, odd numbers connoted masculinity, while even numbers connoted femininity. In two new studies (total N = 315), we further examined the gendering of numbers. The first study examined explicit ratings of 1-digit numbers. We confirmed that odd numbers seemed masculine while even numbers seemed feminine. Although both men and women showed this pattern, it was more pronounced among women. We also examined whether this pattern holds for automatic as well as deliberated reactions. Results of an Implicit Association Test showed that it did, but only among the women. The implicit and explicit patterns of numerical gender ascription were moderately correlated. The second study examined explicit perceptions of 2-digit numbers. Again, women viewed odd numbers as more masculine and less feminine than even numbers. However, men viewed 2-digit numbers as relatively masculine, regardless of whether they were even or odd. These results indicate that women and men impute gender to numbers in different ways and to different extents. We discuss possible implications for understanding how people relate to and are influenced by numbers in a variety of real-life contexts. PMID:26113839

The numerology of gender: gendered perceptions of even and odd numbers.

PubMed

Wilkie, James E B; Bodenhausen, Galen V

2015-01-01

Do numbers have gender? Wilkie and Bodenhausen (2012) examined this issue in a series of experiments on perceived gender. They examined the perceived gender of baby faces and foreign names. Arbitrary numbers presented with these faces and names influenced their perceived gender. Specifically, odd numbers connoted masculinity, while even numbers connoted femininity. In two new studies (total N = 315), we further examined the gendering of numbers. The first study examined explicit ratings of 1-digit numbers. We confirmed that odd numbers seemed masculine while even numbers seemed feminine. Although both men and women showed this pattern, it was more pronounced among women. We also examined whether this pattern holds for automatic as well as deliberated reactions. Results of an Implicit Association Test showed that it did, but only among the women. The implicit and explicit patterns of numerical gender ascription were moderately correlated. The second study examined explicit perceptions of 2-digit numbers. Again, women viewed odd numbers as more masculine and less feminine than even numbers. However, men viewed 2-digit numbers as relatively masculine, regardless of whether they were even or odd. These results indicate that women and men impute gender to numbers in different ways and to different extents. We discuss possible implications for understanding how people relate to and are influenced by numbers in a variety of real-life contexts.

The spatial distribution of gender differences in obesity prevalence differs from overall obesity prevalence among US adults.

PubMed

Gartner, Danielle R; Taber, Daniel R; Hirsch, Jana A; Robinson, Whitney R

2016-04-01

Although obesity disparities between racial and socioeconomic groups have been well characterized, those based on gender and geography have not been as thoroughly documented. This study describes obesity prevalence by state, gender, and race and/or ethnicity to (1) characterize obesity gender inequality, (2) determine if the geographic distribution of inequality is spatially clustered, and (3) contrast the spatial clustering patterns of obesity gender inequality with overall obesity prevalence. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were used to calculate state-specific obesity prevalence and gender inequality measures. Global and local Moran's indices were calculated to determine spatial autocorrelation. Age-adjusted, state-specific obesity prevalence difference and ratio measures show spatial autocorrelation (z-score = 4.89, P-value < .001). Local Moran's indices indicate the spatial distributions of obesity prevalence and obesity gender inequalities are not the same. High and low values of obesity prevalence and gender inequalities cluster in different areas of the United States. Clustering of gender inequality suggests that spatial processes operating at the state level, such as occupational or physical activity policies or social norms, are involved in the etiology of the inequality and necessitate further attention to the determinates of obesity gender inequality. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gender differences in visuospatial planning: an eye movements study.

PubMed

Cazzato, Valentina; Basso, Demis; Cutini, Simone; Bisiacchi, Patrizia

2010-01-20

Gender studies report a male advantage in several visuospatial abilities. Only few studies however, have evaluated differences in visuospatial planning behaviour with regard to gender. This study was aimed at exploring whether gender may affect the choice of cognitive strategies in a visuospatial planning task and, if oculomotor measures could assist in disentangling the cognitive processes involved. A computerised task based on the travelling salesperson problem paradigm, the Maps test, was used to investigate these issues. Participants were required to optimise time and space of a path travelling among a set of sub-goals in a spatially constrained environment. Behavioural results suggest that there are no gender differences in the initial visual processing of the stimuli, but rather during the execution of the plan, with males showing a shorter execution time and a higher path length optimisation than females. Males often showed changes of heuristics during the execution while females seemed to prefer a constant strategy. Moreover, a better performance in behavioural and oculomotor measures seemed to suggest that males are more able than females in either the optimisation of spatial features or the realisation of the planned scheme. Despite inconclusive findings, the results support previous research and provide insight into the level of cognitive processing involved in navigation and planning tasks, with regard to the influence of gender.

Science Anxiety and Gender in Students Taking General Education Science Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Udo, M. K.; Ramsey, G. P.; Mallow, J. V.

2004-12-01

Earlier studies [Mallow, J. V. (1994). Gender-related science anxiety: A first binational study. Journal of Science Education and Technology 3: 227-238; Udo, M. K., Ramsey, G. P., Reynolds-Alpert, S., and Mallow, J. V. (2001). Does physics teaching affect gender-based science anxiety? Journal of Science Education and Technology 10: 237-247] of science anxiety in various student cohorts suggested that nonscience majors were highly science anxious (SA), regardless of what science courses they were taking. In this study, we investigated science anxiety in a cohort consisting mostly of nonscience majors taking general education science courses. Regression analysis shows that the leading predictors of science anxiety are (i) nonscience anxiety and (ii) gender, as they were for different cohorts in the earlier studies. We confirm earlier findings that females are more SA than males. Chi-square analysis of acute science anxiety shows an amplification of these differences. We found statistically significant levels of science anxiety in humanities and social science students of both genders, and gender differences in science anxiety, despite the fact that the students were all enrolled in general education science courses specifically designed for nonscience majors. We found acute levels of anxiety in several groups, especially education, nursing, and business majors. We describe specific interventions to alleviate science anxiety.

Age and Gender Differences in Facial Attractiveness, but Not Emotion Resemblance, Contribute to Age and Gender Stereotypes

PubMed Central

Palumbo, Rocco; Adams, Reginald B.; Hess, Ursula; Kleck, Robert E.; Zebrowitz, Leslie

2017-01-01

Considerable research has shown effects of facial appearance on trait impressions and group stereotypes. We extended those findings in two studies that investigated the contribution of resemblance to emotion expressions and attractiveness to younger adults (YA) and older adults (OA) age and gender stereotypes on the dimensions of warmth and competence. Using connectionist modeling of facial metrics of 240 neutral younger and older faces, Study 1 found that, neutral expression older faces or female faces showed greater structural resemblance to happy expressions and less resemblance to angry expressions than did younger or male faces, respectively. In addition, neutral female faces showed greater resemblance to surprise expressions. In Study 2, YA and OA rated the faces of Study 1 for attractiveness and for 4 traits that we aggregated on the dimensions of competence (competent, healthy) and warmth (trustworthy, not shrewd). We found that YA, but not OA, age stereotypes replicated previous research showing higher perceived warmth and lower perceived competence in older adults. In addition, previously documented gender stereotypes were moderated by face age for both YA and OA. The greater attractiveness of younger than older faces and female than male faces influenced age and gender stereotypes, including these deviations from prior research findings using category labels rather than faces. On the other hand, face age and face sex differences in emotion resemblance did not influence age or gender stereotypes, contrary to prediction. Our results provide a caveat to conclusions about age and gender stereotypes derived from responses to category labels, and they reveal the importance of assessing stereotypes with a methodology that is sensitive to influences of group differences in appearance that can exacerbate or mitigate stereotypes in more ecologically valid contexts. Although the gender differences in attractiveness in the present study may not have generalizability, the age differences likely do, and the fact that they can weaken the attribution of greater warmth and strengthen the attribution of lower competence to older than younger individuals has important practical implications. PMID:29033881

Age and Gender Differences in Facial Attractiveness, but Not Emotion Resemblance, Contribute to Age and Gender Stereotypes.

PubMed

Palumbo, Rocco; Adams, Reginald B; Hess, Ursula; Kleck, Robert E; Zebrowitz, Leslie

2017-01-01

Considerable research has shown effects of facial appearance on trait impressions and group stereotypes. We extended those findings in two studies that investigated the contribution of resemblance to emotion expressions and attractiveness to younger adults (YA) and older adults (OA) age and gender stereotypes on the dimensions of warmth and competence. Using connectionist modeling of facial metrics of 240 neutral younger and older faces, Study 1 found that, neutral expression older faces or female faces showed greater structural resemblance to happy expressions and less resemblance to angry expressions than did younger or male faces, respectively. In addition, neutral female faces showed greater resemblance to surprise expressions. In Study 2, YA and OA rated the faces of Study 1 for attractiveness and for 4 traits that we aggregated on the dimensions of competence (competent, healthy) and warmth (trustworthy, not shrewd). We found that YA, but not OA, age stereotypes replicated previous research showing higher perceived warmth and lower perceived competence in older adults. In addition, previously documented gender stereotypes were moderated by face age for both YA and OA. The greater attractiveness of younger than older faces and female than male faces influenced age and gender stereotypes, including these deviations from prior research findings using category labels rather than faces. On the other hand, face age and face sex differences in emotion resemblance did not influence age or gender stereotypes, contrary to prediction. Our results provide a caveat to conclusions about age and gender stereotypes derived from responses to category labels, and they reveal the importance of assessing stereotypes with a methodology that is sensitive to influences of group differences in appearance that can exacerbate or mitigate stereotypes in more ecologically valid contexts. Although the gender differences in attractiveness in the present study may not have generalizability, the age differences likely do, and the fact that they can weaken the attribution of greater warmth and strengthen the attribution of lower competence to older than younger individuals has important practical implications.

Gender differences in memory processing of female facial attractiveness: evidence from event-related potentials.

PubMed

Zhang, Yan; Wei, Bin; Zhao, Peiqiong; Zheng, Minxiao; Zhang, Lili

2016-06-01

High rates of agreement in the judgment of facial attractiveness suggest universal principles of beauty. This study investigated gender differences in recognition memory processing of female facial attractiveness. Thirty-four Chinese heterosexual participants (17 females, 17 males) aged 18-24 years (mean age 21.63 ± 1.51 years) participated in the experiment which used event-related potentials (ERPs) based on a study-test paradigm. The behavioral data results showed that both men and women had significantly higher accuracy rates for attractive faces than for unattractive faces, but men reacted faster to unattractive faces. Gender differences on ERPs showed that attractive faces elicited larger early components such as P1, N170, and P2 in men than in women. The results indicated that the effects of recognition bias during memory processing modulated by female facial attractiveness are greater for men than women. Behavioral and ERP evidences indicate that men and women differ in their attentional adhesion to attractive female faces; different mating-related motives may guide the selective processing of attractive men and women. These findings establish a contribution of gender differences on female facial attractiveness during memory processing from an evolutionary perspective.

Gender Differences in Hospital CEO Compensation: A National Investigation of Not-for-Profit Hospitals.

PubMed

Song, Paula H; Lee, Shoou-Yih Daniel; Toth, Matthew; Singh, Simone R; Young, Gary J

2018-01-01

Gender pay equity is a desirable social value and an important strategy to fill every organizational stratum with gender-diverse talent to fulfill an organization's goals and mission. This study used national, large-sample data to examine gender difference in CEO compensation among not-for-profit hospitals. Results showed the average unadjusted annual compensation for female CEOs in 2009 was $425,085 compared with $581,121 for male CEOs. With few exceptions, the difference existed across all types of not-for-profit hospitals. After controlling for hospital- and area-level characteristics, female CEOs of not-for-profit hospitals earned 22.6% less than male CEOs of not-for-profit hospitals. This translates into an earnings differential of $132,652 associated with gender. Explanations and implications of the results are discussed.

Prison inmates' suicidal ideation in China: a study of gender differences and their impact.

PubMed

Zhang, Jie; Liang, Bin; Zhou, Yong; Brame, Wendy

2010-12-01

Suicide is one of the leading causes of inmate death, and many studies have explored suicidal risks among inmates in Western countries. Such studies, however, have been extremely rare in China. Because of China's unique cultural and social conditions, suicide displays many distinctive features and one of them is the greater percentage of women (than men) who commit suicide. With data collected from three adult prisons in China, this study tests gender differences on prison inmates' suicidal risk factors and explores the correlation of gender's impact with other factors. Findings show that male and female inmates present distinctive patterns of suicidal ideation, although gender fails to exert a significant direct impact on the outcome. The results call for different approaches and treatments toward both gender groups for suicide prevention in Chinese correctional facilities.

Drug gastrointestinal absorption in rat: Strain and gender differences.

PubMed

Oltra-Noguera, Davinia; Mangas-Sanjuan, Victor; González-Álvarez, Isabel; Colon-Useche, Sarin; González-Álvarez, Marta; Bermejo, Marival

2015-10-12

Predictive animal models of intestinal drug absorption are essential tools in drug development to identify compounds with promising biopharmaceutical properties. In situ perfusion absorption studies are routinely used in the preclinical setting to screen drug candidates. The objective of this work is to explore the differences in magnitude and variability on intestinal absorption associated with rat strain and gender. Metoprolol and Verapamil absorption rate coefficients were determined using the in situ closed loop perfusion model in four strains of rats and in both genders. Strains used were Sprague-Dawley, Wistar-Han, Wistar-Unilever, Long-Evans and CD∗IGS. In the case of Metoprolol only CD∗IGS and Wistar Unilever showed differences between males and females. For Verapamil, Wistar Han and Sprague-Dawley strains do not show differences between male and female rats. That means that in these strains permeability data from male and female could be combined. In male rats, which are commonly used for permeability estimation, there were differences for Metoprolol permeability between Sprague-Dawley (with lower permeability values) and the other strains, while for Verapamil Sprague-Dawley and Wistar-Han showed the lower permeability values. In conclusion, the selection of rat's strain and gender for intestinal absorption experiments is a relevant element during study design and data from different strains may not be always comparable. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The involvement of girls and boys with bullying: an analysis of gender differences.

PubMed

Silva, Marta Angélica Iossi; Pereira, Beatriz; Mendonça, Denisa; Nunes, Berta; de Oliveira, Wanderlei Abadio

2013-12-05

This exploratory and cross-sectional study aimed to identify the prevalence of bullying in a group of students and analyze the data regarding the gender of those involved in the violence. A questionnaire adapted from Olweus was applied in seven elementary education schools in Portugal. The sample consisted of 387 students between 7 and 14 years old. Data are presented in terms of descriptive statistics and differences between proportions were analyzed using chi-square tests. The gender analysis of victimization and aggression shows that boys and girls are both victims and aggressors, and there are significant differences in involvement in bullying between genders and the roles played. Boys are victims more often when considering different types of bullying, although significant differences were only found for physical aggression. Strategies that include gender roles are a priority for prevention and careful attention to this phenomenon in the school context. The questions addressed contribute to a broader understanding of the phenomenon, emphasizing the differential participation of boys and girls in bullying.

The Involvement of Girls and Boys with Bullying: An Analysis of Gender Differences

PubMed Central

Silva, Marta Angélica Iossi; Pereira, Beatriz; Mendonça, Denisa; Nunes, Berta; de Oliveira, Wanderlei Abadio

2013-01-01

This exploratory and cross-sectional study aimed to identify the prevalence of bullying in a group of students and analyze the data regarding the gender of those involved in the violence. A questionnaire adapted from Olweus was applied in seven elementary education schools in Portugal. The sample consisted of 387 students between 7 and 14 years old. Data are presented in terms of descriptive statistics and differences between proportions were analyzed using chi-square tests. The gender analysis of victimization and aggression shows that boys and girls are both victims and aggressors, and there are significant differences in involvement in bullying between genders and the roles played. Boys are victims more often when considering different types of bullying, although significant differences were only found for physical aggression. Strategies that include gender roles are a priority for prevention and careful attention to this phenomenon in the school context. The questions addressed contribute to a broader understanding of the phenomenon, emphasizing the differential participation of boys and girls in bullying. PMID:24317387

Mental health among older married couples: the role of gender and family life.

PubMed

Read, Sanna; Grundy, Emily

2011-04-01

As shared family context may be an important influence on mental health, and gender differences in mental health, in later life we investigated how gender, family-related variables and gender roles were associated with mental health in older married couples. Using data on a sample of 2,511 married couples born between 1923 and 1953 (drawn from the British Household Panel Survey) we analysed differences in the mental health of husbands and wives by fertility history, length of marriage, presence of co-resident children, reported social support, hours of household work, attitudes to gender roles and health of husband and wife. Mental health in 2001 was measured using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Multilevel modelling was used to assess effects in husbands and wives and variations between husbands and wives. Results showed that although the mental health of married couples was correlated, wives had poorer mental health than their husbands. The gender difference was smaller in couples who lived with a child aged 16 or more (and had no younger co-resident children) and in couples in which both spouses had experienced early parenthood. The influence of individual and family characteristics on mental health also differed between husbands and wives. For husbands, early fatherhood and co-residence with a child or children aged 16 or more increased the odds of poor mental health. For wives, having had a child when aged 35 or more appeared protective while having traditional gender role attitudes increased the odds of poorer mental health. The role of family characteristics in the shared marital context has complex associations with mental health, some of which seem gender specific. Although wives express more mental distress, husbands in general show poorer mental health related to family characteristics.

Apology Strategies of Iranian Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tehrani, Mohammad Dadkhah; Rezaei, Omid; Dezhara, Salman; Kafrani, Reza Soltani

2012-01-01

This study investigated the different primary and secondary strategies the Iranian EFL students use in different situations and the effect of gender on this. A questionnaire was developed based on Sugimoto's (1995) to compare the apology strategies used by male and female students, only gender was examined as a variable. The results showed that…

Work-Relationship Values and Gender Role Differences in Relation to Career-Marriage Aspirations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Stewart E.; And Others

1994-01-01

Explored relationship of female and male undergraduate business majors' preferred future career-marriage arrangement to their relationship and work values, work motivation, and gender role orientation. Dual-career, career-job, and career-home groups showed significant differences on dimensions. Results are discussed in terms of factors underlying…

Gender Differences in the Social Motivation and Friendship Experiences of Autistic and Non-Autistic Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sedgewick, Felicity; Hill, Vivian; Yates, Rhiannon; Pickering, Leanne; Pellicano, Elizabeth

2016-01-01

This mixed-methods study examined gender differences in the social motivation and friendship experiences of adolescent boys and girls with autism relative to those without autism, all educated within special education settings. Autistic girls showed similar social motivation and friendship quality to non-autistic girls, while autistic boys…

Exploring Student Perceptions, Learning Outcome and Gender Differences in a Flipped Mathematics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, So-Chen; Yang, Stephen J. H.; Hsiao, Chia-Chang

2016-01-01

The flipped classroom approach has recently gained prominence in education. However, a review of previous studies shows that the relationship associated with gender difference, student perceptions and learning outcomes has still remained unexplored, and there has been little discussion regarding flipped classroom environment. To fill this gap,…

Gender-dependent differences in degree of facial wrinkles.

PubMed

Tsukahara, Kazue; Hotta, Mitsuyuki; Osanai, Osamu; Kawada, Hiromitsu; Kitahara, Takashi; Takema, Yoshinori

2013-02-01

This study aimed to reveal gender-dependent differences in the degree of facial wrinkles. Subjects comprised 173 Japanese men and women, divided into four groups according to age. Photographs were taken from nine facial regions and used to classify the intensity of wrinkles into five grades. In addition, replicas were taken from five facial sites and used to measure surface roughness. Data were compared between men and women within each age group. In all age groups, men showed increased forehead wrinkles compared with women. In contrast, no gender-dependent differences were found in upper eyelid wrinkles. Other facial wrinkles were greater in men than in women in all except the oldest group (age, 65-75 years), in which wrinkles in women were greater than or equal to those in men. Our results showed that gender-dependent differences exist in the degree of facial wrinkles. In general, men tend to have more severe wrinkles than women. This tendency disappeared or was reversed in some regions of the face and in individuals more than 60 years old. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Gender Differences in Emotional Response: Inconsistency between Experience and Expressivity.

PubMed

Deng, Yaling; Chang, Lei; Yang, Meng; Huo, Meng; Zhou, Renlai

2016-01-01

The present study investigated gender differences in both emotional experience and expressivity. Heart rate (HR) was recorded as an indicator of emotional experience while the participants watched 16 video clips that induced eight types of emotion (sadness, anger, horror, disgust, neutrality, amusement, surprise, and pleasure). We also asked the participants to report valence, arousal, and motivation as indicators of emotional expressivity. Overall, the results revealed gender differences in emotional experience and emotional expressivity. When watching videos that induced anger, amusement, and pleasure, men showed larger decreases in HR, whereas women reported higher levels of arousal. There was no gender difference in HR when the participants watched videos that induced horror and disgust, but women reported lower valence, higher arousal, and stronger avoidance motivation than did men. Finally, no gender difference was observed in sadness or surprise, although there was one exception-women reported higher arousal when watching videos that induced sadness. The findings suggest that, when watching videos that induce an emotional response, men often have more intense emotional experiences, whereas women have higher emotional expressivity, particularly for negative emotions. In addition, gender differences depend on the specific emotion type but not the valence.

Gender differences in retirement planning: A longitudinal study among Spanish Registered Nurses.

PubMed

Topa, Gabriela; Segura, Adrián; Pérez, Sergio

2018-02-21

Consistent patterns of gender differences in retirement planning behaviours have been shown but little is known about these behaviours among nurses. To analyse the antecedents of the behaviours to prepare for retirement in nurses older than 55 and to identify differences as a function of gender. A two-wave longitudinal study with Spanish nurses (n = 132). Statistically significant gender differences were revealed. Specifically, paths from financial knowledge to public protection and self-insurance as well as paths from goals clarity to public protection all differed by gender. Patterns of retirement planning differentiated by gender apparently continue to emerge. The study adds evidence showing that female nurses continue to rely on public protection as a solid support for their retirement. Despite their greater awareness of the importance of health care and social relations, savings and finance are more neglected by female nurses. Intervention should be aimed at fostering financial literacy of the entire nursing population, but particularly, the access of women to this training. Secondly, given that the differences persist, advance planning of social actions to protect those who will be living alone and economically helpless in old age. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Gender Differences in Emotional Response: Inconsistency between Experience and Expressivity

PubMed Central

Deng, Yaling; Chang, Lei; Yang, Meng; Huo, Meng

2016-01-01

The present study investigated gender differences in both emotional experience and expressivity. Heart rate (HR) was recorded as an indicator of emotional experience while the participants watched 16 video clips that induced eight types of emotion (sadness, anger, horror, disgust, neutrality, amusement, surprise, and pleasure). We also asked the participants to report valence, arousal, and motivation as indicators of emotional expressivity. Overall, the results revealed gender differences in emotional experience and emotional expressivity. When watching videos that induced anger, amusement, and pleasure, men showed larger decreases in HR, whereas women reported higher levels of arousal. There was no gender difference in HR when the participants watched videos that induced horror and disgust, but women reported lower valence, higher arousal, and stronger avoidance motivation than did men. Finally, no gender difference was observed in sadness or surprise, although there was one exception—women reported higher arousal when watching videos that induced sadness. The findings suggest that, when watching videos that induce an emotional response, men often have more intense emotional experiences, whereas women have higher emotional expressivity, particularly for negative emotions. In addition, gender differences depend on the specific emotion type but not the valence. PMID:27362361

Hydrogeological challenges through gender approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Lorenzo, Maria Rosaria; Saltari, Davide; Di Giacomo, Tullia Valeria

2017-04-01

Women and Men play a different role in the society, tied from the differences (physical, biological, somatic, etc…) typical of each one. In the last decades, more gender approach has been introduced in a number of fields including the hydrogeological risk. Experiences, needs and potential of each one, women and men, covers both the risk reduction before the occurrence of extreme events (vulnerability assessment and prediction of the expected risk), then in the next emergency and intervention in follow-up actions to the overcoming of the event for the return to everyday life. The response of the extreme hydrological events are also subordinated from gender participation and it is closely related from other aspects, as natural disasters (flood events), gender inequalities and urban floodings. These aspects are also scheduled by the different approaches: a woman focuses different primary and social aspects than a man. How women can help organizations offering new 'policies' and government is the main aspect to be considered and how a gender approach can mitigate disasters to hydrological risk. It depends on some factors: gender inequalities (gender perception and sensibility), importance of natural disasters and urban floodings. Gender inequalities can match both in the natural disasters and urban floodings in a relevant way. ICT solutions can also give a helpful framework to accelerate and focus the quicker condition to get the better approach and solution. Gender has a particular significant, explanatory variable in disaster research. Many studies, show how women have higher mortality and morbidity rates than men during natural disasters, especially in lower income countries. In the aftermath disasters, at the same time, specific responsibilities on women are imposed from the gendered division of labour. Furthermore gender differences are sometimes attributed to traditional women's roles, discrimination, lower physical strength, nutritional deficiencies, etc. as demonstrated in Bangladesh Cyclone, named Cyclone Gorky, occurred in 1991, where an emblematic gender-biased was represented: women outnumbered men by 14:1 . The causes of female's greater mortality in this lower income countries, as appear from some researches, works where they have a good insight, arriving at the following verifications: • many women perished with their children at home, waiting both their husbands return at home and make the evacuation decision; • many women died because of their dress, the saree, which limited their ability to move. Many girls died while their brothers were rescued "to carry on the family lines", This two example shows badly targeted disaster communication can increase gender inequalities. According the previous points, three points seem important:  disaster communication is important to be sensitive to gender-targeted and to culture and context;  women and men have different risk perceptions, different access to information and communication styles:  a new successful relationships with genders communicate and thus adapting communication style is goal to achieve to help the institutions to save more habitants. The different behaviors, between women and men, will do the best in order to fit how minimize the effects of the hydrogeological disasters.

Gender differences in the age-stratified prevalence of risk factors in Korean ischemic stroke patients: a nationwide stroke registry-based cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Park, Tai Hwan; Ko, Youngchai; Lee, Soo Joo; Lee, Kyung Bok; Lee, Jun; Han, Moon-Ku; Park, Jong-Moo; Kim, Dong-Eog; Cho, Yong-Jin; Hong, Keun-Sik; Kim, Joon-Tae; Cho, Ki-Hyun; Kim, Dae-Hyun; Cha, Jae-Kwan; Yu, Kyung-Ho; Lee, Byung-Chul; Yoon, Byung-Woo; Lee, Ji Sung; Lee, Juneyoung; Gorelick, Philip B; Bae, Hee-Joon

2014-08-01

Although ethnic or cultural differences affect prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, limited information is available about the age- and gender-stratified prevalence of the risk factors in Asian stroke population. We assessed gender- and age-stratified prevalences of major risk factors in Korean stroke patients, and assumed that the gender differences are attenuated by adjustment with lifestyle factors. Using the nationwide hospital-based stroke registry, we identified 9417 ischemic stroke patients admitted between April 2008 and January 2011. Prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, atrial fibrillation, prior stroke, and coronary heart disease was assessed in both genders by age groups. We analyzed gender differences of the prevalence among the age groups by calculating prevalence ratio, and further explored the influence of lifestyle factors on the gender difference in multivariable analyses. Hypertension and hyperlipidemia were more common in men until middle age, but after that more common in women, whereas diabetes was more common in women after 65 years of age. Atrial fibrillation increased steadily with age in both genders but was more common in women through all age groups. Prior stroke and coronary heart disease showed inconsistent gender differences. Gender differences in hypertension and diabetes among the age groups were attenuated by adjustment with accompanying risk factors including lifestyle factors. Korean women with stroke had more hypertension and hyperlipidemia after middle age, more diabetes after 65 years, and more atrial fibrillation throughout all ages. Strategies to control risk factors in women at risk for stroke are eagerly needed. © 2013 The Authors. International Journal of Stroke © 2013 World Stroke Organization.

Choice of Major: The Changing (Unchanging) Gender Gap.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turner, Sarah E.; Bowen, William G.

1999-01-01

Data on major choice and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores show the following: (1) there is a widening gap between life and math/physical sciences in attractiveness to men and women; (2) SAT scores account for only part of the gap; and (3) gender gaps in major choice are attributable to different preferences, expectations, and gender-specific…

Learning strategies and general cognitive ability as predictors of gender- specific academic achievement

PubMed Central

Ruffing, Stephanie; Wach, F. -Sophie; Spinath, Frank M.; Brünken, Roland; Karbach, Julia

2015-01-01

Recent research has revealed that learning behavior is associated with academic achievement at the college level, but the impact of specific learning strategies on academic success as well as gender differences therein are still not clear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate gender differences in the incremental contribution of learning strategies over general cognitive ability in the prediction of academic achievement. The relationship between these variables was examined by correlation analyses. A set of t-tests was used to test for gender differences in learning strategies, whereas structural equation modeling as well as multi-group analyses were applied to investigate the incremental contribution of learning strategies for male and female students’ academic performance. The sample consisted of 461 students (mean age = 21.2 years, SD = 3.2). Correlation analyses revealed that general cognitive ability as well as the learning strategies effort, attention, and learning environment were positively correlated with academic achievement. Gender differences were found in the reported application of many learning strategies. Importantly, the prediction of achievement in structural equation modeling revealed that only effort explained incremental variance (10%) over general cognitive ability. Results of multi-group analyses showed no gender differences in this prediction model. This finding provides further knowledge regarding gender differences in learning research and the specific role of learning strategies for academic achievement. The incremental assessment of learning strategy use as well as gender-differences in their predictive value contributes to the understanding and improvement of successful academic development. PMID:26347698

Learning strategies and general cognitive ability as predictors of gender- specific academic achievement.

PubMed

Ruffing, Stephanie; Wach, F-Sophie; Spinath, Frank M; Brünken, Roland; Karbach, Julia

2015-01-01

Recent research has revealed that learning behavior is associated with academic achievement at the college level, but the impact of specific learning strategies on academic success as well as gender differences therein are still not clear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate gender differences in the incremental contribution of learning strategies over general cognitive ability in the prediction of academic achievement. The relationship between these variables was examined by correlation analyses. A set of t-tests was used to test for gender differences in learning strategies, whereas structural equation modeling as well as multi-group analyses were applied to investigate the incremental contribution of learning strategies for male and female students' academic performance. The sample consisted of 461 students (mean age = 21.2 years, SD = 3.2). Correlation analyses revealed that general cognitive ability as well as the learning strategies effort, attention, and learning environment were positively correlated with academic achievement. Gender differences were found in the reported application of many learning strategies. Importantly, the prediction of achievement in structural equation modeling revealed that only effort explained incremental variance (10%) over general cognitive ability. Results of multi-group analyses showed no gender differences in this prediction model. This finding provides further knowledge regarding gender differences in learning research and the specific role of learning strategies for academic achievement. The incremental assessment of learning strategy use as well as gender-differences in their predictive value contributes to the understanding and improvement of successful academic development.

Gender Role, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation in CAIS ("XY-Women") Compared With Subfertile and Infertile 46,XX Women.

PubMed

Brunner, Franziska; Fliegner, Maike; Krupp, Kerstin; Rall, Katharina; Brucker, Sara; Richter-Appelt, Hertha

2016-01-01

The perception of gender development of individuals with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS) as unambiguously female has recently been challenged in both qualitative data and case reports of male gender identity. The aim of the mixed-method study presented was to examine the self-perception of CAIS individuals regarding different aspects of gender and to identify commonalities and differences in comparison with subfertile and infertile XX-chromosomal women with diagnoses of Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome (MRKHS) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The study sample comprised 11 participants with CAIS, 49 with MRKHS, and 55 with PCOS. Gender identity was assessed by means of a multidimensional instrument, which showed significant differences between the CAIS group and the XX-chromosomal women. Other-than-female gender roles and neither-female-nor-male sexes/genders were reported only by individuals with CAIS. The percentage with a not exclusively androphile sexual orientation was unexceptionally high in the CAIS group compared to the prevalence in "normative" women and the clinical groups. The findings support the assumption made by Meyer-Bahlburg ( 2010 ) that gender outcome in people with CAIS is more variable than generally stated. Parents and professionals should thus be open to courses of gender development other than typically female in individuals with CAIS.

A framework to analyse gender bias in epidemiological research

PubMed Central

Ruiz‐Cantero, María Teresa; Vives‐Cases, Carmen; Artazcoz, Lucía; Delgado, Ana; del Mar García Calvente, Maria; Miqueo, Consuelo; Montero, Isabel; Ortiz, Rocío; Ronda, Elena; Ruiz, Isabel; Valls, Carme

2007-01-01

The design and analysis of research may cause systematic gender dependent errors to be produced in results because of gender insensitivity or androcentrism. Gender bias in research could be defined as a systematically erroneous gender dependent approach related to social construct, which incorrectly regards women and men as similar/different. Most gender bias can be found in the context of discovery (development of hypotheses), but it has also been found in the context of justification (methodological process), which must be improved. In fact, one of the main effects of gender bias in research is partial or incorrect knowledge in the results, which are systematically different from the real values. This paper discusses some forms of conceptual and methodological bias that may affect women's health. It proposes a framework to analyse gender bias in the design and analysis of research carried out on women's and men's health problems, and on specific women's health issues. Using examples, the framework aims to show the different theoretical perspectives in a social or clinical research context where forms of selection, measurement and confounding bias are produced as a result of gender insensitivity. Finally, this paper underlines the importance of re‐examining results so that they may be reinterpreted to produce new gender based knowledge. PMID:18000118

A framework to analyse gender bias in epidemiological research.

PubMed

Ruiz-Cantero, María Teresa; Vives-Cases, Carmen; Artazcoz, Lucía; Delgado, Ana; García Calvente, Maria Mar; Miqueo, Consuelo; Montero, Isabel; Ortiz, Rocío; Ronda, Elena; Ruiz, Isabel; Valls, Carme

2007-12-01

The design and analysis of research may cause systematic gender dependent errors to be produced in results because of gender insensitivity or androcentrism. Gender bias in research could be defined as a systematically erroneous gender dependent approach related to social construct, which incorrectly regards women and men as similar/different. Most gender bias can be found in the context of discovery (development of hypotheses), but it has also been found in the context of justification (methodological process), which must be improved. In fact, one of the main effects of gender bias in research is partial or incorrect knowledge in the results, which are systematically different from the real values. This paper discusses some forms of conceptual and methodological bias that may affect women's health. It proposes a framework to analyse gender bias in the design and analysis of research carried out on women's and men's health problems, and on specific women's health issues. Using examples, the framework aims to show the different theoretical perspectives in a social or clinical research context where forms of selection, measurement and confounding bias are produced as a result of gender insensitivity. Finally, this paper underlines the importance of re-examining results so that they may be reinterpreted to produce new gender based knowledge.

Gender differences in trajectories of health limitations and subsequent mortality. A study based on the German Socioeconomic Panel 1995-2001 with a mortality follow-up 2002-2005.

PubMed

Doblhammer, Gabriele; Hoffmann, Rasmus

2010-07-01

Although research on health limitations has investigated gender differences in health and mortality, gender differentials in individual-level trajectories have been studied less frequently. Moreover, there are no studies on the relationship between course types and subsequent mortality. We investigate course types, explore confounding by socioeconomic and demographic correlates, and pose the question of whether the gender gap in morbidity results from differences in the onset of, and/or survival with, health limitations. Using the German Socioeconomic Panel, we identify individual trajectories of health limitations and use multinomial logistic regressions to explore confounding and the relationship with mortality. The frequency of stable trajectories without limitations is lower among women because they tend to experience courses that involve extended periods of limitations and deteriorating health. Women also experience more frequently improvement after deterioration. The female mortality advantage is particularly large after health deterioration. Health limitations do not make men and women more equal in the face of death. Our results are consistent with earlier studies showing that mortality selection and differences in chronic conditions may explain the gender gap in health and mortality. We extend previous research showing that the female health disadvantage is largely the result of their mortality advantage.

Analysis on the time and frequency domains of the acceleration in front crawl stroke.

PubMed

Gil, Joaquín Madera; Moreno, Luis-Millán González; Mahiques, Juan Benavent; Muñoz, Víctor Tella

2012-05-01

The swimming involves accelerations and decelerations in the swimmer's body. Thus, the main objective of this study is to make a temporal and frequency analysis of the acceleration in front crawl swimming, regarding the gender and the performance. The sample was composed by 31 male swimmers (15 of high-level and 16 of low-level) and 20 female swimmers (11 of high-level and 9 of low-level). The acceleration was registered from the third complete cycle during eight seconds in a 25 meters maximum velocity test. A position transducer (200Hz) was used to collect the data, and it was synchronized to an aquatic camera (25Hz). The acceleration in the temporal (root mean square, minimum and maximum of the acceleration) and frequency (power peak, power peak frequency and spectral area) domains was calculated with Fourier analysis, as well as the velocity and the spectrums distribution in function to present one or more main peaks (type 1 and type 2). A one-way ANOVA was used to establish differences between gender and performance. Results show differences between genders in all the temporal domain variables (p<0.05) and only the Spectral Area (SA) in the frequency domain (p<0.05). Between gender and performance, only the Root Mean Square (RMS) showed differences in the performance of the male swimmers (p<0.05) and in the higher level swimmers, the Maximum (Max) and the Power Peak (PP) of the acceleration showed differences between both genders (p<0.05). These results confirms the importance of knowing the RMS to determine the efficiency of the swimmers regarding gender and performance level.

Playing an action video game reduces gender differences in spatial cognition.

PubMed

Feng, Jing; Spence, Ian; Pratt, Jay

2007-10-01

We demonstrate a previously unknown gender difference in the distribution of spatial attention, a basic capacity that supports higher-level spatial cognition. More remarkably, we found that playing an action video game can virtually eliminate this gender difference in spatial attention and simultaneously decrease the gender disparity in mental rotation ability, a higher-level process in spatial cognition. After only 10 hr of training with an action video game, subjects realized substantial gains in both spatial attention and mental rotation, with women benefiting more than men. Control subjects who played a non-action game showed no improvement. Given that superior spatial skills are important in the mathematical and engineering sciences, these findings have practical implications for attracting men and women to these fields.

Two sides of gender: ERP evidence for the presence of two routes during gender agreement processing.

PubMed

Caffarra, Sendy; Janssen, Niels; Barber, Horacio A

2014-10-01

The present ERP study aimed at providing evidence for the existence of two routes in the brain for the processing of morphosyntactic features during language comprehension; a lexical route which retrieves grammatical properties stored in the lexicon without reliance on formal cues, and a form-based route that takes advantage of sub-lexical units strongly related to a specific grammatical class. In the experiment, we investigated grammatical gender agreement processing in Spanish article-noun word pairs using a grammaticality judgment task. Article-noun pairs either agreed or did not agree in gender. Noun transparency was manipulated such that the ending could be strongly associated with a specific gender class (i.e., transparent nouns) or not (i.e., opaque nouns). A visual half-field method was employed and ERPs were recorded in response to the target nouns in order to disentangle the initial hemisphere-specific computations of gender processing. ERP results showed that, while both hemispheres compute agreement dependencies, the left hemisphere is sensitive to the presence of formal gender cues at an early stage (i.e., 350-500 ms) indicating the presence of a form-based route. The right hemisphere showed an ERP effect of transparency, but later than the left hemisphere (i.e., 500-750 ms). These findings confirm the presence of two routes to gender, which can be differently used depending on the availability of transparent endings. In addition, the results showed hemispheric differences in the time course of the form-based route. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Individual differences in melancholy gender among women: does ambivalence matter?

PubMed

Jay, Meg

2007-01-01

This research offers an empirical investigation inspired by Butler's theory of melancholy gender (1995) and a revision of this theory (Jay 2007a). Psychoanalytic feminist theory is drawn on to suggest that melancholy and gender are more likely to be associated in female development than in male development, and Freud's theory of melancholy (1917) is taken to suggest that ambivalence predicts individual differences in melancholy gender among women. In a longitudinal study of women's adult development, an examination of femininity, depressive symptoms, and ambivalence in attachment was conducted in order to evaluate these claims. Findings show that depressive symptoms and femininity are significantly correlated within the sample, but that individual differences in melancholy gender exist. To understand these differences, an analysis was conducted to determine whether ambivalence in attachment accounts for the relation between depressive symptoms and femininity; complementary analyses examined whether low ambivalence in attachment attenuates, or lessens, the relation between femininity and depressive symptoms. Results from these analyses support the notion that it is not the loss and internalization of the same-sex object choice per se that results in melancholy gender in women, as Butler argues; rather, it is the internalization of a lost, ambivalent same-sex attachment that forges the link between melancholy and gender. Narrative material is presented to personify melancholy and unmelancholy gender.

Success strivings and their relationship to affective work behaviors: gender differences.

PubMed

Chusmir, L H; Parker, B

1992-02-01

Gender differences in the importance of six life success dimensions and their relationships to job satisfaction, job involvement, and propensity to stay on the job were examined among 756 working women and men in southeast Florida. Results showed that the female participants rated family relationships, personal fulfillment, and security as more important success measures than their male counterparts did, and they rated status/wealth as less important. Professional fulfillment and security were not significantly different. The relationships between measures of success and work behaviors also varied significantly by gender, even after controlling for demographic and job position variables.

Gender-Specific Differences in the Relationship between Autobiographical Memory and Intertemporal Choice in Older Adults

PubMed Central

Seinstra, Maayke; Grzymek, Katharina; Kalenscher, Tobias

2015-01-01

As the population of older adults grows, their economic choices will have increasing impact on society. Research on the effects of aging on intertemporal decisions shows inconsistent, often opposing results, indicating that yet unexplored factors might play an essential role in guiding one's choices. Recent studies suggest that episodic future thinking, which is based on the same neural network involved in episodic memory functions, leads to reductions in discounting of future rewards. As episodic memory functioning declines with normal aging, but to greatly variable degrees, individual differences in delay discounting might be due to individual differences in the vitality of this memory system in older adults. We investigated this hypothesis, using a sample of healthy older adults who completed an intertemporal choice task as well as two episodic memory tasks. We found no clear evidence for a relationship between episodic memory performance and delay discounting in older adults. However, when additionally considering gender differences, we found an interaction effect of gender and autobiographical memory on delay discounting: while men with higher memory scores showed less delay discounting, women with higher memory scores tended to discount the future more. We speculate that this gender effect might stem from the gender-specific use of different modal representation formats (i.e. temporal or visual) during assessment of intertemporal choice options. PMID:26335426

Gender differences associated with rearfoot, midfoot, and forefoot kinematics during running.

PubMed

Takabayashi, Tomoya; Edama, Mutsuaki; Nakamura, Masatoshi; Nakamura, Emi; Inai, Takuma; Kubo, Masayoshi

2017-11-01

Females, as compared with males, have a higher proportion of injuries in the foot region. However, the reason for this gender difference regarding foot injuries remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate gender differences associated with rearfoot, midfoot, and forefoot kinematics during running. Twelve healthy males and 12 females ran on a treadmill. The running speed was set to speed which changes from walking to running. Three-dimensional kinematics of rearfoot, midfoot, and forefoot were collected and compared between males and females. Furthermore, spatiotemporal parameters (speed, cadence, and step length) were measured. In the rearfoot angle, females showed a significantly greater peak value of plantarflexion and range of motion in the sagittal plane as compared with males (effect size (ES) = 1.55 and ES = 1.12, respectively). In the midfoot angle, females showed a significantly greater peak value of dorsiflexion and range of motion in the sagittal plane as compared with males (ES = 1.49 and ES = 1.71, respectively). The forefoot peak angles and ranges of motion were not significantly different between the genders in all three planes. A previous study suggested that a gender-related difference in excessive motions of the lower extremities during running has been suggested as a contributing factor to running injuries. Therefore, the present investigation may provide insight into the reason for the high incidence of foot injuries in females.

Gender differences in factors related to diabetes management in Chinese American immigrants.

PubMed

Chesla, Catherine A; Kwan, Christine M L; Chun, Kevin M; Stryker, Lisa

2014-10-01

Chinese American women with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) are more vulnerable to poor diabetes outcomes than men because immigrant status, ethnicity, and economics intersect with gender to diminish disease management opportunities. We explored gender differences in factors associated with diabetes management at intake and after treatment with a behavioral intervention in first-generation Chinese American immigrants. A sample of 178 Chinese Americans with T2DM was enrolled in a single-cohort, repeated-measures delayed-treatment trial. Data were collected at baseline, 8, 16, 24, and 32 weeks with 6-week treatment provided after 16 weeks. Gender differences at baseline and gender by treatment interactions were noted. Women at baseline reported significantly worse depressive symptoms and general health. Significant gender by treatment interactions were observed for diabetes self-efficacy, bicultural efficacy, family instrumental support, and diabetes quality of life-satisfaction. Only women showed improvement, suggesting women benefited more from the intervention in psychosocial factors related to diabetes management. © The Author(s) 2014.

Gender stereotype endorsement differentially predicts girls' and boys' trait-state discrepancy in math anxiety.

PubMed

Bieg, Madeleine; Goetz, Thomas; Wolter, Ilka; Hall, Nathan C

2015-01-01

Mathematics is associated with anxiety for many students; an emotion linked to lower well-being and poorer learning outcomes. While findings typically show females to report higher trait math anxiety than males, no gender differences have to date been found in state (i.e., momentary) math anxiety. The present diary study aimed to replicate previous findings in investigating whether levels of academic self-concept was related to this discrepancy in trait vs. state anxiety measures. Additionally, mathematics-related gender stereotype endorsement (mathematics is a male domain) was investigated as an additional predictor of the trait-state discrepancy. The sample included 755 German 9th and 10th graders who completed self-report measures of trait math anxiety, math self-concept, and gender stereotype endorsement, in addition to state measures of anxiety after math classes by use of a standardized diary for 2-3 weeks (N within = 6207). As expected, females reported higher trait math anxiety but no gender differences were found for state math anxiety. Also in line with our assumptions, multilevel analyses showed the discrepancy between trait and state anxiety to be negatively related to students' self-concept (i.e., a lower discrepancy for students with higher self-concepts). Furthermore, gender stereotype endorsement differentially predicted the trait-state discrepancy: When controlling for self-concept in mathematics, females who endorsed the gender stereotype of math being a male domain more strongly overestimated their trait math anxiety as compared to their state anxiety whereas this effect was not significant for males. The present findings suggest that gender stereotype endorsement plays an important role in explaining gender differences in math anxiety above and beyond academic self-concept. Implications for future research and educational practice are discussed.

Gender stereotype endorsement differentially predicts girls' and boys' trait-state discrepancy in math anxiety

PubMed Central

Bieg, Madeleine; Goetz, Thomas; Wolter, Ilka; Hall, Nathan C.

2015-01-01

Mathematics is associated with anxiety for many students; an emotion linked to lower well-being and poorer learning outcomes. While findings typically show females to report higher trait math anxiety than males, no gender differences have to date been found in state (i.e., momentary) math anxiety. The present diary study aimed to replicate previous findings in investigating whether levels of academic self-concept was related to this discrepancy in trait vs. state anxiety measures. Additionally, mathematics-related gender stereotype endorsement (mathematics is a male domain) was investigated as an additional predictor of the trait-state discrepancy. The sample included 755 German 9th and 10th graders who completed self-report measures of trait math anxiety, math self-concept, and gender stereotype endorsement, in addition to state measures of anxiety after math classes by use of a standardized diary for 2–3 weeks (Nwithin = 6207). As expected, females reported higher trait math anxiety but no gender differences were found for state math anxiety. Also in line with our assumptions, multilevel analyses showed the discrepancy between trait and state anxiety to be negatively related to students' self-concept (i.e., a lower discrepancy for students with higher self-concepts). Furthermore, gender stereotype endorsement differentially predicted the trait-state discrepancy: When controlling for self-concept in mathematics, females who endorsed the gender stereotype of math being a male domain more strongly overestimated their trait math anxiety as compared to their state anxiety whereas this effect was not significant for males. The present findings suggest that gender stereotype endorsement plays an important role in explaining gender differences in math anxiety above and beyond academic self-concept. Implications for future research and educational practice are discussed. PMID:26441778

Gender-related differences in the multi-pathway effect of social determinants on quality of life in older age-the COURAGE in Europe project.

PubMed

Tobiasz-Adamczyk, Beata; Galas, Aleksander; Zawisza, Katarzyna; Chatterji, Somnath; Haro, Josep Maria; Ayuso-Mateos, José Luis; Koskinen, Seppo; Leonardi, Matilde

2017-07-01

Gender-related differences in life expectancy, prevalence of chronic conditions and level of disability in the process of ageing have been broadly described. Less is known about social determinants, which may have different impacts on quality of life in men and women. The investigation aims to reveal gender-related differences in social determinants on quality of life assessed by a multi-pathway model including health, social, demographic and living place characteristics. The study group consisted of 5099 participants aged 50+ representing general populations of three different European regions (Finland, Poland, Spain) who participated in COURAGE in EUROPE Project. Standardized tools were used to measure quality of life (WHOQOL-AGE) and social determinants (COURAGE Social Network Index, OSLO-3 Social Support Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale, participation scale and trust). A multipath model considering exogenous predictors (demographic, economic), mediators (social) and endogenous outcome (QOL) was created to reveal the role of determinants. Gender-related differences were investigated across three age categories: 50-64; 65-79 and 80+. The model (RMSEA = 0.058; CFI = 0.939) showed the effects of all of the investigated determinants. Gender-related differences in the association between social constructs and QOL were observed for social networks in the group of 80+, for social support in the group of 50-64 and 65-79 years, and for social participation in the group of 65-79 years. Males benefited more (in QOL) from social networks and social support, and women from social participation. The research provides valuable knowledge about the role of social determinants in QOL considering complex relations between different social constructs. Additionally, the results showed gender-related differences in the associations between social networks, social support, social participation and QOL, suggesting that men might benefit more from the interventions in the first two. Although our research did not investigate the effects of interventions, the results show directions for future investigations, how to shape social interventions at the population level to improve quality of life of older adults, and thus help achieve successful ageing.

Gender, aging and longevity in humans: an update of an intriguing/neglected scenario paving the way to a gender-specific medicine.

PubMed

Ostan, Rita; Monti, Daniela; Gueresi, Paola; Bussolotto, Mauro; Franceschi, Claudio; Baggio, Giovannella

2016-10-01

Data showing a remarkable gender difference in life expectancy and mortality, including survival to extreme age, are reviewed starting from clinical and demographic data and stressing the importance of a comprehensive historical perspective and a gene-environment/lifestyle interaction. Gender difference regarding prevalence and incidence of the most important age-related diseases, such as cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, Type 2 diabetes, disability, autoimmunity and infections, are reviewed and updated with particular attention to the role of the immune system and immunosenescence. On the whole, gender differences appear to be pervasive and still poorly considered and investigated despite their biomedical relevance. The basic biological mechanisms responsible for gender differences in aging and longevity are quite complex and still poorly understood. The present review focuses on centenarians and their offspring as a model of healthy aging and summarizes available knowledge on three basic biological phenomena, i.e. age-related X chromosome inactivation skewing, gut microbiome changes and maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA genetic variants. In conclusion, an appropriate gender-specific medicine approach is urgently needed and should be systematically pursued in studies on healthy aging, longevity and age-related diseases, in a globalized world characterized by great gender differences which have a high impact on health and diseases. © 2016 The Author(s).

Genders of patients and clinicians and their effect on shared decision making: a participant-level meta-analysis.

PubMed

Wyatt, Kirk D; Branda, Megan E; Inselman, Jonathan W; Ting, Henry H; Hess, Erik P; Montori, Victor M; LeBlanc, Annie

2014-09-02

Gender differences in communication styles between clinicians and patients have been postulated to impact patient care, but the extent to which the gender dyad structure impacts outcomes in shared decision making remains unclear. Participant-level meta-analysis of 775 clinical encounters within 7 randomized trials where decision aids, shared decision making tools, were used at the point of care. Outcomes analysed include decisional conflict scale scores, satisfaction with the clinical encounter, concordance between stated decision and action taken, and degree of patient engagement by the clinician using the OPTION scale. An estimated minimal important difference was used to determine if nonsignificant results could be explained by low power. We did not find a statistically significant interaction between clinician/patient gender mix and arm for decisional conflict, satisfaction with the clinical encounter or patient engagement. A borderline significant interaction (p = 0.05) was observed for one outcome: concordance between stated decision and action taken, where encounters with female clinician/male patient showed increased concordance in the decision aid arm compared to control (8% more concordant encounters). All other gender dyads showed decreased concordance with decision aid use (6% fewer concordant encounters for same-gender, 16% fewer concordant encounters for male clinician/female patient). In this participant-level meta-analysis of 7 randomized trials, decision aids used at the point of care demonstrated comparable efficacy across gender dyads. Purported barriers to shared decision making based on gender were not detected when tested for a minimum detected difference. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00888537, NCT01077037, NCT01029288, NCT00388050, NCT00578981, NCT00949611, NCT00217061.

Sublexical and lexico-syntactic factors in gender access in Spanish.

PubMed

Afonso, Olivia; Domínguez, Alberto; Alvarez, Carlos J; Morales, David

2014-02-01

The influence of sublexical and lexico-syntactic factors during the grammatical gender assignment process in Spanish was studied in two experiments using the gender decision task. In Experiment 1, the regularity of the ending of gender-marked nouns (masculine nouns ended in -o and feminine nouns ended in -a) and of nouns with gender-correlated but unmarked word-endings (e.g., -ad) was manipulated. The results showed that regularity affected reaction times and error rates only in the case of gender-marked nouns, suggesting that the mere statistical distribution of a word-ending across genders is not responsible for the regularity effect. In Experiment 2, gender-marked nouns and gender-unmarked nouns were preceded by a masked prime which could be a definite article (which provides information about the gender of the noun) or a possessive pronoun (which does not contain gender information). The presentation of the definite article led to shorter reaction times and less errors only when the word-ending was different from -o or -a. Taken together, these results indicate that gender assignment in Spanish is carried out through different processes depending on the noun ending: gender decisions for gender-marked nouns are based on the gender-to-ending distribution. Meanwhile, gender decisions for unmarked nouns seem to require the retrieval of the corresponding definite grammatical article, regardless of the statistical distribution of the noun ending across genders.

Gender does matter: gender-specific outcome analysis of 67,855 heart transplants.

PubMed

Kaczmarek, Ingo; Meiser, Bruno; Beiras-Fernandez, Andres; Guethoff, Sonja; Überfuhr, Peter; Angele, Martin; Seeland, Ute; Hagl, Christian; Reichart, Bruno; Eifert, Sandra

2013-01-01

Gender differences between donor and recipient might have an impact on the outcome after heart transplantation (HT). Data of more than 67,000 patients registered at the International Society of Heart Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) were reviewed focusing on the influence of gender differences on short- and long-term outcome after HT. We performed a retrospective analysis of 67,855 cardiac allograft recipients. They received orthotopic HT between January 1, 1980 and June 30, 2009. In contrast to other studies the data for gender differences (donor gender and recipient gender) were calculated with respect to actuarial and conditional survival (without 30-day mortality). One-year survival was highest in male recipients of male donor hearts (mR/mD: 83.74%). The lowest 1-year outcome showed male recipients of female donor organs (mR/fD: 78.95%). Best 5-year survival rates were shown by male recipients with male donor organs (70.75%, p < 0.0001). These differences disappeared in survival conditional to 1 year, indicating that gender predominantly influences short-term outcome. The combination male recipient/female donor carries a higher risk for early mortality, whereas female recipients/male donor reveals favorable short-term results. Gender-matched HT would be ideal, but not suitable in practice because of the shortage of organs. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Gender aspects in heart failure. Pathophysiology and medical therapy.

PubMed

Regitz-Zagrosek, V; Lehmkuhl, E; Lehmkuhl, H B; Hetzer, R

2004-09-01

Gender differences in the syndrome of heart failure (HF) occur in etiology and pathophysiology and lead to differences in the clinical presentation and course of the syndrome. In addition, gender specific treatment responses and gender associated differences in the behavior of treating physicians are found. Hypertension and diabetes play a major role as causes of HF in women and both interact in their pathophysiology with the renin angiotensin system (RAS). Modulation of the RAS by estrogens explains specific differences between pre- and post-menopausal women and men. Myocardial growth processes and myocardial calcium handling are differentially regulated in female and male myocytes. Myocardial remodeling with age and as a consequence of mechanical load differs in women and men. For yet unknown reasons, HF with preserved systolic function seems to be more frequent in women than in men and the clinical course of systolic HF is different in both genders. Medical therapy in heart failure has usually not been specified according to gender and gender specific analysis has been neglected in most large survival trials. Only a post-hoc analysis of gender differences led to the recognition of increased mortality with digitalis therapy in women. Single studies on angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) or beta-receptor blockers did not reach significant end points in women whereas meta-analyses showed overall positive effects. Side effects of ACEI are more common and pharmacokinetics of beta-blockers are different in women. Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) are equally well tolerated in women and men. RAS inhibition may be particularly advantageous in postmenopausal women in whom the natural modulation of the RAS by estrogens is lost.

Gender Differences in Determinants and Consequences of Health and Illness

PubMed Central

2007-01-01

This paper uses a framework developed for gender and tropical diseases for the analysis of non-communicable diseases and conditions in developing and industrialized countries. The framework illustrates that gender interacts with the social, economic and biological determinants and consequences of tropical diseases to create different health outcomes for males and females. Whereas the framework was previously limited to developing countries where tropical infectious diseases are more prevalent, the present paper demonstrates that gender has an important effect on the determinants and consequences of health and illness in industrialized countries as well. This paper reviews a large number of studies on the interaction between gender and the determinants and consequences of chronic diseases and shows how these interactions result in different approaches to prevention, treatment, and coping with illness. Specific examples of chronic diseases are discussed in each section with respect to both developing and industrialized countries. PMID:17615903

Gender differences in scientific collaborations: Women are more egalitarian than men

PubMed Central

Araújo, Eduardo B.; Araújo, Nuno A. M.; Moreira, André A.; Herrmann, Hans J.; Andrade, José S.

2017-01-01

By analyzing a unique dataset of more than 270,000 scientists, we discovered substantial gender differences in scientific collaborations. While men are more likely to collaborate with other men, women are more egalitarian. This is consistently observed over all fields and regardless of the number of collaborators a scientist has. The only exception is observed in the field of engineering, where this gender bias disappears with increasing number of collaborators. We also found that the distribution of the number of collaborators follows a truncated power law with a cut-off that is gender dependent and related to the gender differences in the number of published papers. Considering interdisciplinary research, our analysis shows that men and women behave similarly across fields, except in the case of natural sciences, where women with many collaborators are more likely to have collaborators from other fields. PMID:28489872

Gender differences in scientific collaborations: Women are more egalitarian than men.

PubMed

Araújo, Eduardo B; Araújo, Nuno A M; Moreira, André A; Herrmann, Hans J; Andrade, José S

2017-01-01

By analyzing a unique dataset of more than 270,000 scientists, we discovered substantial gender differences in scientific collaborations. While men are more likely to collaborate with other men, women are more egalitarian. This is consistently observed over all fields and regardless of the number of collaborators a scientist has. The only exception is observed in the field of engineering, where this gender bias disappears with increasing number of collaborators. We also found that the distribution of the number of collaborators follows a truncated power law with a cut-off that is gender dependent and related to the gender differences in the number of published papers. Considering interdisciplinary research, our analysis shows that men and women behave similarly across fields, except in the case of natural sciences, where women with many collaborators are more likely to have collaborators from other fields.

Ethnicity, gender socialization, and children’s attitudes towards gay men and lesbian women

PubMed Central

Bos, Henny M.W.; Picavet, Charles; Sandfort, Theo G. M.

2011-01-01

The aim of the present study was to assess whether children’s attitudes towards gay men and lesbian women differ in relation to their ethnic backgrounds, and whether ethnic differences are a result of perceived differential gender socialization practices. Data were collected from children in eight Dutch elementary schools by means of a paper-and-pencil questionnaire administered in the classroom. All children (mean age 11.47; N = 229) lived in the Netherlands; 50.2% had non-Western and 49.8% Western ethnic backgrounds. Children with non-Western ethnic backgrounds reported more negative attitudes towards gays and lesbians. These children perceived more parental pressure to behave in accordance with their gender and showed more negative attitudes towards gender-nonconforming behaviour by peers. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that cultural differences in attitudes towards gay men and lesbian women are partly mediated by differentially perceived parental pressure to behave in accordance with their gender. PMID:23162164

Gender differences in determinants and consequences of health and illness.

PubMed

Vlassoff, Carol

2007-03-01

This paper uses a framework developed for gender and tropical diseases for the analysis of non-communicable diseases and conditions in developing and industrialized countries. The framework illustrates that gender interacts with the social, economic and biological determinants and consequences of tropical diseases to create different health outcomes for males and females. Whereas the framework was previously limited to developing countries where tropical infectious diseases are more prevalent, the present paper demonstrates that gender has an important effect on the determinants and consequences of health and illness in industrialized countries as well. This paper reviews a large number of studies on the interaction between gender and the determinants and consequences of chronic diseases and shows how these interactions result in different approaches to prevention, treatment, and coping with illness. Specific examples of chronic diseases are discussed in each section with respect to both developing and industrialized countries.

The influence of age and gender on the likelihood of endorsing cannabis abuse/dependence criteria.

PubMed

Delforterie, Monique J; Creemers, Hanneke E; Agrawal, Arpana; Lynskey, Michael T; Jak, Suzanne; Huizink, Anja C

2015-03-01

Higher prevalence rates of cannabis abuse/dependence and abuse/dependence criteria in 18-24year old versus older cannabis users and in males versus females might reflect true differences in the prevalence of these disorders across age and gender or, alternatively, they could arise from age- and gender-related measurement bias. To understand differences in endorsement across important subgroups, we examined the influence of age and gender simultaneously on the likelihood of endorsement of the various abuse/dependence criteria. The sample consisted of 1603 adult past year cannabis users participating in the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), a U.S. population study (39.6% aged 18-24; 62.1% male). Past year DSM-IV cannabis abuse/dependence criteria and withdrawal were assessed with the AUDADIS-IV. A restricted factor analysis with latent moderated structures was used to detect measurement bias. Although cannabis abuse and dependence diagnoses and various individual abuse/dependence criteria showed different prevalence rates across younger and older male and female cannabis users, none of the items showed uniform or non-uniform measurement bias with respect to age or gender. The results indicate that, although prevalence rates of cannabis abuse/dependence criteria differ across age and gender, past year abuse/dependence criteria function similarly across these groups. It can thus be concluded that the criteria are applicable to younger and older, as well as male and female, adult cannabis users. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Early psychomotor development of low-risk preterm infants: Influence of gestational age and gender.

PubMed

Romeo, Domenico M; Brogna, Claudia; Sini, Francesca; Romeo, Mario G; Cota, Francesco; Ricci, Daniela

2016-07-01

The influence of gestational age and gender in the neurodevelopment of infants during the first year of age is not yet fully elucidated. The purpose of this study was to identify the early occurrence of neurodevelopmental differences, between very preterm, late preterm and term born infants and the possible influence of the gender on the neurodevelopment in early infancy. A total of 188 low-risk infants, 69 very preterms, 71 late-preterms, and 48 term infants were assessed at 3, 6, 9, 12 months corrected age using the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination (HINE). At two years of age infants performed the Mental Developmental Index (MDI) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. The main results indicate that both very preterms and late-preterms showed significant lower global scores than term born infants at each evaluation (p < 0.001) at HINE and namely, at 3 months for the subsections "cranial nerve" and "posture" and at every age for "tone"; no gender differences has been evidenced in neurological performances. At the MDI, very preterms showed significant lower scores (p < 0.01) than both late-preterm and term born infants; gender differences were observed for preterms only (very and late), with best performances for females. Our results point out the presence of gestational age and gender-dependent differences in the development of infants assessed during the first 2 years of life. Copyright © 2016 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Appraisal of occupational stress in different gender, age, work duration, educational level and marital status groups].

PubMed

Yang, Xin-Wei; Wang, Zhi-Ming; Jin, Tai-Yi

2006-05-01

This study was conducted to assess occupational stress in different gender, age, work duration, educational level and marital status group. A test of occupational stress in different gender, age, work duration, educational level and marital status group, was carried out with revised occupational stress inventory (OSI-R) for 4278 participants. The results of gender show that there are heavier occupational role, stronger interpersonal and physical strain in male than that in female, and the differences are statistically significant (P < 0.01). The score of recreation in the male is higher than that in female, but the score of self-care in the female is higher than that in male, and the differences are statistically significant (P < 0.01). Difference in the scores of occupational role, personal resource among various age groups is significant (P < 0.01). Vocational, interpersonal strain scores among various age groups is significant (P < 0.05). The results of educational level analyses suggest that the difference in the scores of occupational stress and strain among various educational levels show statistically significant (P < 0.05), whereas there are no statistic significance of coping resources among the groups (P > 0.05). The occupational stress so as to improve the work ability of different groups. Different measure should be taken to reduce the occupational stress so as to improve the work ability of different groups.

Sex differences in addictive disorders.

PubMed

Fattore, Liana; Melis, Miriam; Fadda, Paola; Fratta, Walter

2014-08-01

Gender-dependent differences in the rate of initiation and frequency of misuse of addicting drugs have been widely described. Yet, men and women also differ in their propensity to become addicted to other rewarding stimuli (e.g., sex, food) or activities (e.g., gambling, exercising). The goal of the present review is to summarize current evidence for gender differences not only in drug addiction, but also in other forms of addictive behaviours. Thus, we first reviewed studies showing gender-dependent differences in drug addiction, food addiction, compulsive sexual activity, pathological gambling, Internet addiction and physical exercise addiction. Potential risk factors and underlying brain mechanisms are also examined, with particular emphasis given to the role of sex hormones in modulating addictive behaviours. Investigations on factors allowing the pursuit of non-drug rewards to become pathological in men and women are crucial for designing gender-appropriate treatments of both substance and non-substance addictions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Social Incentives for Gender Differences in the Propensity to Initiate Negotiations: Sometimes It Does Hurt to Ask

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowles, Hannah Riley; Babcock, Linda; Lai, Lei

2007-01-01

Four experiments show that gender differences in the propensity to initiate negotiations may be explained by differential treatment of men and women when they attempt to negotiate. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants evaluated written accounts of candidates who did or did not initiate negotiations for higher compensation. Evaluators penalized…

Gender Differences in Science Interests: An Analysis of Science Fair Projects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawton, Carol A.; Bordens, Kenneth S.

Gender differences in science interests were examined in two studies of projects entered in a regional science fair in kindergarten through grade 12. A content analysis of 1,319 project topics and materials submitted to the Northeastern Indiana Regional Science and Engineering Fair from 1991 through 1993 showed that girls were more likely than…

Investigating Gender Differences on Homework in Middle School Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feng, Mingyu; Roschelle, Jeremy; Mason, Craig; Bhanot, Ruchi

2016-01-01

Recent studies [10, 23] using US nationwide databases showed high school boys spent significantly less time doing homework than girls, based on their responses to questionnaires and surveys. To investigate gender differences in homework in middle school, in this paper, we analyzed computer log data and standardized test scores of more than 1,000…

Qualitative Differences Among Gender-Stereotyped Toys: Implications for Cognitive and Social Development in Girls and Boys.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Cynthia L.

1987-01-01

Evaluates a system of toy classification developed to improve the assessment of gender differences in cognitive and social development. One hundred adults rated 50 children's toys on 122 "functional" dimensions. Results showed that these toys could be reliably described according to multidimensional similarities, and confirmed that toys considered…

An Exploration of Participative Motivations in a Community-Based Online English Extensive Reading Contest with Respect to Gender Difference

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, I-Fan; Young, Shelley S. -C.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to describe an online community-based English extensive reading contest to investigate whether the participants' intrinsic, extrinsic, and interpersonal motivations and learning results show significant gender differences. A total of 501 valid questionnaires (285 females and 216 males) from Taiwanese high school…

Spatial Ability Mediates the Gender Difference in Middle School Students' Science Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ganley, Colleen M.; Vasilyeva, Marina; Dulaney, Alana

2014-01-01

Prior research has demonstrated a male advantage in spatial skills and science achievement. The present research integrated these findings by testing the potential role of spatial skills in gender differences in the science performance of eighth-grade students (13-15 years old). In "Study 1" (N = 113), the findings showed that mental…

Relative Age Effect and Gender Differences in Physical Education Attainment in Norwegian Schoolchildren

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aune, Tore Kristian; Pedersen, Arve Vorland; Ingvaldsen, Rolf Petter; Dalen, Terje

2017-01-01

The relative age effect (RAE) refers to that children born early in their year of birth show higher performance compared to children born late in the same cohort. The present study evaluated whether RAE exists within non-competitive physical education (PE) attainments, change in RAE magnitude with age, and possible gender differences. The results…

Is the pattern of intellectual growth and decline across the adult life span different for men and women?

PubMed

Kaufman, A S; Kaufman-Packer, J L; McLean, J E; Reynolds, C R

1991-11-01

Gender comparisons on the WAIS-R were made for 1,480 adults from the standardization sample, ages 20-74 years, to determine whether men and women differ in their age-related patterns of change on tests of fluid and crystallized abilities. Multivariate analyses of covariance and univariate analyses of covariance were conducted, covarying education, to examine the age + gender interactions. These interactions tended to be nonsignificant and trivial for the WAIS-R Verbal and Performance scales and the 11 subtests, which suggests that both men and women maintain their crystallized abilities through old age, but show early, rapid declines in fluid ability. These results were interpreted in terms of the literature on aging and intelligence, gender differences in cognitive abilities, and gender differences in V-P patterns for patients with unilateral brain damage.

Gender differences in CMS and the effects of antidepressant venlafaxine in rats.

PubMed

Xing, Yanli; He, Jie; Hou, Jian; Lin, Fei; Tian, Jingwei; Kurihara, Hiroshi

2013-11-01

Gender differences in susceptibility to chronic mild stress (CMS) and effects of venlafaxine in rats have been investigated in the current study. Male and female SD rats were exposed to CMS or CMS plus chronic venlafaxine administration (10mg/kg, 21days) in order to study depressive behavior in rats. Rats were tested in open field test and sucrose preference test to figure out gender differences in behavior. Then serum corticosterone and the expression of FKBP5 in hippocampus of rats were detected to explore the possible mechanism. The results showed that the CMS impact on behavioral parameters and corticosterone levels and response to venlafaxine were gender dependent. Female rats appeared more vulnerable in the dysregulation of HPA axis to CMS. Venlafaxine treatment normalized depressive-like behavior in both gender. However, venlafaxine treated male rats exhibited better improved explore behavior and anhedonia. FKBP5 might be involved in the explanation of gender differences in CMS and venlafaxine treatment. Male and female rats respond differently to chronic stress and venlafaxine continuous treatment. This results have guiding meaning in design of trials related to stress induced depression. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gender gap or program gap? Students' negotiations of study practice in a course in electromagnetism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andersson, Staffan; Johansson, Anders

2016-12-01

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Gender in Physics.] This study of achievement differences, as reflected by course grades, on a third-semester electromagnetism course at a Swedish research university was motivated by instructor concerns about gender inequalities. Quantitative analysis showed a gender gap in course grades between female and male students for the period of fall 2007 to spring 2013. Dynamics behind this gap were explored through interpretative discourse analysis on interviews of 21 students who had recently passed the course. A recurring pattern was identified in the interviews. Students described studying electromagnetism as either studying to pass or studying to learn. Their choice of practice was influenced by the significance recognized in the course, which primarily was discussed in relation to program affiliation. Students stressed that perceived differences, in their study context, were larger between students affiliated with different programs than between male and female students on the same program. This was supported by quantitative analysis of course grades in relation to study programs, where the grade difference between female and male students on the same program in most cases were not statistically significant. The gender gap in grades for the whole course was related to different achievements on different programs. Programs further from the discipline of physics had lower mean grades and also enrolled a larger fraction of female students. Society-wide gender differences in interest and study choice are reflected in the grades on this single course. These results displace the achievement gap from the level of individuals to that of programs, and the gender gap from a difference in achievement to a difference in study choice. We discuss the implications of this shift of perspective in relation to gender differences for both research and teaching.

Non-binary or genderqueer genders.

PubMed

Richards, Christina; Bouman, Walter Pierre; Seal, Leighton; Barker, Meg John; Nieder, Timo O; T'Sjoen, Guy

2016-01-01

Some people have a gender which is neither male nor female and may identify as both male and female at one time, as different genders at different times, as no gender at all, or dispute the very idea of only two genders. The umbrella terms for such genders are 'genderqueer' or 'non-binary' genders. Such gender identities outside of the binary of female and male are increasingly being recognized in legal, medical and psychological systems and diagnostic classifications in line with the emerging presence and advocacy of these groups of people. Population-based studies show a small percentage--but a sizable proportion in terms of raw numbers--of people who identify as non-binary. While such genders have been extant historically and globally, they remain marginalized, and as such--while not being disorders or pathological in themselves--people with such genders remain at risk of victimization and of minority or marginalization stress as a result of discrimination. This paper therefore reviews the limited literature on this field and considers ways in which (mental) health professionals may assist the people with genderqueer and non-binary gender identities and/or expressions they may see in their practice. Treatment options and associated risks are discussed.

Gender Representation in Different Languages and Grammatical Marking on Pronouns: When Beauticians, Musicians, and Mechanics Remain Men

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garnham, Alan; Gabriel, Ute; Sarrasin, Oriane; Gygax, Pascal; Oakhill, Jane

2012-01-01

Gygax, Gabriel, Sarrasin, Oakhill, and Garnham (2008) showed that readers form a mental representation of gender that is based on grammatical gender in French and German (i.e., masculine supposedly interpretable as a generic form) but is based on stereotypical information in English. In this study, a modification of their stimulus material was…

Gender Gap or Program Gap? Students' Negotiations of Study Practice in a Course in Electromagnetism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andersson, Staffan; Johansson, Anders

2016-01-01

This study of achievement differences, as reflected by course grades, on a third-semester electromagnetism course at a Swedish research university was motivated by instructor concerns about gender inequalities. Quantitative analysis showed a gender gap in course grades between female and male students for the period of fall 2007 to spring 2013.…

"Boys Press All the Buttons and Hope It Will Help": Upper Secondary School Teachers' Gendered Conceptions about Students' Mathematical Reasoning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sumpter, Lovisa

2016-01-01

Previous results show that Swedish upper secondary school teachers attribute gender to cases describing different types of mathematical reasoning. The purpose of this study was to investigate how these teachers gender stereotype aspects of students' mathematical reasoning by studying the symbols that were attributed to boys and girls,…

Gender Difference of Unconscious Attentional Bias in High Trait Anxiety Individuals

PubMed Central

Tan, Jieqing; Ma, Zheng; Gao, Xiaochao; Wu, Yanhong; Fang, Fang

2011-01-01

By combining binocular suppression technique and a probe detection paradigm, we investigated attentional bias to invisible stimuli and its gender difference in both high trait anxiety (HTA) and low trait anxiety (LTA) individuals. As an attentional cue, happy or fearful face pictures were presented to HTAs and LTAs for 800 ms either consciously or unconsciously (through binocular suppression). Participants were asked to judge the orientation of a gabor patch following the face pictures. Their performance was used to measure attentional effect induced by the cue. We found gender differences of attentional effect only in the unconscious condition with HTAs. Female HTAs exhibited difficulty in disengaging attention from the location where fearful faces were presented, while male HTAs showed attentional avoidance of it. Our results suggested that the failure to find attentional avoidance of threatening stimuli in many previous studies might be attributed to consciously presented stimuli and data analysis regardless of participants' gender. These findings also contributed to our understanding of gender difference in anxiety disorder. PMID:21647221

Gender difference of unconscious attentional bias in high trait anxiety individuals.

PubMed

Tan, Jieqing; Ma, Zheng; Gao, Xiaochao; Wu, Yanhong; Fang, Fang

2011-01-01

By combining binocular suppression technique and a probe detection paradigm, we investigated attentional bias to invisible stimuli and its gender difference in both high trait anxiety (HTA) and low trait anxiety (LTA) individuals. As an attentional cue, happy or fearful face pictures were presented to HTAs and LTAs for 800 ms either consciously or unconsciously (through binocular suppression). Participants were asked to judge the orientation of a gabor patch following the face pictures. Their performance was used to measure attentional effect induced by the cue. We found gender differences of attentional effect only in the unconscious condition with HTAs. Female HTAs exhibited difficulty in disengaging attention from the location where fearful faces were presented, while male HTAs showed attentional avoidance of it. Our results suggested that the failure to find attentional avoidance of threatening stimuli in many previous studies might be attributed to consciously presented stimuli and data analysis regardless of participants' gender. These findings also contributed to our understanding of gender difference in anxiety disorder.

Gender and Union Organizing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crain, Marion

1994-01-01

Results of 196 usable surveys from and 22 interviews with union organizers showed that some service sector and pink-collar occupation organizers used different organizing styles in predominantly female occupations. Female organizers, especially in manufacturing unions, tended to be explicitly gender conscious. (SK)

Does Gender Matter? an Exploratory Study of Perspectives Across Genders, Age and Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carinci, Sherrie; Wong, Pia Lindquist

2009-11-01

Using a convenience sample and survey research methods, the authors seek to better understand how perspectives on gender are shaped by individuals' age, level of education and gender. Study participants responded in writing to scenarios and survey questions, revealing their personal views on gender as an identity category and as a marker in the social hierarchy. Analysis indicated that there were differences between male and female views on these dimensions of gender, and that age and educational levels were also influential. While younger respondents from both genders demonstrated flexibility in their definitions of gender and expressed strong support for gender equality, they were noticeably lacking in their knowledge of the historical context of gender relations and did not show the skills required to realise their ideals of gender equality, especially when compared to older respondents of both genders with higher levels of educational attainment.

Neural Correlates of Sex/Gender Differences in Humor Processing for Different Joke Types.

PubMed

Chan, Yu-Chen

2016-01-01

Humor operates through a variety of techniques, which first generate surprise and then amusement and laughter once the unexpected incongruity is resolved. As different types of jokes use different techniques, the corresponding humor processes also differ. The present study builds on the framework of the 'tri-component theory of humor,' which details the mechanisms involved in cognition (comprehension), affect (appreciation), and laughter (expression). This study seeks to identify differences among joke types and between sexes/genders in the neural mechanisms underlying humor processing. Three types of verbal jokes, bridging-inference jokes (BJs), exaggeration jokes (EJs), and ambiguity jokes (AJs), were used as stimuli. The findings revealed differences in brain activity for an interaction between sex/gender and joke type. For BJs, women displayed greater activation in the temporoparietal-mesocortical-motor network than men, demonstrating the importance of the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) presumably for 'theory of mind' processing, the orbitofrontal cortex for motivational functions and reward coding, and the supplementary motor area for laughter. Women also showed greater activation than men in the frontal-mesolimbic network associated with EJs, including the anterior (frontopolar) prefrontal cortex (aPFC, BA 10) for executive control processes, and the amygdala and midbrain for reward anticipation and salience processes. Conversely, AJs elicited greater activation in men than women in the frontal-paralimbic network, including the dorsal prefrontal cortex (dPFC) and parahippocampal gyrus. All joke types elicited greater activation in the aPFC of women than of men, whereas men showed greater activation than women in the dPFC. To confirm the findings related to sex/gender differences, random group analysis and within group variance analysis were also performed. These findings help further establish the mechanisms underlying the processing of different joke types for the sexes/genders and provide a neural foundation for a theory of sex/gender differences in humor.

Gender differences in job quality and job satisfaction among doctors in rural western China.

PubMed

Miao, Yang; Li, Lingui; Bian, Ying

2017-12-28

Few studies about gender differences in job quality and job satisfaction among medical professionals have been carried out in China. So the objectives of this study were to examine whether and to what extent gender differences existed in job quality and job satisfaction of doctors in rural western China. From 2009 to 2011, a total of 1472 doctors from 103 selected county-level health care facilities in rural western China were recruited into the study. Information about the doctors' demographic characteristics, job quality, and job satisfaction was collected through a designed questionnaire. Besides examining gender differences in single dimensions of job quality and job satisfaction, principal component analysis was used to construct a composite job quality index to measure the differences in the comprehensive job quality, and exploratory factor analysis was applied to evaluate the differences in the overall job satisfaction. Chi-square test was used to calculate differences between proportions, and t-test was used to compare differences between means. Among the doctors, there were 705 males and 767 females (ratio 1:1.09). Male doctors had significantly higher monthly salaries, longer working hours, more times of night shifts per month, longer continuous working hours, and longer years of service at current facilities, and marginally significantly higher hourly wage and longer years of service in current professions. However, female doctors showed greater overall job qualities. Significant and marginally significant gender differences were only found in satisfaction with remuneration compared to workload, the chance of promotion and working environment. But female showed greater satisfaction in the overall job satisfaction and the factor including sub-aspects of working environment, remuneration compared to workload, the chance of promotion, utilization of subjective initiative, and sense of achievement. Gender differences in job quality and job satisfaction did exist among doctors in rural western China. The participating female doctors were shown to have better job quality and greater job satisfaction.

Neural Correlates of Sex/Gender Differences in Humor Processing for Different Joke Types

PubMed Central

Chan, Yu-Chen

2016-01-01

Humor operates through a variety of techniques, which first generate surprise and then amusement and laughter once the unexpected incongruity is resolved. As different types of jokes use different techniques, the corresponding humor processes also differ. The present study builds on the framework of the ‘tri-component theory of humor,’ which details the mechanisms involved in cognition (comprehension), affect (appreciation), and laughter (expression). This study seeks to identify differences among joke types and between sexes/genders in the neural mechanisms underlying humor processing. Three types of verbal jokes, bridging-inference jokes (BJs), exaggeration jokes (EJs), and ambiguity jokes (AJs), were used as stimuli. The findings revealed differences in brain activity for an interaction between sex/gender and joke type. For BJs, women displayed greater activation in the temporoparietal–mesocortical-motor network than men, demonstrating the importance of the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) presumably for ‘theory of mind’ processing, the orbitofrontal cortex for motivational functions and reward coding, and the supplementary motor area for laughter. Women also showed greater activation than men in the frontal-mesolimbic network associated with EJs, including the anterior (frontopolar) prefrontal cortex (aPFC, BA 10) for executive control processes, and the amygdala and midbrain for reward anticipation and salience processes. Conversely, AJs elicited greater activation in men than women in the frontal-paralimbic network, including the dorsal prefrontal cortex (dPFC) and parahippocampal gyrus. All joke types elicited greater activation in the aPFC of women than of men, whereas men showed greater activation than women in the dPFC. To confirm the findings related to sex/gender differences, random group analysis and within group variance analysis were also performed. These findings help further establish the mechanisms underlying the processing of different joke types for the sexes/genders and provide a neural foundation for a theory of sex/gender differences in humor. PMID:27199791

Women's Job Search Competence: A Question of Motivation, Behavior, or Gender.

PubMed

Llinares-Insa, Lucía I; González-Navarro, Pilar; Córdoba-Iñesta, Ana I; Zacarés-González, Juan J

2018-01-01

We examined motivation and behaviors in women's active job search in Spain and the gender gap in this process. The current crisis in Spain and the increase in the number of unemployed people have revealed new inequalities that particularly affect women's employability, especially the most vulnerable women. This paper addresses two exploratory studies: the first study analyzes gender differences in the active job search using a sample of 236 Spanish participants; the second study explores the heterogeneity and diversity of unemployed women in a sample of 235 Spanish women. To analyze the active job search, the respondents were invited to write open-ended responses to questions about their job search behaviors and complete some questionnaires about their motivation for their active job search. The content analysis and quantitative results showed no significant differences in motivational attributes, but there were significant gender differences in the job search behavior (e.g., geographical mobility). Moreover, the results showed heterogeneity in unemployed women by educational level and family responsibilities. The asynchronies observed in a neoliberal context reveal the reproduction of social roles, social-labor vulnerability, and a gender gap. Thus, women's behavior is an interface between employment and family work, but not their motivations or aspirations. Our results can have positive implications for labor gender equality by identifying indicators of effectiveness in training programs for women's job search, and it can contribute to designing intervention empowerment policies for women.

Grammatical Gender in American Norwegian Heritage Language: Stability or Attrition?

PubMed Central

Lohndal, Terje; Westergaard, Marit

2016-01-01

This paper investigates possible attrition/change in the gender system of Norwegian heritage language spoken in America. Based on data from 50 speakers in the Corpus of American Norwegian Speech (CANS), we show that the three-gender system is to some extent retained, although considerable overgeneralization of the masculine (the most frequent gender) is attested. This affects both feminine and neuter gender forms, while declension class markers such as the definite suffix remain unaffected. We argue that the gender category is vulnerable due to the lack of transparency of gender assignment in Norwegian. Furthermore, unlike incomplete acquisition, which may result in a somewhat different or reduced gender system, attrition is more likely to lead to general erosion, eventually leading to complete loss of gender. PMID:27014151

Characteristic differences in metabolite profile in male and female plants of dioecious Piper betle L.

PubMed

Bajpai, Vikas; Pandey, Renu; Negi, Mahendra Pal Singh; Bindu, K Hima; Kumar, Nikhil; Kumar, Brijesh

2012-12-01

Piper betle is a dioecious pan-Asiatic plant having cultural and medicinal uses. It belongs to the family Piperaceae and is a native of the tropics although it is also cultivated in subtropical areas. Flowering in P. betle occurs only in tropical regions. Due to lack of inductive floral cycles the plant remains in its vegetative state in the subtropics. Therefore, due to lack of flowering, gender distinction cannot be made the in the subtropics. Gender distinction in P. betle in vegetative state can be made using Direct Analysis in Real Time Mass Spectroscopy (DARTMS), a robust highthroughput method. DARTMS analysis of leaf samples of two male and six female plants showed characteristic differences in the spectra between male and female plants. Semi-quantitative differences in some of the identified peaks in male and female landraces showed gender-based differences in metabolites. Cluster analysis using the peaks at m/z 151, 193, 235 and 252 showed two distinct clusters of male and female landraces. It appears that male and female plants besides having flowers of different sexes also have characteristic differences in the metabolites representing two metabolic types.

Competing for the benefit of offspring eliminates the gender gap in competitiveness

PubMed Central

Cassar, Alessandra; Wordofa, Feven; Zhang, Y. Jane

2016-01-01

Recent advances have highlighted the evolutionary significance of female competition, with the sexes pursuing different competitive strategies and women reserving their most intense competitive behaviors for the benefit of offspring. Influential economic experiments using cash incentives, however, have found evidence suggesting that women have a lower desire to compete than men. We hypothesize that the estimated gender differences critically depend on how we elicit them, especially on the incentives used. We test this hypothesis through an experiment with adults in China (n = 358). Data show that, once the incentives are switched from monetary to child-benefitting, gender differences disappear. This result suggests that female competition can be just as intense as male competition given the right goals, indicating important implications for policies designed to promote gender equality. PMID:27114513

Competing for the benefit of offspring eliminates the gender gap in competitiveness.

PubMed

Cassar, Alessandra; Wordofa, Feven; Zhang, Y Jane

2016-05-10

Recent advances have highlighted the evolutionary significance of female competition, with the sexes pursuing different competitive strategies and women reserving their most intense competitive behaviors for the benefit of offspring. Influential economic experiments using cash incentives, however, have found evidence suggesting that women have a lower desire to compete than men. We hypothesize that the estimated gender differences critically depend on how we elicit them, especially on the incentives used. We test this hypothesis through an experiment with adults in China (n = 358). Data show that, once the incentives are switched from monetary to child-benefitting, gender differences disappear. This result suggests that female competition can be just as intense as male competition given the right goals, indicating important implications for policies designed to promote gender equality.

Gender and Psychological Essentialism

PubMed Central

Heyman, Gail D.; Giles, Jessica W.

2010-01-01

SUMMARY When individuals reason in an essentialist way about social categories, they assume that group differences reflect inherently different natures (Gelman, 2003; Rothbart & Taylor, 1992). This paper describes the psychological and social implications of essentialist beliefs, and examines the extent to which children exhibit psychological essentialism when reasoning about gender. The authors discuss reasons young children as well as older children show essentialist reasoning in some contexts, but not in others. Finally, the authors suggest directions for future research, and discuss a primary challenge to many working in this field: reduction of rigid gender beliefs. PMID:21528097

Do not forget the boys - gender differences in children living in high HIV-affected communities in South Africa and Malawi in a longitudinal, community-based study.

PubMed

Hensels, I S; Sherr, L; Skeen, S; Macedo, A; Roberts, K J; Tomlinson, M

2016-03-01

Gender is an important factor in child development. Especially in sub-Saharan Africa, girls have often been shown to be less likely to access education compared to boys. The consequence of this has been that that programmes addressing child development are often aimed at girls in order to redress gender imbalances. This study examines the effect of gender on the development of children attending community-based organisations in high HIV-affected areas, and explores whether community-based organisation attendance was associated with any changes in gender differences over time. Baseline data from 989 children and 12-15 month follow from 854 (86% response rate) were used to examine gender differences in children from Malawi and South Africa. At baseline, where there were differences by gender, these tended to disadvantage boys. It was found that boys were significantly more often found to be subjected to violence. Boys showed worse performance at school and more behavioural problems than girls. These gender differences persisted from baseline to follow-up. At follow-up, boys self-reported significantly worse average quality of life than girls. Only harsh discipline differed by gender in progression over time: boys experienced a stronger reduction in harsh physical discipline than girls from baseline to follow-up. Since harsh discipline was associated with boys' worse educational outcomes and behavioural problems, our data cautiously suggests that gender differences could be reduced over time. In conclusion, our data suggests that, perhaps due to the narrow equity approach focusing on provision for girls, boys may be overlooked. As a result, there are some specific experiences where boys are generally worse off. These differences have distinct ramifications for the educational and emotional development of boys. A broader equity approach to child development might be warranted to ensure that the needs of both girls and boys are considered, and that boys are not overlooked.

Do not forget the boys – gender differences in children living in high HIV-affected communities in South Africa and Malawi in a longitudinal, community-based study

PubMed Central

Hensels, I. S.; Sherr, L.; Skeen, S.; Macedo, A.; Roberts, K. J.; Tomlinson, M.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Gender is an important factor in child development. Especially in sub-Saharan Africa, girls have often been shown to be less likely to access education compared to boys. The consequence of this has been that that programmes addressing child development are often aimed at girls in order to redress gender imbalances. This study examines the effect of gender on the development of children attending community-based organisations in high HIV-affected areas, and explores whether community-based organisation attendance was associated with any changes in gender differences over time. Baseline data from 989 children and 12–15 month follow from 854 (86% response rate) were used to examine gender differences in children from Malawi and South Africa. At baseline, where there were differences by gender, these tended to disadvantage boys. It was found that boys were significantly more often found to be subjected to violence. Boys showed worse performance at school and more behavioural problems than girls. These gender differences persisted from baseline to follow-up. At follow-up, boys self-reported significantly worse average quality of life than girls. Only harsh discipline differed by gender in progression over time: boys experienced a stronger reduction in harsh physical discipline than girls from baseline to follow-up. Since harsh discipline was associated with boys’ worse educational outcomes and behavioural problems, our data cautiously suggests that gender differences could be reduced over time. In conclusion, our data suggests that, perhaps due to the narrow equity approach focusing on provision for girls, boys may be overlooked. As a result, there are some specific experiences where boys are generally worse off. These differences have distinct ramifications for the educational and emotional development of boys. A broader equity approach to child development might be warranted to ensure that the needs of both girls and boys are considered, and that boys are not overlooked. PMID:27392005

Are inferences from stereotyped role names to characters' gender made elaboratively?

PubMed

Garnham, Alan; Oakhill, Jane; Reynolds, David

2002-04-01

Two experiments provided evidence that gender stereotype inferences from role names--for example, that a surgeon is (probably) male--are made in a forward, elaborative, direction. We used sentences in which a person's gender was never made explicit, but was implied in two different ways. The two ways were by the use of a role name, and by mentioning an item of clothing (e.g., a bikini) or a biological characteristic (e.g., giving birth) that is typically associated with females or males. The two pieces of information (role name and clothing/biological characteristic) were presented in different orders in the two experiments. In both cases a mismatch between the associated genders slowed reading, showing that gender information has been activated. It is argued that if an inference about gender is made on the basis of the second piece of information, hence slowing comprehension, it is unlikely that the inference about gender based on the first piece of information was not made immediately.

Gender differences in extreme mathematical achievement: an international perspective on biological and social factors.

PubMed

Penner, Andrew M

2008-01-01

Genetic and other biological explanations have reemerged in recent scholarship on the underrepresentation of women in mathematics and the sciences. This study engages this debate by using international data-including math achievement scores from the Third International Mathematics and Sciences Study and country-level data from the World Bank, the United Nations, the International Labour Organization, the World Values Survey, and the International Social Survey Programme-to demonstrate the importance of social factors and to estimate an upper bound for the impact of genetic factors. The author argues that international variation provides a valuable opportunity to present simple and powerful arguments for the continued importance of social factors. In addition, where previous research has, by and large, focused on differences in population means, this work examines gender differences throughout the distribution. The article shows that there is considerable variation in gender differences internationally, a finding not easily explained by strictly biological theories. Modeling the cross-national variation in gender differences with country-level predictors reveals that differences among high achievers are related to gender inequality in the labor market and differences in the overall status of men and women.

Beyond Gender Stereotypes in Language Comprehension: Self Sex-Role Descriptions Affect the Brain's Potentials Associated with Agreement Processing.

PubMed

Canal, Paolo; Garnham, Alan; Oakhill, Jane

2015-01-01

We recorded Event-Related Potentials to investigate differences in the use of gender information during the processing of reflexive pronouns. Pronouns either matched the gender provided by role nouns (such as "king" or "engineer") or did not. We compared two types of gender information, definitional information, which is semantic in nature (a mother is female), or stereotypical (a nurse is likely to be female). When they followed definitional role-nouns, gender-mismatching pronouns elicited a P600 effect reflecting a failure in the agreement process. When instead the gender violation occurred after stereotypical role-nouns the Event Related Potential response was biphasic, being positive in parietal electrodes and negative in anterior left electrodes. The use of a correlational approach showed that those participants with more "feminine" or "expressive" self sex-role descriptions showed a P600 response for stereotype violations, suggesting that they experienced the mismatch as an agreement violation; whereas less "expressive" participants showed an Nref effect, indicating more effort spent in linking the pronouns with the possible, although less likely, counter-stereotypical referent.

Test Anxiety Prevalence and Gender Differences in a Sample of English Secondary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Putwain, Dave; Daly, Anthony L.

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to estimate the proportion of students who report themselves as highly test anxious in a sample of English secondary schools and whether this proportion differed by gender. Self-report test anxiety data were collected from 2435 secondary school students in 11 schools. Results showed that 16.4% of the sample reported…

Gender Differences in the Development of Dieting from Adolescence to Early Adulthood: A Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

von Soest, Tilmann; Wichstrom, Lars

2009-01-01

This study examines gender differences in the development of dieting among a representative sample of 1,368 Norwegian boys and girls. The respondents were followed over 3 time points from ages 13/14 to 20/21. Latent growth curve analyses were conducted showing that girls' dieting scores increased while boys' scores remained constant. Gender…

Evolution of division of labor: emergence of different activities among group members.

PubMed

Nakahashi, Wataru; Feldman, Marcus W

2014-05-07

The division of labor is an important component of the organization of human society. However, why this division evolved in hominids requires further investigation. Archeological evidence suggests that it appeared after the emergence of Homo sapiens and contributed to the great success of our species. We develop a mathematical model to investigate under what conditions division of labor should evolve. We assume two types of resources the acquisition of which demands different skills, and study the evolution of the strategy that an individual should use to divide its lifetime into learning and using each skill. We show that division of labor likely evolves when group size is large, skill learning is important for acquiring resources, and there is food sharing within a group. We also investigate division of labor by gender under the assumption that the genders have different efficiencies in acquiring each resource. We show that division of labor by gender likely evolves when skill learning is important and the difference in efficiencies between genders in acquiring resources is large. We discuss how the results of our analysis might apply to the evolution of division of labor in hominids. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Diversity or Difference? New Research Supports the Case for a Cultural Perspective on Women in Computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frieze, Carol; Quesenberry, Jeria L.; Kemp, Elizabeth; Velázquez, Anthony

2012-08-01

Gender difference approaches to the participation of women in computing have not provided adequate explanations for women's declining interest in computer science (CS) and related technical fields. Indeed, the search for gender differences can work against diversity which we define as a cross-gender spectrum of characteristics, interests, abilities, experiences, beliefs and identities. Our ongoing case studies at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) provide evidence to show that a focus on culture offers the most insightful and effective approach for investigating women's participation in CS. In this paper, we illustrate this approach and show the significance of cultural factors by describing a new case study which examines the attitudes of CS majors at CMU. Our analysis found that most men and women felt comfortable in the school, believed they could be successful in the CS environment at CMU, and thought they fit in socially and academically. In brief, we did not see any evidence of a strong gender divide in student attitudes towards fitting in or feeling like they could be successful; indeed we found that the Women-CS fit remained strong from prior years. Hence, our research demonstrates that women, alongside their male peers, can fit successfully into a CS environment and help shape that environment and computing culture, for the benefit of everyone, without accommodating presumed gender differences or any compromises to academic integrity.

Breakout session: Gender disparities in knee osteoarthritis and TKA.

PubMed

O'Connor, Mary I; Hooten, Elizabeth Gerken

2011-07-01

Biologically derived (sex-based) and behaviorally influenced (gender-based) disparities exist in knee osteoarthritis and treatment with TKA. We sought to highlight sex- and gender-based differences with respect to knee osteoarthritis and its treatment. Our purposes were to (1) define where we are now, (2) outline where we need to go, and (3) generate solutions to how we can get there. WHERE ARE WE NOW?: A growing body of evidence shows sex- and gender-based disparities contribute to differences in the incidence, treatment, and outcomes of patients with knee osteoarthritis. Moreover, the influence of unconscious provider bias in disparities in care is becoming recognized. WHERE DO WE NEED TO GO?: Sex- and gender-based differences need to be identified and translated into clinical practice to effect patient-centered sex- and gender-based medicine. Equitable and evidence-based care must be provided. HOW DO WE GET THERE?: Research must continue to focus on sex-based differences in cartilage degeneration and gender-related factors influencing the development and progression of knee osteoarthritis. Development of evidence-based guidelines for optimal timing of TKA would assist patients and clinicians with surgical decision-making. Training of healthcare providers to mitigate again unconscious basis is essential. Care must be patient-focused, with patients empowered to be full partners with providers in healthcare outcomes.

Gender differences in economic support and well-being of older Asians.

PubMed

Ofstedal, Mary Beth; Reidy, Erin; Knodel, John

2004-09-01

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of gender differences in economic support and well-being in eight countries in Southern and Eastern Asia (Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, and Taiwan). We examine multiple economic indicators, including sources of income, receipt of financial and material support, income levels, ownership of assets, and subjective well-being. Results show substantial variation in gender differences across indicators and provide an important qualification to widely held views concerning the globally disadvantaged position of older women. Whereas men tend to report higher levels of income than women, there is generally little gender difference in housing characteristics, asset ownership, or reports of subjective economic well-being. Unmarried women are economically advantaged compared to unmarried men in some respects, in part because they are more likely to be embedded in multigenerational households and receive both direct and indirect forms of support from family members.

Identification and the commitment shift: accounting for gender differences in relationship illusions.

PubMed

Gagné, Faby M; Lydon, John E

2003-07-01

Previous work revealed gender differences in relationship illusions. Women, and not men, perceived their dating partners more favorably than their partners' self-perceptions. In two studies, the authors replicated these findings and showed they are moderated by relationship commitment but not by relationship satisfaction. Dating men low in commitment devalued their partners' virtues, whereas those high in commitment exaggerated their partners' virtues compared to their partners' self-perceptions. In contrast, dating women showed relationship illusions irrespective of their commitment. In Study 2, similar results were obtained with relationship-specific identification. Moreover, men's commitment mediated the effect of identification with the relationship. This suggests that gender differences in relationship identities exist at a general level and that men need to identify with and then commit to a specific relationship before they exhibit pro-relationship thinking, which women exhibit as general dispositions.

Steep Decrease of Gender Difference in DSM-IV Alcohol Use Disorder: A Comparison of Two Nation-wide Surveys Conducted 10 Years Apart in Korea

PubMed Central

Seong, Su Jeong; Hong, Jin Pyo; Hahm, Bong-Jin; Jeon, Hong Jin; Sohn, Jee Hoon; Lee, Jun Young

2015-01-01

While decreasing trend in gender differences in alcohol use disorders was reported in Western countries, the change in Asian countries is unknown. This study aims to explore the shifts in gender difference in alcohol abuse (AA) and dependence (AD) in Korea. We compared the data from two nation-wide community surveys to evaluate gender differences in lifetime AA and AD by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). Face-to-face interviews using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) were applied to all subjects in 2001 (n=6,220) and 2011 (n=6,022). Male-to-female ratio of odds was decreased from 6.41 (95% CI, 4.81-8.54) to 4.37 (95% CI, 3.35-5.71) for AA and from 3.75 (95% CI, 2.96-4.75) to 2.40 (95% CI, 1.80-3.19) for AD. Among those aged 18-29, gender gap even became statistically insignificant for AA (OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 0.97-2.63) and AD (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.80-2.41) in 2011. Men generally showed decreased odds for AD (0.55; 95% CI, 0.45-0.67) and women aged 30-39 showed increased odds for AA (2.13; 95% CI 1.18-3.84) in 2011 compared to 2001. Decreased AD in men and increased AA in women seem to contribute to the decrease of gender gap. Increased risk for AA in young women suggests needs for interventions. PMID:26539014

The effects of single versus mixed gender treatment for adolescent girls with ADHD.

PubMed

Babinski, Dara E; Sibley, Margaret H; Ross, J Megan; Pelham, William E

2013-01-01

This study evaluated the social behavior of adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in single and mixed gender treatment settings. We collected ratings of social behavior (i.e., prosocial peer interactions, assertiveness, self-management, compliance, physical aggression, relational aggression) during single and mixed gender games within the Summer Treatment Program-Adolescent for 10 girls (M age = 13.17, 80% Hispanic) and 11 boys (M age = 12.89, 54.55% Hispanic). Counselors completed ratings immediately following 10 recreational periods for each adolescent they supervised (5 single gender games, 5 mixed gender games). Gender (female vs. male) × Setting (single vs. mixed gender) ANOVAs were conducted. If a significant interaction emerged, post hoc tests were also conducted. Several Gender × Setting interactions emerged, suggesting that girls benefit more from single gender formats than mixed gender formats. Girls showed more assertiveness, self-management, and compliance in single compared to mixed gender settings. A somewhat different pattern of results emerged for boys, which showed more appropriate social behavior (i.e., self-management, compliance) and less inappropriate social behavior (i.e., physical and relational aggression) in mixed gender settings compared to single gender settings. In contrast to previous ADHD treatment studies, these findings suggest that gender may impact treatment response for adolescents. Therefore, it is important that future studies evaluate whether current treatments for ADHD are appropriate for girls with ADHD and whether gender-specific treatments are necessary to address the unique difficulties of adolescent girls with ADHD.

The effects of single versus mixed gender treatment for adolescent girls with ADHD

PubMed Central

Babinski, Dara E.; Sibley, Margaret H.; Ross, J. Megan; Pelham, William E.

2013-01-01

Objective This study evaluated the social behavior of adolescents with ADHD in single and mixed gender treatment settings. Method We collected ratings of social behavior (i.e., prosocial peer interactions, assertiveness, self-management, compliance, physical aggression, relational aggression) during single and mixed gender games within the Summer Treatment Program-Adolescent (STP-A) for 10 girls (mean age 13.17, 80% Hispanic) and 11 boys (mean age 12.89, 54.55% Hispanic). Counselors completed ratings immediately following 10 recreational periods for each adolescent they supervised (5 single gender games, 5 mixed gender games). Gender (female versus male) x setting (single versus mixed gender) ANOVAs were conducted. If a significant interaction emerged, post hoc tests were also conducted. Results Several gender by setting interactions emerged, suggesting that girls benefit more from single gender formats than mixed gender formats. Girls showed more assertiveness, self-management, and compliance in single compared to mixed gender settings. A somewhat different pattern of results emerged for boys, which showed more appropriate social behavior (i.e., self-management, compliance) and less inappropriate social behavior (i.e., physical and relational aggression) in mixed gender settings compared to single gender settings. Conclusions In contrast to previous ADHD treatment studies, these findings suggest that gender may impact treatment response for adolescents. Therefore, it is important that future studies evaluate whether current treatments for ADHD are appropriate for girls with ADHD, and if gender-specific treatments are necessary to address the unique difficulties of adolescent girls with ADHD. PMID:23330787

Exercise intensity and gender difference of 3 different salsa dancing conditions.

PubMed

Emerenziani, G P; Guidetti, L; Gallotta, M C; Franciosi, E; Buzzachera, C F; Baldari, C

2013-04-01

The aims of this study were to estimate the difference in exercise intensity (METs), energy cost (EE) and gender difference between a typical salsa lesson (TSL), rueda de casino lesson (RCL), and salsa dancing at a night club (SDN). Subjects performed 1 pre-testing session and 3 testing conditions. During the pre-testing session height, weight and V˙O2max were assessed. During the testing conditions all subjects performed 3 different kinds of salsa dance. Heart rate was assessed during each dance condition. The exercise intensity of the 3 salsa dancing conditions was moderate ranging from 3.9 to 5.5 METs. A significant difference between genders for HRpeak (P=0.01), max%HRR (P=0.006) and mean EE (P=0.02) were observed. Significant gender×condition interactions for HRpeak (P=0.03), mean %HRR (P=0.02), mean METs (P=0.02) and mean EE (P=0.02) were found. In addition, a significant main effect for each condition was found in all variables (P<0.01). Our results showed that the exercise intensities of all 3 salsa dancing conditions were moderate. Findings showed some significant differences in exercise intensity between males and females and within conditions. Salsa dancing could be useful in achieving a significant training effect in people who have a low level of fitness. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Women (Do Not) Belong Here: Gender-Work Identity Conflict among Female Police Officers

PubMed Central

Veldman, Jenny; Meeussen, Loes; Van Laar, Colette; Phalet, Karen

2017-01-01

The current paper examines antecedents and consequences of perceiving conflict between gender and work identities in male-dominated professions. In a study among 657 employees working in 85 teams in the police force, we investigated the effect of being different from team members in terms of gender on employees’ perception that their team members see their gender identity as conflicting with their work identity. As expected in the police force as a male-dominated field, the results showed that gender-dissimilarity in the team was related to perceived gender-work identity conflict for women, and not for men. In turn, perceiving gender-work identity conflict was related to lower team identification for men and women. Although lowering team identification might enable employees to cope with conflicting social identities and hence protect the self, this may also have its costs, as lower team identification predicted higher turnover intentions, more burn-out symptoms, less extra role behavior, lower job satisfaction, lower work motivation, and lower perceived performance. Additionally, for women, experiencing support from their team members and team leader showed a trend to mitigate the relationship between gender-dissimilarity and perceived gender-work identity conflict, and a positive diversity climate was marginally related to less perceived gender-work identity conflict. The results show the importance of the team context in shaping a climate of (in)compatible identities for numerically underrepresented and historically undervalued social group members in order to hinder or protect their work outcomes. PMID:28220097

Women (Do Not) Belong Here: Gender-Work Identity Conflict among Female Police Officers.

PubMed

Veldman, Jenny; Meeussen, Loes; Van Laar, Colette; Phalet, Karen

2017-01-01

The current paper examines antecedents and consequences of perceiving conflict between gender and work identities in male-dominated professions. In a study among 657 employees working in 85 teams in the police force, we investigated the effect of being different from team members in terms of gender on employees' perception that their team members see their gender identity as conflicting with their work identity. As expected in the police force as a male-dominated field, the results showed that gender-dissimilarity in the team was related to perceived gender-work identity conflict for women, and not for men. In turn, perceiving gender-work identity conflict was related to lower team identification for men and women. Although lowering team identification might enable employees to cope with conflicting social identities and hence protect the self, this may also have its costs, as lower team identification predicted higher turnover intentions, more burn-out symptoms, less extra role behavior, lower job satisfaction, lower work motivation, and lower perceived performance. Additionally, for women, experiencing support from their team members and team leader showed a trend to mitigate the relationship between gender-dissimilarity and perceived gender-work identity conflict, and a positive diversity climate was marginally related to less perceived gender-work identity conflict. The results show the importance of the team context in shaping a climate of (in)compatible identities for numerically underrepresented and historically undervalued social group members in order to hinder or protect their work outcomes.

Lip line preference for variant face types.

PubMed

Anwar, Nabila; Fida, Mubassar

2012-06-01

To determine the effect of altered lip line on attractiveness and to find preferred lip line for vertical face types in both genders. Cross-sectional analytical study. The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from May to July 2009. Photographs of two selected subjects were altered to produce three face types for the same individual with the aim of keeping the frame of the smile constant. Lip line was then altered for both the subjects as: both dentitions visible, upper incisors visible, upper incisors and 2 mm gum and 4 mm gum visible. The pictures were rated by different professionals for attractiveness. Descriptive statistics for the raters and multiple factor ANOVA was used to find the most attractive lip line. The total number of raters was 100 with the mean age of 30.3 ± 8 years. The alterations in the smile parameters produced statistically significant difference in the attractiveness of faces, whereas the perception difference was found to be insignificant amongst raters of different professions. Preferred lip line was the one showing only the upper incisors in dolico and mesofacial male and female genders whereas 2 mm gum show was preferred in brachyfacial subjects. The variability in lip line showed significant difference in the perceived attractiveness. Preferred lip lines as the one showing only the upper incisors in dolico and mesofacial male and female genders whereas 2 mm gum show was preferred in brachyfacial subjects.

Reasons for dropout in swimmers, differences between gender and age and intentions to return to competition.

PubMed

Monteiro, Diogo M; Marinho, Daniel A; Moutão, João M; Vitorino, Anabela P; Antunes, Raúl N; Cid, Luís

2018-01-01

This study's main purpose was to analyze reasons for dropout in competitive swimmers and differences between gender and age groups. The influence of dropout on swimmers intentions to return to competition, invariance across gender and validation of Questionnaire of Reasons for Attrition were also analyzed. Study 1 - 366 athletes participated (N.=366; mean age 15.96, SD 5.99) and the data gathered was used for the exploratory analysis, and data gathered on 1008 athletes were used for the confirmatory analysis and the structural equations (N.=1008; mean age 16.26, SD 6.12); Study 2: 1008 athletes participated (N.=1008; mean age 16.26, SD 6.12) on the descriptive and inferential analysis of the reasons behind the practice dropout. The Questionnaire of Reasons Attrition was used in both studies to assess the reasons associated with the practice dropout. In study 1, the results showed an acceptable fit of the measurement model and invariance across gender and also predictive validity regarding swimmers intentions to return to competition (e.g., "demands/pressure" negatively predict intentions). In study 2, the main results showed that the most significant reason for dropout in both genders and all age groups was "dissatisfaction/other priorities"; the study also showed there to be differences between gender and age groups (e.g., female and younger athletes valued "demands/ pressure "more). This study offers useful guidelines for the training process and to support decisions on sports politics to be implemented to overcome the dropout rate. However, it is important to broaden the evidence to other sports and implement programs on identified priority areas based on longitudinal perspectives.

Age- and gender-related difference of vocal fold vibration and glottal configuration in normal speakers: analysis with glottal area waveform.

PubMed

Yamauchi, Akihito; Yokonishi, Hisayuki; Imagawa, Hiroshi; Sakakibara, Ken-Ichi; Nito, Takaharu; Tayama, Niro; Yamasoba, Tatsuya

2014-09-01

Glottal area waveform (GAW) analysis is widely used in the assessment of vocal fold vibration by high-speed digital imaging (HSDI). Because normative GAW data obtained from a large number of subjects have not been reported, we conducted a prospective study to obtain normative results for GAW analysis of HSDI findings and clarify normal variations associated with gender and age. Vocally healthy adults were divided into a young group (aged ≤ 35 years) and an elderly group (aged ≥ 65 years). The configuration and size of the glottal area were assessed at different phases of the glottal cycle, and gender- and age-related differences were evaluated. A total of 26 young subjects (nine men and 17 women; mean age: 27 years) and 20 elderly subjects (eight men and 12 women; mean age: 73 years) were investigated. The glottal area at different points of the glottal cycle showed a negative correlation with frequency. Although the GAW parameters of young women appeared to be different from those of the other subgroups, the differences were not statistically significant. Young women predominantly had a triangular- or vase-shaped glottal configuration at all frequencies, whereas the other subgroups showed various glottal shapes. The present study clarified gender- and age-related differences of GAW parameters obtained with HSDI. Young women were likely to show different glottal configurations and different responses to frequency changes from those of young men, elderly men, and elderly women. Phonosurgeons should pay attention to the normal variations detected in the present study. Copyright © 2014 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Males and females show differential brain activation to taste when hungry and sated in gustatory and reward areas

PubMed Central

Haase, Lori; Green, Erin; Murphy, Claire

2011-01-01

Although males and females differ in eating behavior and prevalence rates for eating disorders and obesity, little is known about gender differences in cortical activation to pleasant and unpleasant pure tastes during the physiological states of hunger and satiety. Twenty-one healthy young adults (12 females and 9 males) underwent two functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. Using four pure tastants of differing qualities (i.e., salty, sour, bitter, sweet), the present study examined gender differences in fMRI activation during two motivational states (hunger and satiety). There was greater change in fMRI activation from hunger to satiety in males than females in response to all tastes within the middle frontal gyrus (BA 10), insula, and cerebellum. Males also had greater change in activation from hunger to satiety, relative to females, in limbic regions including dorsal striatum, amygdala, parahippocampal gyrus, and posterior and anterior cingulate; however, activation was stimulus dependent, despite equivalent ratings in perceived pleasantness and intensity. Interestingly, males and females showed significant change from hunger to satiety in response to citric acid, suggesting that in addition to gender and physiological condition, stimulus quality is an important factor in taste fMRI activation. These gender differences may have implications for the pathophysiology of eating disorders and obesity. PMID:21718731

Gender Difference and Dietary Supplemental Vitamin B6: Impact on Colon Luminal Environment.

PubMed

Nirmagustina, Dwi Eva; Yang, Yongshou; Kumrungsee, Thanutchaporn; Yanaka, Noriyuki; Kato, Norihisa

2018-01-01

Colon diseases can be affected by several factors such as gender difference and dietary supplemental vitamin B 6 (B 6 ). The nutritional status of B 6 is affected by gender difference, leading us to hypothesize that gender difference affects colon luminal environment, which is dependent on B 6 status. To investigate this hypothesis, we fed male and female rats a diet containing 1 mg, 7 mg, or 35 mg pyridoxine HCl/kg diet for 6 wk. We found significantly higher fecal mucin levels in female rats compared to those in male rats. Supplemental B 6 significantly increased fecal mucins and was particularly profound in the female rats. The abundances of cecal and fecal Akkermansia muciniphila (mucin degrader) were unaffected. The fecal mucin levels were significantly correlated with colonic free threonine and serine and with gene expression of colon MUC16, implying that the combined effect of gender and dietary B 6 on fecal mucins was mediated by the alteration in the levels of such amino acids and MUC16 expression. This study further showed the significant effects of gender difference on colonic free amino acids such as threonine, ornithine, asparagine/aspartate ratio, and glutamine/glutamate ratio, cecal and fecal Lactobacillus spp. levels, and colonic gene expressions of MUC16 and TLR8, the factors relating to colon health and diseases. Therefore, our findings suggest that gender difference and dietary B 6 may have an impact on colon diseases by modulating these parameters.

Gender Differences in the Efficacy and Safety of Chronic Nightly Zolpidem

PubMed Central

Roehrs, Timothy A.; Roth, Thomas

2016-01-01

Study Objectives: Studies have shown pharmacokinetic differences for hypnotics in women compared to men, but few studies have assessed either short-or long-term differences in efficacy and safety. Methods: To evaluate gender differences in the efficacy and safety of chronic nightly zolpidem (10 mg), we did a post hoc assessment of a large clinical trial. In the trial, participants with primary insomnia (n = 89), ages 23–70, meeting DSM-IV-TR criteria for primary insomnia were randomized, double blind, to nightly zolpidem, 10 mg (n = 47) or placebo (n = 42) 30 minutes before bedtime nightly for 12 months. Polysomnographic sleep on 2 nights in months 1 and 8 and likelihood of next-day sleepiness, rebound insomnia, and dose escalation were evaluated in months 1, 4, and 12. Results: Relative to placebo, zolpidem significantly increased sleep efficiency and reduced sleep latency and wake after sleep onset assessed at months 1 and 8, with no differences in efficacy between women and men and no diminution of efficacy over months. On a next-day multiple sleep latency test (MSLT), no residual sedation was observed for either women or men. No rebound insomnia or dose escalation was seen with no gender differences in either. Conclusions: In adults with primary insomnia, nightly zolpidem administration showed no gender differences in acute or chronic efficacy or in next-day sleepiness. Zolpidem remained efficacious and safe across 12 months. Clincial Trials Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01006525; Trial Name: Safety and Efficacy of Chronic Hypnotic Use; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01006525. Citation: Roehrs TA, Roth T. Gender differences in the efficacy and safety of chronic nightly zolpidem. J Clin Sleep Med 2016;12(3):319–325. PMID:26446253

Cross-sectional growth changes in skeletal and soft tissue cephalometric landmarks of children.

PubMed

Inada, Emi; Saitoh, Issei; Hayasaki, Haruaki; Yamada, Chiaki; Iwase, Yoko; Takemoto, Yoshihiko; Matsumoto, Yuko; Yamasaki, Youichi

2008-07-01

In order to provide standard values for craniofacial growth of normal children, we evaluated the growth changes of skeletal and soft tissue cephalometric landmarks from lateral cephalograms of 180 Japanese children. They were divided into three groups: primary dentition, mixed dentition, and permanent dentition. Specific skeletal angles and distances showed significant gender differences with increasing age. The only significant soft tissue gender difference was nose height in the oldest group. Upper pharynx dimension and nose height differed significantly among the groups in both genders. Positions of both the upper and lower lip changed significantly between the intermediate and oldest groups of both genders. Nasolabial angle did not change significantly with growth. The results of this study should be useful for predicting craniofacial growth and development or determining the effect of orthodontic treatment.

Perception and understanding of intentions and actions: does gender matter?

PubMed

Pavlova, Marina

2009-01-09

Perception of intentions and dispositions of others through body motion, body language, gestures and actions is of immense importance for a variety of daily-life situations and adaptive social behavior. This ability is of particular value because of the potential discrepancy between verbal and non-verbal communication levels. Recent data shows that some aspects of visual social perception are gender dependent. The present study asks whether and, if so, how the ability for perception and understanding of others' intentions and actions depends on perceivers' gender. With this purpose in mind, a visual event arrangement (EA) task was administered to female and male participants of two groups, adolescents aged 13-16 years and young adults. The main outcome of the study shows no difference in performance on the EA task between female and male participants in both groups. The findings are discussed in terms of gender-related differences in behavioral components and brain mechanisms engaged in visual social perception.

The acquisition of gender labels in infancy: implications for gender-typed play.

PubMed

Zosuls, Kristina M; Ruble, Diane N; Tamis-Lemonda, Catherine S; Shrout, Patrick E; Bornstein, Marc H; Greulich, Faith K

2009-05-01

Two aspects of children's early gender development-the spontaneous production of gender labels and gender-typed play-were examined longitudinally in a sample of 82 children. Survival analysis, a statistical technique well suited to questions involving developmental transitions, was used to investigate the timing of the onset of children's gender labeling as based on mothers' biweekly telephone interviews regarding their children's language from 9 through 21 months. Videotapes of children's play both alone and with mother during home visits at 17 and 21 months were independently analyzed for play with gender-stereotyped and gender-neutral toys. Finally, the relation between gender labeling and gender-typed play was examined. Children transitioned to using gender labels at approximately 19 months, on average. Although girls and boys showed similar patterns in the development of gender labeling, girls began labeling significantly earlier than boys. Modest sex differences in play were present at 17 months and increased at 21 months. Gender labeling predicted increases in gender-typed play, suggesting that knowledge of gender categories might influence gender typing before the age of 2. Copyright 2009 APA, all rights reserved

Gender differences in patenting in the academic life sciences.

PubMed

Ding, Waverly W; Murray, Fiona; Stuart, Toby E

2006-08-04

We analyzed longitudinal data on academic careers and conducted interviews with faculty members to determine the scope and causes of the gender gap in patenting among life scientists. Our regressions on a random sample of 4227 life scientists over a 30-year period show that women faculty members patent at about 40% of the rate of men. We found that the gender gap has improved over time but remains large.

Children's gender and parents' color preferences.

PubMed

Cohen, Philip N

2013-04-01

Gender differences in color preferences have been found in adults and children, but they remain unexplained. This study asks whether the gendered social environment in adulthood affects parents' color preferences. The analysis used the gender of children to represent one aspect of the gendered social environment. Because having male versus female children in the U.S. is generally randomly distributed, it provides something of a natural experiment, offering evidence about the social construction of gender in adulthood. The participants were 749 adults with children who responded to an online survey invitation, asking "What's your favorite color?" Men were more likely to prefer blue, while women were more likely to prefer red, purple, and pink, consistent with long-standing U.S. patterns. The effect of having only sons was to widen the existing gender differences between men and women, increasing the odds that men prefer blue while reducing the odds that women do; and a marginally significant effect showed women having higher odds of preferring pink when they have sons only. The results suggest that, in addition to any genetic, biological or child-socialization effects shaping adults' tendency to segregate their color preferences by gender, the gender context of adulthood matters as well.

The effect of grammatical gender on object categorization.

PubMed

Cubelli, Roberto; Paolieri, Daniela; Lotto, Lorella; Job, Remo

2011-03-01

In 3 experiments, we investigated the effect of grammatical gender on object categorization. Participants were asked to judge whether 2 objects, whose names did or did not share grammatical gender, belonged to the same semantic category by pressing a key. Monolingual speakers of English (Experiment 1), Italian (Experiments 1 and 2), and Spanish (Experiments 2 and 3) were tested in their native language. Italian and Spanish participants responded faster to pairs of stimuli sharing the same gender, whereas no difference was observed for English participants. In Experiment 2, the pictures were chosen in such a way that the grammatical gender of the names was opposite in Italian and Spanish. Therefore, the same pair of stimuli gave rise to different patterns depending on the gender congruency of the names in the languages. In Experiment 3, Spanish speakers performed the same task under an articulatory suppression condition, showing no grammatical gender effect. The locus where meaning and gender interact can be located at the level of the lexical representation that specifies syntactic information: Nouns sharing the same grammatical gender activate each other, thus facilitating their processing and speeding up responses, either to semantically related pairs or to semantically unrelated pairs. 2011 APA, all rights reserved

Adolescent trust and trustworthiness: role of gender and social value orientation.

PubMed

Derks, Jeffrey; Lee, Nikki C; Krabbendam, Lydia

2014-12-01

Trusting others is an essential feature of adolescent development. The aim of this study was to investigate gender differences in trusting behavior using an experimental game and relate these to the underlying social preferences. 206 adolescents (Mage = 15.1 years, 51% girls) performed a series of one-shot Trust Games to measure their levels of trust and trustworthiness. Social value orientation, or the preference to maximize one's own outcomes (proself) or both the outcomes of self and other (prosocial) was assessed using the Triple Dominance Measure. Boys were more trusting than girls, but no gender differences on trustworthiness were found. Prosocials were more trusting and trustworthy than proselfs. In addition, gender and social value orientation were independent predictors of trust (but not trustworthiness). These findings show that the higher levels of trust in boys are not the result of a gender difference in prosocial orientation. Copyright © 2014 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Examination of Gender Differences on Cognitive and Motivational Factors That Influence 8th Graders' Science Achievement in Turkey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Acar, Ömer; Türkmen, Lütfullah; Bilgin, Ahmet

2015-01-01

We examined the influence of several students' cognitive and motivational factors on 8th graders' science achievement and also gender differences on factors that significantly contribute to the science achievement model. A total of 99 girls and 83 boys responded all the instruments used in this study. Results showed that girls outperformed boys on…

Women’s Job Search Competence: A Question of Motivation, Behavior, or Gender

PubMed Central

Llinares-Insa, Lucía I.; Córdoba-Iñesta, Ana I.; Zacarés-González, Juan J.

2018-01-01

We examined motivation and behaviors in women’s active job search in Spain and the gender gap in this process. The current crisis in Spain and the increase in the number of unemployed people have revealed new inequalities that particularly affect women’s employability, especially the most vulnerable women. This paper addresses two exploratory studies: the first study analyzes gender differences in the active job search using a sample of 236 Spanish participants; the second study explores the heterogeneity and diversity of unemployed women in a sample of 235 Spanish women. To analyze the active job search, the respondents were invited to write open-ended responses to questions about their job search behaviors and complete some questionnaires about their motivation for their active job search. The content analysis and quantitative results showed no significant differences in motivational attributes, but there were significant gender differences in the job search behavior (e.g., geographical mobility). Moreover, the results showed heterogeneity in unemployed women by educational level and family responsibilities. The asynchronies observed in a neoliberal context reveal the reproduction of social roles, social-labor vulnerability, and a gender gap. Thus, women’s behavior is an interface between employment and family work, but not their motivations or aspirations. Our results can have positive implications for labor gender equality by identifying indicators of effectiveness in training programs for women’s job search, and it can contribute to designing intervention empowerment policies for women. PMID:29487557

Gender differences in undergraduate medicine in Galway: a tale of two curricula.

PubMed

McVeigh, T P; Dunne, F P

2014-03-01

Medical teaching in the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) has undergone a shift from subject- to system-based learning. Our aims were to examine differences between genders in academic performance in medicine across two different curricula. Results of each student graduating between 2007 and 2012 for each subject undertaken over the medical degree were obtained from the Medical School. Data were collected with respect to gender, nationality and mode of entry, and analysis completed using SPSS. The cohort included 360 females and 249 males. 396 students read from a subject-based curriculum and 213 a system-based course. Females outperformed males in 19/24 (79 %) subjects in the subject-based curriculum, and in 9/38 (24 %) in the system-based course. Males were more likely to fail and less likely to achieve an honours degree. Multivariate analysis showed nationality and gender to be significant predictive factors. Females outperformed males overall. Differences were most pronounced in a subject-based curriculum. Nationality and gender were found to be significant factors in determining overall results.

Using a psychometric lens to examine gender differences on the FCI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindell, Rebecca; Papak, Alexis; Stewart, John; Traxler, Adrienne

2017-01-01

Multiple research studies show that there appears to be an inherent difference between male and female students' performance on the Force Concept Inventory (FCI). Unlike these studies, we chose to create two different samples, one with only female students and the other with only male students, to reduce the effects of the gender-imbalance inherent in a single sample of all physics students. Using a psychometric lens, we evaluate the differences between the male and female students' performance on the FCI. We utilized classical test theory to flag 13 items on the FCI that were poorly functioning for female students. Notably, most of these items were not flagged when the dataset was aggregated across genders. In the next stage of the research, we utilized Item Response Theory (IRT) to discover if the remaining 17 items on the FCI are also poorly functioning for female students. By eliminating the poorly functioning items on the FCI, we further examined the gender difference of the Force Concept Inventory.

Influence of pedestrian age and gender on spatial and temporal distribution of pedestrian crashes.

PubMed

Toran Pour, Alireza; Moridpour, Sara; Tay, Richard; Rajabifard, Abbas

2018-01-02

Every year, about 1.24 million people are killed in traffic crashes worldwide and more than 22% of these deaths are pedestrians. Therefore, pedestrian safety has become a significant traffic safety issue worldwide. In order to develop effective and targeted safety programs, the location- and time-specific influences on vehicle-pedestrian crashes must be assessed. The main purpose of this research is to explore the influence of pedestrian age and gender on the temporal and spatial distribution of vehicle-pedestrian crashes to identify the hotspots and hot times. Data for all vehicle-pedestrian crashes on public roadways in the Melbourne metropolitan area from 2004 to 2013 are used in this research. Spatial autocorrelation is applied in examining the vehicle-pedestrian crashes in geographic information systems (GIS) to identify any dependency between time and location of these crashes. Spider plots and kernel density estimation (KDE) are then used to determine the temporal and spatial patterns of vehicle-pedestrian crashes for different age groups and genders. Temporal analysis shows that pedestrian age has a significant influence on the temporal distribution of vehicle-pedestrian crashes. Furthermore, men and women have different crash patterns. In addition, results of the spatial analysis shows that areas with high risk of vehicle-pedestrian crashes can vary during different times of the day for different age groups and genders. For example, for those between ages 18 and 65, most vehicle-pedestrian crashes occur in the central business district (CBD) during the day, but between 7:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., crashes among this age group occur mostly around hotels, clubs, and bars. This research reveals that temporal and spatial distributions of vehicle-pedestrian crashes vary for different pedestrian age groups and genders. Therefore, specific safety measures should be in place during high crash times at different locations for different age groups and genders to increase the effectiveness of the countermeasures in preventing and reducing vehicle-pedestrian crashes.

Adolescent Self-Esteem: Differences by Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Age

PubMed Central

Bachman, Jerald G.; O’Malley, Patrick M.; Freedman-Doan, Peter; Trzesniewski, Kali H.; Donnellan, M. Brent

2012-01-01

Large-scale representative surveys of 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students in the United States show high self-esteem scores for all groups. African-American students score highest, Whites score slightly higher than Hispanics, and Asian Americans score lowest. Males score slightly higher than females. Multivariate controls for grades and college plans actually heighten these race/ethnic/gender differences. A truncated scoring method, designed to counter race/ethnic differences in extreme response style, reduced but did not eliminate the subgroup differences. Age differences in self-esteem are modest, with 12th graders reporting the highest scores. The findings are highly consistent across 18 annual surveys from 1991 through 2008, and self-esteem scores show little overall change during that period. PMID:22279425

Fish traders as key actors in fisheries: gender and adaptive management.

PubMed

Fröcklin, Sara; de la Torre-Castro, Maricela; Lindström, Lars; Jiddawi, Narriman S

2013-12-01

This paper fills an important gap towards adaptive management of small-scale fisheries by analyzing the gender dimension of fish trade in Zanzibar, Tanzania. We hypothesize that gender-based differences are present in the fish value chain and to test the hypothesis interviews were performed to analyze: (i) markets, customers, and mobility, (ii) material and economic resources, (iii) traded fish species, (iv) contacts and organizations, and (v) perceptions and experiences. Additionally, management documents were analyzed to examine the degree to which gender is considered. Results show that women traders had less access to social and economic resources, profitable markets, and high-value fish, which resulted in lower income. These gender inequalities are linked, among others, to women's reproductive roles such as childcare and household responsibilities. Formal fisheries management was found to be gender insensitive, showing how a crucial feedback element of adaptive management is missing in Zanzibar's management system, i.e., knowledge about key actors, their needs and challenges.

Gender differences in knee morphology and the prospects for implant design in total knee replacement.

PubMed

Asseln, Malte; Hänisch, Christoph; Schick, Fabian; Radermacher, Klaus

2018-05-14

Morphological differences between female and male knees have been reported in the literature, which led to the development of so-called gender-specific implants. However, detailed morphological descriptions covering the entire joint are rare and little is known regarding whether gender differences are real sexual dimorphisms or can be explained by overall differences in size. We comprehensively analysed knee morphology using 33 features of the femur and 21 features of the tibia to quantify knee shape. The landmark recognition and feature extraction based on three-dimensional surface data were fully automatically applied to 412 pathological (248 female and 164 male) knees undergoing total knee arthroplasty. Subsequently, an exploratory statistical analysis was performed and linear correlation analysis was used to investigate normalization factors and gender-specific differences. Statistically significant differences between genders were observed. These were pronounced for distance measurements and negligible for angular (relative) measurements. Female knees were significantly narrower at the same depth compared to male knees. The correlation analysis showed that linear correlations were higher for distance measurements defined in the same direction. After normalizing the distance features according to overall dimensions in the direction of their definition, gender-specific differences disappeared or were smaller than the related confidence intervals. Implants should not be linearly scaled according to one dimension. Instead, features in medial/lateral and anterior/posterior directions should be normalized separately (non-isotropic scaling). However, large inter-individual variations of the features remain after normalization, suggesting that patient-specific design solutions are required for an improved implant design, regardless of gender. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Gendered Peer Involvement in Girls with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia: Effects of Prenatal Androgens, Gendered Activities, and Gender Cognitions.

PubMed

Berenbaum, Sheri A; Beltz, Adriene M; Bryk, Kristina; McHale, Susan

2018-05-01

A key question in understanding gender development concerns the origins of sex segregation. Children's tendencies to interact with same-sex others have been hypothesized to result from gender identity and cognitions, behavioral compatibility, and personal characteristics. We examined whether prenatal androgen exposure was related to time spent with boys and girls, and how that gendered peer involvement was related to sex-typed activities and gender identity and cognitions. We studied 54 girls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) aged 10-13 years varying in degree of prenatal androgen exposure: 40 girls with classical CAH (C-CAH) exposed to high prenatal androgens and 14 girls with non-classical CAH (NC-CAH) exposed to low, female-typical, prenatal androgens. Home interviews and questionnaires provided assessments of gendered activity interests and participation, gender identity, and gender cognitions. Daily phone calls over 7 days assessed time spent in gendered activities and with peers. Girls with both C-CAH and NC-CAH interacted more with girls than with boys, with no significant group differences. The groups did not differ significantly in gender identity or gender cognitions, but girls with C-CAH spent more time in male-typed activities and less time in female-typed activities than did girls with NC-CAH. Time spent with girls reflected direct effects of gender identity/cognitions and gender-typed activities, and an indirect effect of prenatal androgens (CAH type) through gender-typed activities. Our results extend findings that prenatal androgens differentially affect gendered characteristics and that gendered peer interactions reflect combined effects of behavioral compatibility and feelings and cognitions about gender. The study also shows the value of natural experiments for testing hypotheses about gender development.

Mental health and developmental outcomes for children born after ART: a comparative prospective study on child gender and treatment type.

PubMed

Punamäki, Raija-Leena; Tiitinen, Aila; Lindblom, Jallu; Unkila-Kallio, Leila; Flykt, Marjo; Vänskä, Mervi; Poikkeus, Piia; Tulppala, Maija

2016-01-01

Do children born after assisted reproductive techniques (ART; IVF/ICSI) display more mental health issues or social and cognitive developmental problems at 7-8 years than naturally conceived (NC) controls, and does child gender play a role? ART children do not differ with regard to mental health or social and cognitive developmental problems when compared with controls, but some gender-specific differences do exist. Systematic reviews have not found any evidence of delays in neurocognitive or sensorimotor development in ART children. However findings on the effect of the type of ART treatment (IVF versus ICSI) on the offspring's physical and mental development have not been uniform. Knowledge of the role of child gender in ART research is scarce. This prospective follow-up study compares mental health and social and cognitive developmental problems between 7-8-year-old ART and NC children, controlling for the father's age, length of the parents' partnership, mother's parity, child's gestational age, and the need of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Further, within the ART group, we analysed whether the treatment type (IVF versus ICSI) and the child's gender are associated with the mental health and developmental outcomes. In this study, 255 singleton ART children (IVF and ICSI) were compared with 278 NC children on parent-reported internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and social (social skills and peer relations) and cognitive development (executive functioning, perception, memory, and language). Within the ART group, 164 IVF and 76 ICSI children were compared on the same outcomes. Statistics included analyses of covariates (ANCOVA) with group main effects, group and gender interaction effects, and Bonferroni post hoc tests. ART and NC children did not differ generally in terms of their internalizing and externalizing symptoms or in the number of social and cognitive developmental problems (Group main effects, P > 0.05), but gender-specific group differences existed. The ART boys showed lower levels of cognitive problems than the NC boys, whereas ART girls showed higher levels of cognitive problems than the NC girls (Group × Gender-interaction effects with Bonferroni post hoc tests on mother-reports, P < 0.01). Further, unlike in the NC group, where boys showed more externalizing symptoms and social and cognitive developmental problems than girls (Group × Gender-interaction effects with Bonferroni post hoc tests for both parents' reports, P < 0.05), gender differences were not found in the ART group. Within the ART group, IVF and ICSI children did not differ in terms of mental health or developmental outcomes, and no significant gender differences emerged. The information on children's mental health and development was based on parental reports only. The dropout rate between the child's first year and the school age assessments was very high for fathers (57.4%) and substantial for mothers (30.1%), and the participating group was biased for older age of both parents and for better education of the fathers. The findings indicate the importance of considering child gender in learning about multiple developmental outcomes among children born after ART. This study was supported by the Academy of Finland (#11232276), the Emil Aaltonen Foundation, The Family Federation of Finland, Helsinki University Central Hospital Research Funds, and the National Graduate School of Psychology. None of authors has any competing interests to declare. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Gender inequality in self-reported health among the elderly in contemporary welfare countries: A cross-country analysis of time use activities, socioeconomic positions and family characteristics

PubMed Central

Adjei, Nicholas Kofi; Brand, Tilman; Zeeb, Hajo

2017-01-01

Background Paradoxically, despite their longer life expectancy, women report poorer health than men. Time devoted to differing social roles could be an explanation for the observed gender differences in health among the elderly. The objective of this study was to explain gender differences in self-reported health among the elderly by taking time use activities, socio-economic positions, family characteristics and cross-national differences into account. Methods Data from the Multinational Time Use Study (MTUS) on 13,223 men and 18,192 women from Germany, Italy, Spain, UK and the US were analyzed. Multiple binary logistic regression models were used to examine the association between social factors and health for men and women separately. We further identified the relative contribution of different factors to total gender inequality in health using the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method. Results Whereas time allocated to paid work, housework and active leisure activities were positively associated with health, time devoted to passive leisure and personal activities were negatively associated with health among both men and women, but the magnitude of the association varied by gender and country. We found significant gender differences in health in Germany, Italy and Spain, but not in the other countries. The decomposition showed that differences in the time allocated to active leisure and level of educational attainment accounted for the largest health gap. Conclusions Our study represents a first step in understanding cross-national differences in the association between health status and time devoted to role-related activities among elderly men and women. The results, therefore, demonstrate the need of using an integrated framework of social factors in analyzing and explaining the gender and cross-national differences in the health of the elderly population. PMID:28949984

Gender inequality in self-reported health among the elderly in contemporary welfare countries: A cross-country analysis of time use activities, socioeconomic positions and family characteristics.

PubMed

Adjei, Nicholas Kofi; Brand, Tilman; Zeeb, Hajo

2017-01-01

Paradoxically, despite their longer life expectancy, women report poorer health than men. Time devoted to differing social roles could be an explanation for the observed gender differences in health among the elderly. The objective of this study was to explain gender differences in self-reported health among the elderly by taking time use activities, socio-economic positions, family characteristics and cross-national differences into account. Data from the Multinational Time Use Study (MTUS) on 13,223 men and 18,192 women from Germany, Italy, Spain, UK and the US were analyzed. Multiple binary logistic regression models were used to examine the association between social factors and health for men and women separately. We further identified the relative contribution of different factors to total gender inequality in health using the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method. Whereas time allocated to paid work, housework and active leisure activities were positively associated with health, time devoted to passive leisure and personal activities were negatively associated with health among both men and women, but the magnitude of the association varied by gender and country. We found significant gender differences in health in Germany, Italy and Spain, but not in the other countries. The decomposition showed that differences in the time allocated to active leisure and level of educational attainment accounted for the largest health gap. Our study represents a first step in understanding cross-national differences in the association between health status and time devoted to role-related activities among elderly men and women. The results, therefore, demonstrate the need of using an integrated framework of social factors in analyzing and explaining the gender and cross-national differences in the health of the elderly population.

[Socioeconomic inequalities and age and gender differences in cardiovascular risk factors].

PubMed

López-González, Ángel A; Bennasar-Veny, Miquel; Tauler, Pedro; Aguilo, Antoni; Tomàs-Salvà, Matias; Yáñez, Aina

2015-01-01

To describe the cardiovascular risk factors in a working population in the Balearic Islands and to examine whether differences by social class vary according to age and gender. A cross-sectional study was carried out in a sample of active workers aged 20-65 years in the Balearic Islands. The participants were included in the study during their annual work health assessment in 2011. The following variables were collected: occupation, social class, age, gender, height, weight, smoking, blood pressure, lipid profile, and glucose levels. Cardiovascular risk was calculated using two different equations (Framingham and REGICOR). Differences by social class were observed for most cardiovascular risk factors. The pattern of these differences differed depending on age group and gender. Differences in obesity by social class increased with age in women but decreased in men. More differences in hypertension by social class were found among women than among men, with differences increasing with age in both genders. Significant differences by social class were found among women in lipid profile, and these differences increased with age, mainly for low levels of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. Inequalities in cardiovascular risk factors by social class were higher among women than among men. Some cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking and obesity showed significant inequalities from a very early age. Copyright © 2014 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Gender differences in substance use, consequences, motivation to change, and treatment seeking in people with serious mental illness.

PubMed

Drapalski, Amy; Bennett, Melanie; Bellack, Alan

2011-01-01

Gender differences in patterns and consequences of substance use, treatment-seeking, and motivation to change were examined in two samples of people with serious mental illness (SMI) and comorbid substance use disorders (SUDs): a community sample not currently seeking substance abuse treatment (N = 175) and a treatment-seeking sample (N = 137). In both groups, women and men demonstrated more similarities in the pattern and severity of their substance use than differences. However, treatment-seeking women showed greater readiness to change their substance use. Mental health problems and traumatic experiences may prompt people with SMI and SUD to enter substance abuse treatment, regardless of gender.

Gender Differences in Substance Use, Consequences, Motivation to Change, and Treatment Seeking in People With Serious Mental Illness

PubMed Central

Drapalski, Amy; Bennett, Melanie; Bellack, Alan

2013-01-01

Gender differences in patterns and consequences of substance use, treatment-seeking, and motivation to change were examined in two samples of people with serious mental illness (SMI) and comorbid substance use disorders (SUDs): a community sample not currently seeking substance abuse treatment (N = 175) and a treatment-seeking sample (N = 137). In both groups, women and men demonstrated more similarities in the pattern and severity of their substance use than differences. However, treatment-seeking women showed greater readiness to change their substance use. Mental health problems and traumatic experiences may prompt people with SMI and SUD to enter substance abuse treatment, regardless of gender. PMID:21174496

(En)Gendering Knowledge: Feminists in Academe.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartman, Joan E., Ed.; Messer-Davidow, Ellen, Ed.

This book summarizes the major conceptual dilemmas facing feminist intellectuals in academia today. It shows how scholars in very different disciplines can draw on particularities of race, class, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and voice to enrich and contextualize the knowledge they produce. Examined are agency, perspectives, value judgments,…

The Influence of Sex Information on Gender Word Processing.

PubMed

Casado, Alba; Palma, Alfonso; Paolieri, Daniela

2018-06-01

Three different tasks (word repetition, lexical decision, and gender decision) were designed to explore the impact of the sex clues (sex of the speaker, sex of the addressee) and the type of gender (semantic, arbitrary) on the processing of isolated Spanish gendered words. The findings showed that the grammatical gender feature was accessed when no mandatory attentional focus was required. In addition, the results indicated that the participants organize information according to their own sex role, which provides more salience to the words that match in grammatical gender with their own sex role representation, even when the gender assignment is arbitrary. Finally, the sex of the speaker biased the lexical access and the grammatical gender selection, serving as a semantic prime when the two dimensions have a congruent relationship. Furthermore, the masculine form serves as the generic gender representing both male and female figures.

Gender Differences in Genetic Risk Profiles for Cardiovascular Disease

PubMed Central

Silander, Kaisa; Saarela, Olli; Ripatti, Samuli; Auro, Kirsi; Karvanen, Juha; Kulathinal, Sangita; Niemelä, Matti; Ellonen, Pekka; Vartiainen, Erkki; Jousilahti, Pekka; Saarela, Janna; Kuulasmaa, Kari; Evans, Alun; Perola, Markus; Salomaa, Veikko; Peltonen, Leena

2008-01-01

Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence, complications and burden differ markedly between women and men. Although there is variation in the distribution of lifestyle factors between the genders, they do not fully explain the differences in CVD incidence and suggest the existence of gender-specific genetic risk factors. We aimed to estimate whether the genetic risk profiles of coronary heart disease (CHD), ischemic stroke and the composite end-point of CVD differ between the genders. Methodology/Principal Findings We studied in two Finnish population cohorts, using the case-cohort design the association between common variation in 46 candidate genes and CHD, ischemic stroke, CVD, and CVD-related quantitative risk factors. We analyzed men and women jointly and also conducted genotype-gender interaction analysis. Several allelic variants conferred disease risk for men and women jointly, including rs1801020 in coagulation factor XII (HR = 1.31 (1.08–1.60) for CVD, uncorrected p = 0.006 multiplicative model). Variant rs11673407 in the fucosyltransferase 3 gene was strongly associated with waist/hip ratio (uncorrected p = 0.00005) in joint analysis. In interaction analysis we found statistical evidence of variant-gender interaction conferring risk of CHD and CVD: rs3742264 in the carboxypeptidase B2 gene, p(interaction) = 0.009 for CHD, and rs2774279 in the upstream stimulatory factor 1 gene, p(interaction) = 0.007 for CHD and CVD, showed strong association in women but not in men, while rs2069840 in interleukin 6 gene, p(interaction) = 0.004 for CVD, showed strong association in men but not in women (uncorrected p-values). Also, two variants in the selenoprotein S gene conferred risk for ischemic stroke in women, p(interaction) = 0.003 and 0.007. Importantly, we identified a larger number of gender-specific effects for women than for men. Conclusions/Significance A false discovery rate analysis suggests that we may expect half of the reported findings for combined gender analysis to be true positives, while at least third of the reported genotype-gender interaction results are true positives. The asymmetry in positive findings between the genders could imply that genetic risk loci for CVD are more readily detectable in women, while for men they are more confounded by environmental/lifestyle risk factors. The possible differences in genetic risk profiles between the genders should be addressed in more detail in genetic studies of CVD, and more focus on female CVD risk is also warranted in genome-wide association studies. PMID:18974842

Does Vocational Education Model fit to Fulfil Prisoners’ Needs Based on Gender?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayzaki, S. H.; Nurhaeni, I. D. A.

2018-02-01

Men and women have different needs, based on their gender or the socio-cultural construction. The government has issued a policy about accelerating the equivalence of gender since 2012 through responsive planning and budgeting. With the policy, every institution (including the institutions under the ministry of law and human rights) must integrate its gender perspective on planning and budgeting, then it can fulfill the different needs between men and women. One of the programs developed in prisons for prisoners is vocational education and technology for preparing the prisoners’ life after being released from the prison cells. This article was made for evaluating the vocational education and training given to the prisoners. Gender perspective is employed as the analyzing tool. The result was then used as the basis of formulating vocational education model integrating gender perspective. The research was conducted at the Prison of Demak Regency, Indonesia. The method used in the research is qualitative descriptive with data collection techniques using by in-depth interviews, observation and documentation. The data analysis uses statistic description of Harvard’s checklist category model and combined with Moser category model. The result shows that vocational education and training given have not considered the differences between men and women. As a result, the prisoners were still not able to understand their different needs which can cause gender injustice when they come into job market. It is suggested that gender perspective must be included as a teaching material in the vocational education and training.

Gender-stereotyping and cognitive sex differences in mixed- and same-sex groups.

PubMed

Hirnstein, Marco; Coloma Andrews, Lisa; Hausmann, Markus

2014-11-01

Sex differences in specific cognitive abilities are well documented, but the biological, psychological, and sociocultural interactions that may underlie these differences are largely unknown. We examined within a biopsychosocial approach how gender stereotypes affect cognitive sex differences when adult participants were tested in mixed- or same-sex groups. A total of 136 participants (70 women) were allocated to either mixed- or same-sex groups and completed a battery of sex-sensitive cognitive tests (i.e., mental rotation, verbal fluency, perceptual speed) after gender stereotypes or gender-neutral stereotypes (control) were activated. To study the potential role of testosterone as a mediator for group sex composition and stereotype boost/threat effects, saliva samples were taken before the stereotype manipulation and after cognitive testing. The results showed the typical male and female advantages in mental rotation and verbal fluency, respectively. In general, men and women who were tested in mixed-sex groups and whose gender stereotypes had not been activated performed best. Moreover, a stereotype threat effect emerged in verbal fluency with reduced performance in gender stereotyped men but not women. Testosterone levels did not mediate the effects of group sex composition and stereotype threat nor did we find any relationship between testosterone and cognitive performance in men and women. Taken together, the findings suggest that an interaction of gender stereotyping and group sex composition affects the performance of men and women in sex-sensitive cognitive tasks. Mixed-sex settings can, in fact, increase cognitive performance as long as gender-stereotyping is prevented.

Androgen and psychosexual development: core gender identity, sexual orientation and recalled childhood gender role behavior in women and men with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH).

PubMed

Hines, Melissa; Brook, Charles; Conway, Gerard S

2004-02-01

We assessed core gender identity, sexual orientation, and recalled childhood gender role behavior in 16 women and 9 men with CAH and in 15 unaffected female and 10 unaffected male relatives, all between the ages of 18 and 44 years. Women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) recalled significantly more male-typical play behavior as children than did unaffected women, whereas men with and without CAH did not differ. Women with CAH also reported significantly less satisfaction with the female sex of assignment and less heterosexual interest than did unaffected women. Again, men with CAH did not differ significantly from unaffected men in these respects. Our results for women with CAH are consistent with numerous prior reports indicating that girls with CAH show increased male-typical play behavior. They also support the hypotheses that these women show reduced heterosexual interest and reduced satisfaction with the female sex of assignment. Our results for males are consistent with most prior reports that boys with CAH do not show a general alteration in childhood play behavior. In addition, they provide initial evidence that core gender identity and sexual orientation are unaffected in men with CAH. Finally, among women with CAH, we found that recalled male-typical play in childhood correlated with reduced satisfaction with the female gender and reduced heterosexual interest in adulthood. Although prospective studies are needed, these results suggest that those girls with CAH who show the greatest alterations in childhood play behavior may be the most likely to develop a bisexual or homosexual orientation as adults and to be dissatisfied with the female sex of assignment.

Gender differences in "luxury food intake" owing to temporal distribution of eating occasions among adults of Hindu communities in lowland Nepal.

PubMed

Sudo, Noriko; Sekiyama, Makiko; Ohtsuka, Ryutaro; Maharjan, Makhan

2009-01-01

Our previous studies in developing countries have indicated that gender differences in intake of luxury foods incur risk of micronutrient deficiencies among women. As the next step, we examined the causes of gender differences in food intake by comparing eating patterns, including meal frequency (skipping) and temporal distribution of food consumption throughout the day among adults of Hindu communities in lowland Nepal. A total of 321 adults (126 men and 195 women) aged 20 years and above were randomly selected from 94 households in three rural communities. A face-to-face questionnaire-based 24-hour dietary recall interview was conducted whereby foods eaten throughout the six eating occasions (morning snack, breakfast, lunch, daytime snack, dinner, and evening snack) were recorded and analyzed. Results shows that men frequently skipped lunch (p <0.001), they also frequently consume daytime snack (p <0.001), and consumed purchased luxury foods such as tea with sugar and milk (p = 0.008) and samosa (p = 0.049) as daytime snack. The six-eating occasion analysis revealed that gender differences in food intake of rural Nepalese adults occurred during lunch and daytime snack, attributing to gender differences in daily activity patterns.

Demographic characteristics, social competence, and behavior problems in children with gender identity disorder: a cross-national, cross-clinic comparative analysis.

PubMed

Cohen-Kettenis, Peggy T; Owen, Allison; Kaijser, Vanessa G; Bradley, Susan J; Zucker, Kenneth J

2003-02-01

This study examined demographic characteristics, social competence, and behavior problems in clinic-referred children with gender identity problems in Toronto, Canada (N = 358), and Utrecht, The Netherlands (N = 130). The Toronto sample was, on average, about a year younger than the Utrecht sample at referral, had a higher percentage of boys, had a higher mean IQ, and was less likely to be living with both parents. On the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), both groups showed, on average, clinical range scores in both social competence and behavior problems. A CBCL-derived measure of poor peer relations showed that boys in both clinics had worse ratings than did the girls. A multiple regression analysis showed that poor peer relations were the strongest predictor of behavior problems in both samples. This study-the first cross-national, cross-clinic comparative analysis of children with gender identity disorder-found far more similarities than differences in both social competence and behavior problems. The most salient demographic difference was age at referral. Cross-national differences in factors that might influence referral patterns are discussed.

Foveal splitting causes differential processing of Chinese orthography in the male and female brain.

PubMed

Hsiao, Janet Hui-Wen; Shillcock, Richard

2005-10-01

Chinese characters contain separate phonetic and semantic radicals. A dominant character type exists in which the semantic radical is on the left and the phonetic radical on the right; an opposite, minority structure also exists, with the semantic radical on the right and the phonetic radical on the left. We show that, when asked to pronounce isolated tokens of these two character types, males responded significantly faster when the phonetic information was on the right, whereas females showed a non-significant tendency in the opposite direction. Recent research on foveal structure and reading suggests that the two halves of a centrally fixated character are initially processed in different hemispheres. The male brain typically relies more on the left hemisphere for phonological processing compared with the female brain, causing this gender difference to emerge. This interaction is predicted by an implemented computational model. This study supports the existence of a gender difference in phonological processing, and shows that the effects of foveal splitting in reading extend far enough into word recognition to interact with the gender of the reader in a naturalistic reading task.

Gender-related traits of heterosexual and homosexual men and women.

PubMed

Lippa, Richard A

2002-02-01

Two studies investigated the relation between sexual orientation and gender-related traits. Analyzing data from an Internet survey, Study 1 found that gay men and lesbians differed from same-sex heterosexuals most strongly on gender diagnosticity (GD) measures, which assess male- versus female-typicality of occupational preferences (effect sizes were 1.14 for men and 0.53 for women) and least strongly on instrumentality (I) and expressiveness (E). Study 2 found that GD measures showed large differences between 289 gay and 200 heterosexual men (d = 0.95) and between 296 lesbian and 435 heterosexual women (d = 1.32), whereas I and E showed much smaller differences. In Study 2 homosexual-heterosexual diagnosticity measures, computed from men's and women's occupational preferences, correlated very strongly with GD measures (r = 0.88 for men and 0.89 for women), indicating that occupational preference items that distinguished men from women also tended to distinguish heterosexual from homosexual individuals. LISREL 8 analyses showed that self-ascribed masculinity-femininity did not mediate the strong relation between sexual orientation and GD for men or for women.

Grammatical gender in German: a case for linguistic relativity?

PubMed

Bender, Andrea; Beller, Sieghard; Klauer, Karl Christoph

2011-09-01

The "principle of linguistic relativity" holds that, by way of grammatical categorization, language affects the conceptual representations of its speakers. Formal gender systems are a case in point, albeit a particularly controversial one: Previous studies obtained broadly diverging data, thus giving rise to conflicting conclusions. To a large extent, this incoherence is related to task differences and methodological problems. Here, a priming design is presented that avoids previous problems, as it prevents participants from employing gender information in a strategic manner. Four experiments with German native speakers show priming effects of the prime's grammatical gender on animate and nonanimate targets, an effect for the prime's biological gender on animate targets, but no effect for the prime's biological gender on nonanimate targets, and thus speak against an effect of language on thought for German gender.

Sex, gender, and pharmaceutical politics: From drug development to marketing.

PubMed

Fisher, Jill A; Ronald, Lorna M

2010-08-01

Biological sex differences and sociocultural gender norms affect the provision of health care products and services, but there has been little explicit analysis of the impact of sex differences and gender norms on the regulation of pharmaceutical development and marketing. This article provides an overview of the regulation of pharmaceuticals and examines the ways that regulatory agencies account for sex and gender in their review of scientific data and marketing materials. The primary focus is on the US context, but information is also included about regulatory models in Europe, Canada, and Japan for comparative purposes. Specific examples show how sex differences and gender norms influence scientific and policy decisions about pharmaceuticals. The United States and Canada were found to be the only countries that have explicit requirements to include women in clinical trials and to perform sex-based subgroup analysis on study results. The potential influence of politics on regulatory decisions may have led to an uneven application of standards, as seen through the examples of mifepristone (for abortion) and sildenafil citrate (for erectile dysfunction). Three detailed case studies illustrate the importance of considering sex and gender in pharmaceutical development and marketing: Phase I clinical trials; human papillomavirus quadrivalent vaccine; and tegaserod, a drug for irritable bowel syndrome. Sex and gender play important roles in pharmaceutical regulation, from the design of clinical trials and the approval of new drugs to advertising and postmarketing surveillance. However, regulatory agencies pay insufficient attention to both biological sex differences and sociocultural gender norms. This disregard perpetuates inequalities by ignoring drug safety problems that predominate in women and by allowing misleading drug marketing that reinforces gender stereotypes. Recommendations have been made to improve the regulation of pharmaceuticals in regard to sex and gender. Copyright © 2010 Excerpta Medica Inc. All rights reserved.

A Mixed-Method Approach on Digital Educational Games for K12: Gender, Attitudes and Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Law, Effie Lai-Chong; Gamble, Tim; Schwarz, Daniel; Kickmeier-Rust, Michael D.; Holzinger, Andreas

Research on the influence of gender on attitudes towards and performance in digital educational games (DEGs) has quite a long history. Generally, males tend to play such games more engagingly than females, consequently attitude and performance of males using DEGs should be presumably higher than that of females. This paper reports an investigation of a DEG, which was developed to enhance the acquisition of geographical knowledge, carried out on British, German and Austrian K12 students aged between 11 and 14. Methods include a survey on initial design concepts, user tests on the system and two single-gender focus groups. Gender and cultural differences in gameplay habit, game type preferences and game character perceptions were observed. The results showed that both genders similarly improved their geographical knowledge, although boys tended to have a higher level of positive user experience than the girls. The qualitative data from the focus groups illustrated some interesting gender differences in perceiving various aspects of the game.

The black gender gap in educational attainment: historical trends and racial comparisons.

PubMed

McDaniel, Anne; DiPrete, Thomas A; Buchmann, Claudia; Shwed, Uri

2011-08-01

It is often asserted that the gender gap in educational attainment is larger for blacks than whites, but historical trends comparing the black and white gender gap have received surprisingly little attention. Analysis of historical data from the U.S. census IPUMS samples shows that the gender gap in college completion has evolved differently for whites and blacks. Historically, the female advantage in educational attainment among blacks is linked to more favorable labor market opportunities and stronger incentives for employment for educated black women. Blacks, particularly black males, still lag far behind whites in their rates of college completion, but the striking educational gains of white women have caused the racial patterns of gender differences in college completion rates to grow more similar over time. While some have linked the disadvantaged position of black males to their high risk of incarceration, our estimates suggest that incarceration has a relatively small impact on the black gender gap and the racial gap in college completion rates for males in the United States.

Implementation of age and gender recognition system for intelligent digital signage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sang-Heon; Sohn, Myoung-Kyu; Kim, Hyunduk

2015-12-01

Intelligent digital signage systems transmit customized advertising and information by analyzing users and customers, unlike existing system that presented advertising in the form of broadcast without regard to type of customers. Currently, development of intelligent digital signage system has been pushed forward vigorously. In this study, we designed a system capable of analyzing gender and age of customers based on image obtained from camera, although there are many different methods for analyzing customers. We conducted age and gender recognition experiments using public database. The age/gender recognition experiments were performed through histogram matching method by extracting Local binary patterns (LBP) features after facial area on input image was normalized. The results of experiment showed that gender recognition rate was as high as approximately 97% on average. Age recognition was conducted based on categorization into 5 age classes. Age recognition rates for women and men were about 67% and 68%, respectively when that conducted separately for different gender.

Regional grey matter structure differences between transsexuals and healthy controls--a voxel based morphometry study.

PubMed

Simon, Lajos; Kozák, Lajos R; Simon, Viktória; Czobor, Pál; Unoka, Zsolt; Szabó, Ádám; Csukly, Gábor

2013-01-01

Gender identity disorder (GID) refers to transsexual individuals who feel that their assigned biological gender is incongruent with their gender identity and this cannot be explained by any physical intersex condition. There is growing scientific interest in the last decades in studying the neuroanatomy and brain functions of transsexual individuals to better understand both the neuroanatomical features of transsexualism and the background of gender identity. So far, results are inconclusive but in general, transsexualism has been associated with a distinct neuroanatomical pattern. Studies mainly focused on male to female (MTF) transsexuals and there is scarcity of data acquired on female to male (FTM) transsexuals. Thus, our aim was to analyze structural MRI data with voxel based morphometry (VBM) obtained from both FTM and MTF transsexuals (n = 17) and compare them to the data of 18 age matched healthy control subjects (both males and females). We found differences in the regional grey matter (GM) structure of transsexual compared with control subjects, independent from their biological gender, in the cerebellum, the left angular gyrus and in the left inferior parietal lobule. Additionally, our findings showed that in several brain areas, regarding their GM volume, transsexual subjects did not differ significantly from controls sharing their gender identity but were different from those sharing their biological gender (areas in the left and right precentral gyri, the left postcentral gyrus, the left posterior cingulate, precuneus and calcarinus, the right cuneus, the right fusiform, lingual, middle and inferior occipital, and inferior temporal gyri). These results support the notion that structural brain differences exist between transsexual and healthy control subjects and that majority of these structural differences are dependent on the biological gender.

Regional Grey Matter Structure Differences between Transsexuals and Healthy Controls—A Voxel Based Morphometry Study

PubMed Central

Simon, Lajos; Kozák, Lajos R.; Simon, Viktória; Czobor, Pál; Unoka, Zsolt; Szabó, Ádám; Csukly, Gábor

2013-01-01

Gender identity disorder (GID) refers to transsexual individuals who feel that their assigned biological gender is incongruent with their gender identity and this cannot be explained by any physical intersex condition. There is growing scientific interest in the last decades in studying the neuroanatomy and brain functions of transsexual individuals to better understand both the neuroanatomical features of transsexualism and the background of gender identity. So far, results are inconclusive but in general, transsexualism has been associated with a distinct neuroanatomical pattern. Studies mainly focused on male to female (MTF) transsexuals and there is scarcity of data acquired on female to male (FTM) transsexuals. Thus, our aim was to analyze structural MRI data with voxel based morphometry (VBM) obtained from both FTM and MTF transsexuals (n = 17) and compare them to the data of 18 age matched healthy control subjects (both males and females). We found differences in the regional grey matter (GM) structure of transsexual compared with control subjects, independent from their biological gender, in the cerebellum, the left angular gyrus and in the left inferior parietal lobule. Additionally, our findings showed that in several brain areas, regarding their GM volume, transsexual subjects did not differ significantly from controls sharing their gender identity but were different from those sharing their biological gender (areas in the left and right precentral gyri, the left postcentral gyrus, the left posterior cingulate, precuneus and calcarinus, the right cuneus, the right fusiform, lingual, middle and inferior occipital, and inferior temporal gyri). These results support the notion that structural brain differences exist between transsexual and healthy control subjects and that majority of these structural differences are dependent on the biological gender. PMID:24391851

Adolescent Gender Differences in Cognitive Control Performance and Functional Connectivity Between Default Mode and Fronto-Parietal Networks Within a Self-Referential Context

PubMed Central

Alarcón, Gabriela; Pfeifer, Jennifer H.; Fair, Damien A.; Nagel, Bonnie J.

2018-01-01

Ineffective reduction of functional connectivity between the default mode network (DMN) and frontoparietal network (FPN) during cognitive control can interfere with performance in healthy individuals—a phenomenon present in psychiatric disorders, such as depression. Here, this mechanism is studied in healthy adolescents by examining gender differences in task-regressed functional connectivity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a novel task designed to place the DMN—supporting self-referential processing (SRP)—and FPN—supporting cognitive control—into conflict. Compared to boys, girls showed stronger functional connectivity between DMN and FPN during cognitive control in an SRP context (n = 40; boys = 20), a context that also elicited more errors of omission in girls. The gender difference in errors of omission was mediated by higher self-reported co-rumination—the extensive and repetitive discussion of problems and focus on negative feelings with a same-gender peer—by girls, compared to boys. These findings indicate that placing internal and external attentional demands in conflict lead to persistent functional connectivity between FPN and DMN in girls, but not boys; however, deficits in performance during this context were explained by co-rumination, such that youth with higher co-rumination displayed the largest performance deficits. Previous research shows that co-rumination predicts depressive symptoms during adolescence; thus, gender differences in the mechanisms involved with transitioning from internal to external processing may be relevant for understanding heightened vulnerability for depression in adolescent girls. PMID:29740292

Adolescent Gender Differences in Cognitive Control Performance and Functional Connectivity Between Default Mode and Fronto-Parietal Networks Within a Self-Referential Context.

PubMed

Alarcón, Gabriela; Pfeifer, Jennifer H; Fair, Damien A; Nagel, Bonnie J

2018-01-01

Ineffective reduction of functional connectivity between the default mode network (DMN) and frontoparietal network (FPN) during cognitive control can interfere with performance in healthy individuals-a phenomenon present in psychiatric disorders, such as depression. Here, this mechanism is studied in healthy adolescents by examining gender differences in task-regressed functional connectivity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a novel task designed to place the DMN-supporting self-referential processing (SRP)-and FPN-supporting cognitive control-into conflict. Compared to boys, girls showed stronger functional connectivity between DMN and FPN during cognitive control in an SRP context ( n = 40; boys = 20), a context that also elicited more errors of omission in girls. The gender difference in errors of omission was mediated by higher self-reported co-rumination-the extensive and repetitive discussion of problems and focus on negative feelings with a same-gender peer-by girls, compared to boys. These findings indicate that placing internal and external attentional demands in conflict lead to persistent functional connectivity between FPN and DMN in girls, but not boys; however, deficits in performance during this context were explained by co-rumination, such that youth with higher co-rumination displayed the largest performance deficits. Previous research shows that co-rumination predicts depressive symptoms during adolescence; thus, gender differences in the mechanisms involved with transitioning from internal to external processing may be relevant for understanding heightened vulnerability for depression in adolescent girls.

Beyond Gender Stereotypes in Language Comprehension: Self Sex-Role Descriptions Affect the Brain’s Potentials Associated with Agreement Processing

PubMed Central

Canal, Paolo; Garnham, Alan; Oakhill, Jane

2015-01-01

We recorded Event-Related Potentials to investigate differences in the use of gender information during the processing of reflexive pronouns. Pronouns either matched the gender provided by role nouns (such as “king” or “engineer”) or did not. We compared two types of gender information, definitional information, which is semantic in nature (a mother is female), or stereotypical (a nurse is likely to be female). When they followed definitional role-nouns, gender-mismatching pronouns elicited a P600 effect reflecting a failure in the agreement process. When instead the gender violation occurred after stereotypical role-nouns the Event Related Potential response was biphasic, being positive in parietal electrodes and negative in anterior left electrodes. The use of a correlational approach showed that those participants with more “feminine” or “expressive” self sex-role descriptions showed a P600 response for stereotype violations, suggesting that they experienced the mismatch as an agreement violation; whereas less “expressive” participants showed an Nref effect, indicating more effort spent in linking the pronouns with the possible, although less likely, counter-stereotypical referent. PMID:26779046

Trends in child immunization across geographical regions in India: focus on urban-rural and gender differentials.

PubMed

Singh, Prashant Kumar

2013-01-01

Although child immunization is regarded as a highly cost-effective lifesaver, about fifty percent of the eligible children aged 12-23 months in India are without essential immunization coverage. Despite several programmatic initiatives, urban-rural and gender difference in child immunization pose an intimidating challenge to India's public health agenda. This study assesses the urban-rural and gender difference in child immunization coverage during 1992-2006 across six major geographical regions in India. Three rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted during 1992-93, 1998-99 and 2005-06 were analyzed. Bivariate analyses, urban-rural and gender inequality ratios, and the multivariate-pooled logistic regression model were applied to examine the trends and patterns of inequalities over time. The analysis of change over one and half decades (1992-2006) shows considerable variations in child immunization coverage across six geographical regions in India. Despite a decline in urban-rural and gender differences over time, children residing in rural areas and girls remained disadvantaged. Moreover, northeast, west and south regions, which had the lowest gender inequality in 1992 observed an increase in gender difference over time. Similarly, urban-rural inequality increased in the west region during 1992-2006. This study suggests periodic evaluation of the health care system is vital to assess the between and within group difference beyond average improvement. It is essential to integrate strong immunization systems with broad health systems and coordinate with other primary health care delivery programs to augment immunization coverage.

The gender gap in peer-reviewed publications by physical therapy faculty members: a productivity puzzle.

PubMed

Kaufman, Regina R; Chevan, Julia

2011-01-01

Studies of peer-reviewed article publication by faculty in higher education show men publish more than women. Part of the difference in publishing appears to be attributable directly to gender. Gender differences in publishing productivity have not been explored in physical therapy. The purpose of this study was to explore effects of gender on peer-reviewed publication productivity in physical therapy. This was a cross-sectional study using survey methods. A survey was administered to a random sample of 881 physical therapy faculty members; 459 responses were used for analysis. Men were more likely than women to be married, have children, hold a PhD degree, be tenured or on a tenure track, and hold the position of department chair. There was a significant difference in peer-reviewed publication rates between male and female respondents. Negative binomial regression models revealed that female gender was a negative predictor of peer-reviewed publication, accounting for between 0.51 and 0.58 fewer articles per year for women than for men over the course of a career. Reasons for the gender differences are not clear. Factors such as grant funding, laboratory resources, nature of collaborative relationships, values for different elements of the teaching/research/service triad, and ability to negotiate the academic culture were not captured by our model. The gender gap in peer-reviewed publishing productivity may have implications for individuals and the profession of physical therapy and should be subject to further exploration.

Exploring international gender differences in mathematics self-concept

PubMed Central

Goldman, Amy D.; Penner, Andrew M.

2013-01-01

This study provides an international perspective on mathematics by examnnng mathematics self-concept, achievement, and the desire to enter a career involving mathematics among eighth graders in 49 countries. Using data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, this study shows that self-concept in mathematics is more closely related to the desire to enter a career using mathematics than achievement is. Further, while gender differences in mathematics self-concept are smaller in more egalitarian countries, both girls and boys have lower mathematics self-concepts and less interest in mathematics careers in these countries. These findings reveal a policy paradox: policies aimed at training the next generation of STEM professionals often highlight the need to close the gender gap, but countries with smaller gender gaps have fewer boys and girls interested in mathematics-intensive careers. We conclude by highlighting the importance of disentangling instrumental and expressive aspects of gender inequality in STEM fields. PMID:27840545

The association of gender, age, and intelligence with neuropsychological functioning in young typically developing children: The Generation R study.

PubMed

Mous, Sabine E; Schoemaker, Nikita K; Blanken, Laura M E; Thijssen, Sandra; van der Ende, Jan; Polderman, Tinca J C; Jaddoe, Vincent W V; Hofman, Albert; Verhulst, Frank C; Tiemeier, Henning; White, Tonya

2017-01-01

Although early childhood is a period of rapid neurocognitive development, few studies have assessed neuropsychological functioning in various cognitive domains in young typically developing children. Also, results regarding its association with gender and intelligence are mixed. In 853 typically developing children aged 6 to 10 years old, the association of gender, age, and intelligence with neuropsychological functioning in the domains of attention, executive functioning, language, memory, sensorimotor functioning, and visuospatial processing was explored. Clear positive associations with age were observed. In addition, gender differences were found and showed that girls generally outperformed boys, with the exception of visuospatial tasks. Furthermore, IQ was positively associated with neuropsychological functioning, which was strongest in visuospatial tasks. Performance in different neuropsychological domains was associated with age, gender, and intelligence in young typically developing children, and these factors should be taken into account when assessing neuropsychological functioning in clinical or research settings.

Individual differences in children's pronoun processing during reading: Detection of incongruence is associated with higher reading fluency and more regressions.

PubMed

Eilers, Sarah; Tiffin-Richards, Simon P; Schroeder, Sascha

2018-05-10

In two eye tracking experiments, we tested fourth graders' and adults' sensitivity to gender feature mismatches during reading of pronouns and their susceptibility to interference of feature-matching entities in the sentence. In Experiment 1, we showed children and adults two-phrase sentences such as "Leon{m}/Lisa{f} shooed away the sparrow{m}/the seagull{f} and then he{m} ate the tasty sandwich." Eye tracking measures showed no qualitative differences between children's and adults' processing of the pronouns. Both age groups showed longer gaze durations on subject mismatching than on matching pronouns, and there was no evidence of interference of a gender-matching object. Strikingly, in contrast to the adults, not all fourth graders reported detection of the subject gender mismatch. In Experiment 2, we replicated earlier results with a larger sample of children (N = 75) and found that only half of the fourth graders detected the gender mismatch during reading. The detectors' reading pattern at the pronoun differed from that of the non-detectors. Children who reported detection of the mismatch showed a reading pattern more similar to the adults. Children who did not report detection of the mismatch had comparably slower gaze durations and were less likely to make regressions directly at the pronoun. We conclude that children who read more fluently use their available processing resources to immediately repair grammatical inconsistencies encountered in a text. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Countries with Higher Levels of Gender Equality Show Larger National Sex Differences in Mathematics Anxiety and Relatively Lower Parental Mathematics Valuation for Girls

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Despite international advancements in gender equality across a variety of societal domains, the underrepresentation of girls and women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) related fields persists. In this study, we explored the possibility that the sex difference in mathematics anxiety contributes to this disparity. More specifically, we tested a number of predictions from the prominent gender stratification model, which is the leading psychological theory of cross-national patterns of sex differences in mathematics anxiety and performance. To this end, we analyzed data from 761,655 15-year old students across 68 nations who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Most importantly and contra predictions, we showed that economically developed and more gender equal countries have a lower overall level of mathematics anxiety, and yet a larger national sex difference in mathematics anxiety relative to less developed countries. Further, although relatively more mothers work in STEM fields in more developed countries, these parents valued, on average, mathematical competence more in their sons than their daughters. The proportion of mothers working in STEM was unrelated to sex differences in mathematics anxiety or performance. We propose that the gender stratification model fails to account for these national patterns and that an alternative model is needed. In the discussion, we suggest how an interaction between socio-cultural values and sex-specific psychological traits can better explain these patterns. We also discuss implications for policies aiming to increase girls’ STEM participation. PMID:27100631

Countries with Higher Levels of Gender Equality Show Larger National Sex Differences in Mathematics Anxiety and Relatively Lower Parental Mathematics Valuation for Girls.

PubMed

Stoet, Gijsbert; Bailey, Drew H; Moore, Alex M; Geary, David C

2016-01-01

Despite international advancements in gender equality across a variety of societal domains, the underrepresentation of girls and women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) related fields persists. In this study, we explored the possibility that the sex difference in mathematics anxiety contributes to this disparity. More specifically, we tested a number of predictions from the prominent gender stratification model, which is the leading psychological theory of cross-national patterns of sex differences in mathematics anxiety and performance. To this end, we analyzed data from 761,655 15-year old students across 68 nations who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Most importantly and contra predictions, we showed that economically developed and more gender equal countries have a lower overall level of mathematics anxiety, and yet a larger national sex difference in mathematics anxiety relative to less developed countries. Further, although relatively more mothers work in STEM fields in more developed countries, these parents valued, on average, mathematical competence more in their sons than their daughters. The proportion of mothers working in STEM was unrelated to sex differences in mathematics anxiety or performance. We propose that the gender stratification model fails to account for these national patterns and that an alternative model is needed. In the discussion, we suggest how an interaction between socio-cultural values and sex-specific psychological traits can better explain these patterns. We also discuss implications for policies aiming to increase girls' STEM participation.

Brain responses mediating idiom comprehension: gender and hemispheric differences.

PubMed

Kana, Rajesh K; Murdaugh, Donna L; Wolfe, Kelly R; Kumar, Sandhya L

2012-07-27

Processing figurative language, such as idioms, is unique in that it requires one to make associations between words and non-literal meanings that are contextually appropriate. At the neural level, processing idiomatic phrases has been linked to recruitment of bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortices (DLPFC), the left temporal cortex, superior medial prefrontal gyrus (MPFC), and the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG). This functional MRI study examined the brain responses associated with processing idiomatic compared to literal sentences. In addition, gender differences in neural responses associated with language comprehension were also explored. In an fMRI scanner, thirty-six healthy adult volunteers viewed sentences that were either literal or idiomatic in nature, and answered subsequent comprehension questions. This sentence comprehension tasks activated mainly prefrontal language areas (LIFG, LSFG, and RMFG). Consistent with previous findings, idiomatic sentences showed increased response in LIFG. These results are discussed in the backdrop of the graded salience hypothesis. Furthermore, we found gender differences in brain activation and functional connectivity during this task. Women showed greater overall activation than men when comprehending literal and idiomatic sentences; whereas men had significantly greater functional connectivity between LIFG and LMTG than women across tasks. Overall, the findings of this study highlight the gender differences in neural responses associated with figurative language comprehension. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Cross-Cultural and Gender Differences in ADHD Among Young Adults.

PubMed

Gómez-Benito, Juana; Van de Vijver, Fons J R; Balluerka, Nekane; Caterino, Linda

2015-10-29

This study explored the effect of cultural and gender differences in ADHD among Spanish, African American, Hispanic American, and European American young adults. Structural equivalence between the four groups was examined by Tucker's phi coefficient. A MANCOVA was carried out with cultural groups and gender as factors and age as covariate. Structural equivalence was observed across all groups, and no differential item functioning was found. No significant effect was found for gender, although, with the exception of the Hispanic group, males scored higher than females. Furthermore, small, though significant, cultural differences were found. The lowest levels of ADHD were observed in the European American group and the highest in the Hispanic American group. ADHD symptoms, notably inattention, showed some decline with age. Findings extend existing data and suggest a relationship between culture and the development of ADHD, which might be mediated by parenting style. © The Author(s) 2015.

"Prince Charming Syndrome?" Gender gap in preferences for defined contribution pensions in Japan.

PubMed

Watanabe, Satoshi P

2017-01-01

Using survey data collected by the Japan Institute of Life Insurance in 2002, this study finds that a significant gender gap existed in defined contribution (DC) pension knowledge among workers employed at small- to medium-sized private firms in Japan. Even with similar DC knowledge, however, men and women reveal different preferences for DC pensions, indicating that their perceptional responses may widely differ from actual behaviors. Apart from the knowledge gap, the result shows evidence of the Prince Charming Syndrome among female employees as a significant source of the gender gap in DC participation rates. Among corporate pension-covered employees, the gender difference in the efficacy of DC portability is a more significant gap-generating factor. DC tax advantage is particularly favored by pension-covered female employees over male counterparts, reducing the DC preference gap. No similar evidence is found for employees with no corporate pension coverage.

Investigating m-Health Acceptance from a Protection Motivation Theory Perspective: Gender and Age Differences.

PubMed

Guo, Xitong; Han, Xiaocui; Zhang, Xiaofei; Dang, Yuanyuan; Chen, Chun

2015-08-01

Mobile health (m-health) services are becoming increasingly important and widely accepted. However, empirical studies on potential users' m-health acceptance behavior remain underexplored. Indeed, m-health adoption is not only a technology acceptance behavior, but also a health-related behavior. Based on the Protection Motivation Theory, this article explores users' m-health adoption behavior from the perspectives of threat appraisal and coping appraisal, and also examines the moderating role of gender and age through a survey of potential users. The survey was conducted among 500 potential m-health service participants. Our results show that threat appraisal and coping appraisal factors influence adoption intention through attitude. It is also found that gender and age play different moderating roles with threat appraisal and coping appraisal factors. Gender and age play different roles between threat appraisal and coping appraisal factors in the acceptance of m-health. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Gender differences in the neural underpinning of perceiving and appreciating the beauty of the body.

PubMed

Cazzato, Valentina; Mele, Sonia; Urgesi, Cosimo

2014-05-01

Although previous studies have suggested a certain degree of right hemisphere dominance for the response of extrastriate body area (EBA) during body perception, recent evidence suggests that this functional lateralization may differ between men and women. It is unknown, however, whether and how gender differences in body perception affect appreciating the beauty of the body of conspecifics. Here, we applied five 10-Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) pulses over left and right EBA and over the vertex to investigate the contribution of visual body representations in the two hemispheres on esthetic body perception. Female and male healthy volunteers were requested to judge how much they liked opposite- and same-gender virtual model bodies or to judge their weight, thus allowing us to compare the effects of right- and left-EBA rTMS on esthetic (liking) and perceptual (weight) judgments of human bodies. The analysis of the esthetic judgments provided by women revealed that right-EBA rTMS increased the liking judgments of opposite- but not same-gender models, as compared to both vertex and left EBA stimulation. Conversely, in men the liking judgments of opposite-gender models decreased after virtual disruption of both right and left EBA as compared to vertex stimulation. Crucially, no significant effect was found for the perceptual task, showing that left- and right-EBA rTMS did not affect weight perception. Our results provide evidence of gender difference in the hemispheric asymmetry of EBA in the esthetic processing of human bodies, with women showing stronger right hemisphere dominance in comparison with men. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sex differences in adults' relative visual interest in female and male faces, toys, and play styles.

PubMed

Alexander, Gerianne M; Charles, Nora

2009-06-01

An individual's reproductive potential appears to influence response to attractive faces of the opposite sex. Otherwise, relatively little is known about the characteristics of the adult observer that may influence his or her affective evaluation of male and female faces. An untested hypothesis (based on the proposed role of attractive faces in mate selection) is that most women would show greater interest in male faces whereas most men would show greater interest in female faces. Further, evidence from individuals with preferences for same-sex sexual partners suggests that response to attractive male and female faces may be influenced by gender-linked play preferences. To test these hypotheses, visual attention directed to sex-linked stimuli (faces, toys, play styles) was measured in 39 men and 44 women using eye tracking technology. Consistent with our predictions, men directed greater visual attention to all male-typical stimuli and visual attention to male and female faces was associated with visual attention to gender conforming or nonconforming stimuli in a manner consistent with previous research on sexual orientation. In contrast, women showed a visual preference for female-typical toys, but no visual preference for male faces or female-typical play styles. These findings indicate that sex differences in visual processing extend beyond stimuli associated with adult sexual behavior. We speculate that sex differences in visual processing are a component of the expression of gender phenotypes across the lifespan that may reflect sex differences in the motivational properties of gender-linked stimuli.

Effect of the Stroop test performed in supine position on the heart rate variability in both genders.

PubMed

Vazan, Rastislav; Filcikova, Diana; Mravec, Boris

2017-12-01

The effect of Stroop test (ST)-induced stress on autonomic nervous system activity is often examined via measurement of heart rate variability (HRV). However, HRV may be significantly affected by interfering factors, including vocalization and inappropriate body position. Surprisingly, published studies ignore these issues, so the aim of our study was to test the innovative procedure for correct HRV measurement in individuals exposed to ST. Moreover, we examined possible gender differences in HRV and heart rate (HR) during ST. Healthy participants (21 men, 34 women) were placed in a supine position (no orthostatic activation) and then exposed to a 5 min relaxation period and a 5 min period of computerized ST (no vocalization). We found significant differences in HR and HRV parameters in both genders during ST when compared to relaxation (baseline) values. On the other hand, there were no significant differences in HR and HRV between males and females (except for a higher baseline HR in women). Also, reactivity to ST stress (difference between baseline and ST value) showed no gender differences. In conclusion, when performed in a supine position and without vocalization, the ST induces significant stress-related changes of HR and HRV in both genders, with no gender differences in the magnitude of reaction to ST stress. This experimental procedure can be used for correct examination of mental stress-related changes in the autonomic nervous system, and is particularly useful for examining mixed-gender experimental groups. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Progressive gender differences of structural brain networks in healthy adults: a longitudinal, diffusion tensor imaging study.

PubMed

Sun, Yu; Lee, Renick; Chen, Yu; Collinson, Simon; Thakor, Nitish; Bezerianos, Anastasios; Sim, Kang

2015-01-01

Sexual dimorphism in the brain maturation during childhood and adolescence has been repeatedly documented, which may underlie the differences in behaviors and cognitive performance. However, our understanding of how gender modulates the development of structural connectome in healthy adults is still not entirely clear. Here we utilized graph theoretical analysis of longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging data over a five-year period to investigate the progressive gender differences of brain network topology. The brain networks of both genders showed prominent economical "small-world" architecture (high local clustering and short paths between nodes). Additional analysis revealed a more economical "small-world" architecture in females as well as a greater global efficiency in males regardless of scan time point. At the regional level, both increased and decreased efficiency were found across the cerebral cortex for both males and females, indicating a compensation mechanism of cortical network reorganization over time. Furthermore, we found that weighted clustering coefficient exhibited significant gender-time interactions, implying different development trends between males and females. Moreover, several specific brain regions (e.g., insula, superior temporal gyrus, cuneus, putamen, and parahippocampal gyrus) exhibited different development trajectories between males and females. Our findings further prove the presence of sexual dimorphism in brain structures that may underlie gender differences in behavioral and cognitive functioning. The sex-specific progress trajectories in brain connectome revealed in this work provide an important foundation to delineate the gender related pathophysiological mechanisms in various neuropsychiatric disorders, which may potentially guide the development of sex-specific treatments for these devastating brain disorders.

How Early Hormones Shape Gender Development

PubMed Central

Berenbaum, Sheri A.; Beltz, Adriene M.

2015-01-01

Many important psychological characteristics show sex differences, and are influenced by sex hormones at different developmental periods. We focus on the role of sex hormones in early development, particularly the differential effects of prenatal androgens on aspects of gender development. Increasing evidence confirms that prenatal androgens have facilitative effects on male-typed activity interests and engagement (including child toy preferences and adult careers), and spatial abilities, but relatively minimal effects on gender identity. Recent emphasis has been directed to the psychological mechanisms underlying these effects (including sex differences in propulsive movement, and androgen effects on interest in people versus things), and neural substrates of androgen effects (including regional brain volumes, and neural responses to mental rotation, sexually arousing stimuli, emotion, and reward). Ongoing and planned work is focused on understanding the ways in which hormones act jointly with the social environment across time to produce varying trajectories of gender development, and clarifying mechanisms by which androgens affect behaviors. Such work will be facilitated by applying lessons from other species, and by expanding methodology. Understanding hormonal influences on gender development enhances knowledge of psychological development generally, and has important implications for basic and applied questions, including sex differences in psychopathology, women’s underrepresentation in science and math, and clinical care of individuals with variations in gender expression. PMID:26688827

Psychological functioning in adolescents referred to specialist gender identity clinics across Europe: a clinical comparison study between four clinics.

PubMed

de Graaf, Nastasja M; Cohen-Kettenis, Peggy T; Carmichael, Polly; de Vries, Annelou L C; Dhondt, Karlien; Laridaen, Jolien; Pauli, Dagmar; Ball, Juliane; Steensma, Thomas D

2018-07-01

Adolescents seeking professional help with their gender identity development often present with psychological difficulties. Existing literature on psychological functioning of gender diverse young people is limited and mostly bound to national chart reviews. This study examined the prevalence of psychological functioning and peer relationship problems in adolescents across four European specialist gender services (The Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, and Switzerland), using the Child Behavioural Checklist (CBCL) and the Youth Self-Report (YSR). Differences in psychological functioning and peer relationships were found in gender diverse adolescents across Europe. Overall, emotional and behavioural problems and peer relationship problems were most prevalent in adolescents from the UK, followed by Switzerland and Belgium. The least behavioural and emotional problems and peer relationship problems were reported by adolescents from The Netherlands. Across the four clinics, a similar pattern of gender differences was found. Birth-assigned girls showed more behavioural problems and externalising problems in the clinical range, as reported by their parents. According to self-report, internalising problems in the clinical range were more prevalent in adolescent birth-assigned boys. More research is needed to gain a better understanding of the difference in clinical presentations in gender diverse adolescents and to investigate what contextual factors that may contribute to this.

Health inequalities--gender perspective.

PubMed

Ostrowska, Antonina

2012-01-01

Health inequalities have become recently one of the major concerns of European health policy. Observed differences in health status of men and women are also frequently discussed within this framework, and are becoming a subject of growing interest of researchers. Clinical and epidemiological researches document male-female health differences, trying to explain them within bio-medical model. However, apart of biological (sex) divergence, health inequalities reflect differences in social roles, social status and culturally established patterns and stereotypes of femininity and masculinity (gender differences). The article, using sociological perspective, attempts to show that observed differences in man's and women's health may be attributable to the differing sociocultural and structural arrangements, social support and lifestyle factors of both genders. As a result, many of these differences are of inequality character. Another dimension of inequality discussed in this article is the way man and women are treated by the institution of medicine.

Gender-based Differential Item Functioning in the Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior for the Study of Entrepreneurial Intentions

PubMed Central

Zampetakis, Leonidas A.; Bakatsaki, Maria; Litos, Charalambos; Kafetsios, Konstantinos G.; Moustakis, Vassilis

2017-01-01

Over the past years the percentage of female entrepreneurs has increased, yet it is still far below of that for males. Although various attempts have been made to explain differences in mens’ and women’s entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions, the extent to which those differences are due to self-report biases has not been yet considered. The present study utilized Differential Item Functioning (DIF) to compare men and women’s reporting on entrepreneurial intentions. DIF occurs in situations where members of different groups show differing probabilities of endorsing an item despite possessing the same level of the ability that the item is intended to measure. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the present study investigated whether constructs such as entrepreneurial attitudes, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms and intention would show gender differences and whether these gender differences could be explained by DIF. Using DIF methods on a dataset of 1800 Greek participants (50.4% female) indicated that differences at the item-level are almost non-existent. Moreover, the differential test functioning (DTF) analysis, which allows assessing the overall impact of DIF effects with all items being taken into account simultaneously, suggested that the effect of DIF across all the items for each scale was negligible. Future research should consider that measurement invariance can be assumed when using TPB constructs for the study of entrepreneurial motivation independent of gender. PMID:28386244

Gender-based Differential Item Functioning in the Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior for the Study of Entrepreneurial Intentions.

PubMed

Zampetakis, Leonidas A; Bakatsaki, Maria; Litos, Charalambos; Kafetsios, Konstantinos G; Moustakis, Vassilis

2017-01-01

Over the past years the percentage of female entrepreneurs has increased, yet it is still far below of that for males. Although various attempts have been made to explain differences in mens' and women's entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions, the extent to which those differences are due to self-report biases has not been yet considered. The present study utilized Differential Item Functioning (DIF) to compare men and women's reporting on entrepreneurial intentions. DIF occurs in situations where members of different groups show differing probabilities of endorsing an item despite possessing the same level of the ability that the item is intended to measure. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the present study investigated whether constructs such as entrepreneurial attitudes, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms and intention would show gender differences and whether these gender differences could be explained by DIF. Using DIF methods on a dataset of 1800 Greek participants (50.4% female) indicated that differences at the item-level are almost non-existent. Moreover, the differential test functioning (DTF) analysis, which allows assessing the overall impact of DIF effects with all items being taken into account simultaneously, suggested that the effect of DIF across all the items for each scale was negligible. Future research should consider that measurement invariance can be assumed when using TPB constructs for the study of entrepreneurial motivation independent of gender.

A Analysis of Saudi Arabian High School Students' Misconceptions about Physics Concepts.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Rubayea, Abdullah A. M.

This study was conducted to explore Saudi high students' misconceptions in selected physics concepts. It also detected the effects of gender, grade level and location of school on Saudi high school students' misconceptions. In addition, a further analysis of students' misconceptions in each question was investigated and a correlation between students' responses, confidence in answers and sensibleness was conducted. There was an investigation of sources of students' answers in this study. Finally, this study included an analysis of students' selection of reasons only in the instrument. The instrument used to detect the students' misconceptions was a modified form of the Misconception Identification in Science Questionnaire (MISQ). This instrument was developed by Franklin (1992) to detected students' misconceptions in selected physics concepts. This test is a two-tier multiple choice test that examines four areas of physics: Force and motion, heat and temperature, light and color and electricity and magnetism. This study included a sample of 1080 Saudi high school students who were randomly selected from six Saudi educational districts. This study also included both genders, the three grade levels of Saudi high schools, six different educational districts, and a city and a town in each educational district. The sample was equally divided between genders, grade levels, and educational districts. The result of this study revealed that Saudi Arabian high school students hold numerous misconceptions about selected physics concepts. It also showed that tenth grade students were significantly different than the other grades. The result also showed that different misconceptions are held by the students for each concept in the MISQ. A positive correlation between students' responses, confidence in answers and sensibleness in many questions was shown. In addition, it showed that guessing was the most dominant source of misconceptions. The result revealed that gender and grade level had an affect on students' choice of decision on the MISQ items. A positive change in the means of gender and grade levels in the multiple choice test and gender differences in selection of reason may be associated with specific concepts. No significant difference in frequencies of the reasons chosen by the student to justify their answers were found in most of the items (10 items).

What explains gender inequalities in HIV/AIDS prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa? Evidence from the demographic and health surveys.

PubMed

Sia, Drissa; Onadja, Yentéma; Hajizadeh, Mohammad; Heymann, S Jody; Brewer, Timothy F; Nandi, Arijit

2016-11-03

Women are disproportionally affected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The determinants of gender inequality in HIV/AIDS may vary across countries and require country-specific interventions to address them. This study aimed to identify the socio-demographic and behavioral characteristics underlying gender inequalities in HIV/AIDS in 21 SSA countries. We applied an extension of the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition approach to data from Demographic and Health Surveys and AIDS Indicator Surveys to quantify the differences in HIV/AIDS prevalence between women and men attributable to socio-demographic factors, sexual behaviours, and awareness of HIV/AIDS. We decomposed gender inequalities into two components: the percentage attributable to different levels of the risk factors between women and men (the "composition effect") and the percentage attributable to risk factors having differential effects on HIV/AIDS prevalence in women and men (the "response effect"). Descriptive analyses showed that the difference between women and men in HIV/AIDS prevalence varied from a low of 0.68 % (P = 0.008) in Liberia to a high of 11.5 % (P < 0.001) in Swaziland. The decomposition analysis showed that 84 % (P < 0.001) and 92 % (P < 0.001) of the higher prevalence of HIV/AIDS among women in Uganda and Ghana, respectively, was explained by the different distributions of HIV/AIDS risk factors, particularly age at first sex between women and men. In the majority of countries, however, observed gender inequalities in HIV/AIDS were chiefly explained by differences in the responses to risk factors; the differential effects of age, marital status and occupation on prevalence of HIV/AIDS for women and men were among the significant contributors to this component. In Cameroon, Guinea, Malawi and Swaziland, a combination of the composition and response effects explained gender inequalities in HIV/AIDS prevalence. The factors that explain gender inequality in HIV/AIDS in SSA vary by country, suggesting that country-specific interventions are needed. Unmeasured factors also contributed substantially to the difference in HIV/AIDS prevalence between women and men, highlighting the need for further study.

Altering gender role expectations: effects on pain tolerance, pain threshold, and pain ratings.

PubMed

Robinson, Michael E; Gagnon, Christine M; Riley, Joseph L; Price, Donald D

2003-06-01

The literature demonstrating sex differences in pain is sizable. Most explanations for these differences have focused on biologic mechanisms, and only a few studies have examined social learning. The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of gender-role stereotypes to sex differences in pain. This study used experimental manipulation of gender-role expectations for men and women. One hundred twenty students participated in the cold pressor task. Before the pain task, participants were given 1 of 3 instructional sets: no expectation, 30-second performance expectation, or a 90-second performance expectation. Pain ratings, threshold, and tolerance were recorded. Significant sex differences in the "no expectation" condition for pain tolerance (t = 2.32, df = 38, P <.05) and post-cold pressor pain ratings (t = 2.6, df = 37, P <.05) were found. Women had briefer tolerance times and higher post-cold pressor ratings than men. When given gender-specific tolerance expectations, men and women did not differ in their pain tolerance, pain threshold, or pain ratings. This is the first empirical study to show that manipulation of expectations alters sex differences in laboratory pain.

Empathy: Gender effects in brain and behavior

PubMed Central

Christov-Moore, Leonardo; Simpson, Elizabeth A.; Coudé, Gino; Grigaityte, Kristina; Iacoboni, Marco; Ferrari, Pier Francesco

2016-01-01

Evidence suggests that there are differences in the capacity for empathy between males and females. However, how deep do these differences go? Stereotypically, females are portrayed as more nurturing and empathetic, while males are portrayed as less emotional and more cognitive. Some authors suggest that observed gender differences might be largely due to cultural expectations about gender roles. However, empathy has both evolutionary and developmental precursors, and can be studied using implicit measures, aspects that can help elucidate the respective roles of culture and biology. This article reviews evidence from ethology, social psychology, economics, and neuroscience to show that there are fundamental differences in implicit measures of empathy, with parallels in development and evolution. Studies in nonhuman animals and younger human populations (infants/children) offer converging evidence that sex differences in empathy have phylogenetic and ontogenetic roots in biology and are not merely cultural byproducts driven by socialization. We review how these differences may have arisen in response to males’ and females’ different roles throughout evolution. Examinations of the neurobiological underpinnings of empathy reveal important quantitative gender differences in the basic networks involved in affective and cognitive forms of empathy, as well as a qualitative divergence between the sexes in how emotional information is integrated to support decision making processes. Finally, the study of gender differences in empathy can be improved by designing studies with greater statistical power and considering variables implicit in gender (e.g., sexual preference, prenatal hormone exposure). These improvements may also help uncover the nature of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in which one sex is more vulnerable to compromised social competence associated with impaired empathy. PMID:25236781

Gender differences of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease associated with manifestations on HRCT.

PubMed

Gu, ShuYi; Deng, XiaoJun; Li, QingYun; Sun, XianWen; Xu, JinFu; Li, HuiPing

2017-01-01

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been shown to have significant gender differences in terms of susceptibility, severity and response to therapy. We hypothesized that this was due to differences in functional and pathologic changes in the airway, which can be revealed by high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) in addition to pulmonary function test (PFT). A total of 84 patients with COPD were enrolled in the study. Within 1 week of enrollment, a history of each patient's current illness was obtained. PFT and chest HRCT scan were performed. The patients were classified as phenotype A, E and M based on the chest HRCT presentations. No significant gender differences were found in COPD severity (χ 2  = 4.993, P = 0.172). Male patients have more smoking history and smaller average age compared with female patients. Female patients showed a significantly higher FEV 1 /FVC, lower inspiratory capacity and milder residual volume/total lung capacity than that of male patients. Based on the HRCT results, more males were classified as phenotype M, whereas females tended to be phenotype A. Males had a greater grade of low attenuation areas and were more likely to show evidence of emphysema on a HRCT scan than females (χ 2  = 15.373, P = 0.001), whereas females had less airway wall thickening than males, although this change had no statistical significance. (χ 2  = 0.163, P = 0.922). Gender differences of COPD patients were seen in ages of onset, smoking history, and PFT and HRCT presentations. The use of HRCT imaging indicates that there are significant gender differences in the clinical manifestations of COPD. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Gender differences in healthy aging and Alzheimer's Dementia: A 18 F-FDG-PET study of brain and cognitive reserve.

PubMed

Malpetti, Maura; Ballarini, Tommaso; Presotto, Luca; Garibotto, Valentina; Tettamanti, Marco; Perani, Daniela

2017-08-01

Cognitive reserve (CR) and brain reserve (BR) are protective factors against age-associated cognitive decline and neurodegenerative disorders. Very limited evidence exists about gender effects on brain aging and on the effect of CR on brain modulation in healthy aging and Alzheimer's Dementia (AD). We investigated gender differences in brain metabolic activity and resting-state network connectivity, as measured by 18 F-FDG-PET, in healthy aging and AD, also considering the effects of education and occupation. The clinical and imaging data were retrieved from large datasets of healthy elderly subjects (HE) (225) and AD patients (282). In HE, males showed more extended age-related reduction of brain metabolism than females in frontal medial cortex. We also found differences in brain modulation as metabolic increases induced by education and occupation, namely in posterior associative cortices in HE males and in the anterior limbic-affective and executive networks in HE females. In AD patients, the correlations between education and occupation levels and brain hypometabolism showed gender differences, namely a posterior temporo-parietal association in males and a frontal and limbic association in females, indicating the involvement of different networks. Finally, the metabolic connectivity in both HE and AD aligned with these results, suggesting greater efficiency in the posterior default mode network for males, and in the anterior frontal executive network for females. The basis of these brain gender differences in both aging and AD, obtained exploring cerebral metabolism, metabolic connectivity and the effects of education and occupation, is likely at the intersection between biological and sociodemographic factors. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4212-4227, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[The changing gaps of life expectancy on genders in urban cities of China, from 2005 to 2010].

PubMed

Shen, Jie; Jiang, Qing-wu

2013-07-01

To analyze the gender difference of life expectancy in urban people of China and to explore both age-specific and cause-specific contributions to the changing differences in life expectancy on genders. Data on life expectancy (male and female) and mortality were obtained from the"Annual Statistics of public health in China". Male-female gender difference was analyzed by decomposition methodologies, including age-specific decomposition and the cause-specific decomposition. Women had lived much longer than men in the Chinese urban citizens, with remarkable gains in life expectancy since 2005. Difference in gender reached a peak in 2007, with the gap of 5.3 years. Differences on mortality between men and women in the 60-79 age groups made the largest contribution (42%-47%) to the gap of 6 years on life expectancy in genders. With the widening of the gaps in gender on life expectancy between 2005 and 2007, faster declining of mortality among groups of women in age 0-1 age and over 75 years old groups made the largest contributions. Between 2007 and 2008, along with the reduction of gaps in gender, all the age groups except the 1-15 and 50-55 year-olds showed negative efforts. In 2009-2010, the widening gaps in gender on life expectancy were caused by the positive effect in the 60-70 age group. Among all the causes of death, cancer (1.638-2.019 years), circulatory diseases (1.271-1.606 years), respiratory diseases (0.551-0.800 years) made the largest contributions to the gender gap. 33%-38% of the gaps in gender were caused by cancer and among all the cancers, among which lung cancer contributed 0.6 years to the overall gap. Contribution of cancers to the gender gap was reducing, but when time went on it was mostly influenced by the narrowing effect caused by liver cancer on the gap in gender. Traffic accidents and suicidal issues were the external causes that influencing the gender gap and contributing 10.60%-15.78% to the overall differentials. Public health efforts in reducing the excess mortalities for cancer, circulatory and respiratory diseases, suicide, among men in particular, will further narrow the gender gap on life expectancy in the urban cities of China.

How gender and boat-side affect shape characteristics of force-angle profiles in single sculling: Insights from functional data analysis.

PubMed

Warmenhoven, John; Cobley, Stephen; Draper, Conny; Harrison, Andrew; Bargary, Norma; Smith, Richard

2018-05-01

To examine whether gender or side of the boat influenced shape characteristics of the force-angle profile in on-water single sculling. Cross-sectional study design. Bivariate functional principal components analysis (bfPCA) was applied to force-angle data to identify the main modes of variance in curves of forty highly skilled male and female rowers (national and international level), rowing at 32 strokes per minute in a single scull boat. Separate discriminant function analyses for each side of the boat showed strong classification of rowers for gender. Force application close to (or closely around) the perpendicular oar position was demonstrated to be different between genders. A mixed ANOVA exploring gender, boat side and their interaction revealed that bow and stroke side forces were also statistically different from each other independently of gender. A main effect, independent of side of the boat, was also present for gender and no interaction was found between gender and boat side. Bow side forces seemingly acted as a driver of power and peak force production, while stroke side forces may have acted as a mediator of propulsive forces with an additional potential role in steering due to known asymmetrical offsets in boat rigging. Results demonstrate that propulsive force differences according to gender and boat-side are evident and must be acknowledged and accounted for before force-angle graphs are explored relative to performance measures. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Sexual orientation-related differences in prepulse inhibition of the human startle response.

PubMed

Rahman, Qazi; Kumari, Veena; Wilson, Glenn D

2003-10-01

Prepulse inhibition (PPI) refers to a reduction in the startle response to a strong sensory stimulus when this stimulus is preceded by a weaker stimulus--the prepulse. PPI reflects a nonlearned sensorimotor gating mechanism and also shows a robust gender difference, with women exhibiting lower PPI than men. The present study examined the eyeblink startle responses to acoustic stimuli of 59 healthy heterosexual and homosexual men and women. Homosexual women showed significantly masculinized PPI compared with heterosexual women, whereas no difference was observed in PPI between homosexual and heterosexual men. These data provide the first evidence for within-gender differences in basic sensorimotor gating mechanisms and implicate the known neural substrates of PPI in human sexual orientation. (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved

Cross-Category Adaptation: Objects Produce Gender Adaptation in the Perception of Faces

PubMed Central

Javadi, Amir Homayoun; Wee, Natalie

2012-01-01

Adaptation aftereffects have been found for low-level visual features such as colour, motion and shape perception, as well as higher-level features such as gender, race and identity in domains such as faces and biological motion. It is not yet clear if adaptation effects in humans extend beyond this set of higher order features. The aim of this study was to investigate whether objects highly associated with one gender, e.g. high heels for females or electric shavers for males can modulate gender perception of a face. In two separate experiments, we adapted subjects to a series of objects highly associated with one gender and subsequently asked participants to judge the gender of an ambiguous face. Results showed that participants are more likely to perceive an ambiguous face as male after being exposed to objects highly associated to females and vice versa. A gender adaptation aftereffect was obtained despite the adaptor and test stimuli being from different global categories (objects and faces respectively). These findings show that our perception of gender from faces is highly affected by our environment and recent experience. This suggests two possible mechanisms: (a) that perception of the gender associated with an object shares at least some brain areas with those responsible for gender perception of faces and (b) adaptation to gender, which is a high-level concept, can modulate brain areas that are involved in facial gender perception through top-down processes. PMID:23049942

Males and females show differential brain activation to taste when hungry and sated in gustatory and reward areas.

PubMed

Haase, Lori; Green, Erin; Murphy, Claire

2011-10-01

Although males and females differ in eating behavior and prevalence rates for eating disorders and obesity, little is known about gender differences in cortical activation to pleasant and unpleasant pure tastes during the physiological states of hunger and satiety. Twenty-one healthy young adults (12 females and 9 males) underwent two functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. Using four pure tastants of differing qualities (i.e., salty, sour, bitter, sweet), the present study examined gender differences in fMRI activation during two motivational states (hunger and satiety). There was greater change in fMRI activation from hunger to satiety in males than females in response to all tastes within the middle frontal gyrus (BA 10), insula, and cerebellum. Males also had greater change in activation from hunger to satiety, relative to females, in limbic regions including dorsal striatum, amygdala, parahippocampal gyrus, and posterior and anterior cingulate; however, activation was stimulus dependent, despite equivalent ratings in perceived pleasantness and intensity. Interestingly, males and females showed significant change from hunger to satiety in response to citric acid, suggesting that in addition to gender and physiological condition, stimulus quality is an important factor in taste fMRI activation. These gender differences may have implications for the pathophysiology of eating disorders and obesity. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A gender perspective on Person-Manager fit and managerial advancement.

PubMed

Marongiu, S; Ekehammar, B

2000-06-01

This article presents two studies examining (1) the relationship between Person-Manager (P-M) fit and managerial advancement of women and men with, and without managerial aspirations and (2) the P-M fit as related to managerial and non-managerial women. The P-M fit was assessed by computing the congruence between participants' self-rated personality profile and the perceived personality profile of a manager. Sex (men show a higher P-M fit than women), gender (the higher the individual's masculine gender-role, the higher the P-M fit) and group (managers and managerial aspirants show a higher P-M fit than non-managerial aspirants and non-managers) hypotheses were tested. There was no support for the sex difference hypothesis. However, the group and gender hypotheses were confirmed showing that managers and managerial aspirants had a higher P-M fit than non-managers and non-aspirants. Further, analyses revealed that the higher the participants' masculinity scores, the higher the P-M fit. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the gendered image of the managerial role and adaptation theory.

Survival Analysis of Faculty Retention and Promotion in the Social Sciences by Gender.

PubMed

Box-Steffensmeier, Janet M; Cunha, Raphael C; Varbanov, Roumen A; Hoh, Yee Shwen; Knisley, Margaret L; Holmes, Mary Alice

2015-01-01

Recruitment and retention of talent is central to the research performance of universities. Existing research shows that, while men are more likely than women to be promoted at the different stages of the academic career, no such difference is found when it comes to faculty retention rates. Current research on faculty retention, however, focuses on careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). We extend this line of inquiry to the social sciences. We follow 2,218 tenure-track assistant professors hired since 1990 in seven social science disciplines at nineteen U.S. universities from time of hire to time of departure. We also track their time to promotion to associate and full professor. Using survival analysis, we examine gender differences in time to departure and time to promotion. Our methods account for censoring and unobserved heterogeneity, as well as effect heterogeneity across disciplines and cohorts. We find no statistically significant differences between genders in faculty retention. However, we do find that men are more likely to be granted tenure than women. When it comes to promotion to full professor, the results are less conclusive, as the effect of gender is sensitive to model specification. The results corroborate previous findings about gender patterns in faculty retention and promotion. They suggest that advances have been made when it comes to gender equality in retention and promotion, but important differences still persist.

Men versus women on sexual brain function: prominent differences during tactile genital stimulation, but not during orgasm.

PubMed

Georgiadis, Janniko R; Reinders, A A T Simone; Paans, Anne M J; Renken, Remco; Kortekaas, Rudie

2009-10-01

Biological differences in male and female sexuality are obvious in the behavioral domain, but the central mechanisms that might explain these behavioral gender differences remain unclear. In this study, we merged two earlier positron emission tomography data sets to enable systematic comparison of the brain responses in heterosexual men and women during sexual tactile genital (penile and clitoral) stimulation and during orgasm. Gender commonalities were most evident during orgasm, a phase which demonstrated activations in the anterior lobe of the cerebellar vermis and deep cerebellar nuclei, and deactivations in the left ventromedial and orbitofrontal cortex in both men and women. During tactile genital stimulation, deactivations in the right amygdala and left fusiform gyrus were found for both genders. Marked gender differences were seen during this phase: left fronto-parietal areas (motor cortices, somatosensory area 2 and posterior parietal cortex) were activated more in women, whereas in men, the right claustrum and ventral occipitotemporal cortex showed larger activation. The only prominent gender difference during orgasm was male-biased activation of the periaqueductal gray matter. From these results, we conclude that during the sexual act, differential brain responses across genders are principally related to the stimulatory (plateau) phase and not to the orgasmic phase itself. These results add to a better understanding of the neural underpinnings of human sexuality, which might benefit treatment of psychosexual disorders.

Gender differences in reward and punishment for monetary and social feedback in children: An ERP study

PubMed Central

Zou, Yuchen; Song, Yan; Xiao, Xue; Huang, Wanyi; Li, Yanfang

2017-01-01

Gender differences in feedback processing have been observed among adolescents and adults through event-related potentials. However, information on whether and how this feedback processing is affected by feedback valence, feedback type, and individual sensitivity in reward/punishment among children remains minimal. In this study, we used a guessing game task coupled with electroencephalography to investigate gender differences in feedback processing, in which feedback to reward and punishment was presented in the context of monetary and social conditions. Results showed that boys were less likely to switch their response after punishment, had generally less feedback-related negativity (FRN) amplitude, and longer FRN latency in monetary and punishment conditions than girls. Moreover, FRN for monetary punishment, which is related to individual difference in reward sensitivity, was observed only in girls. The study provides gender-specific evidence for the neural processing of feedback, which may offer educational guidance for appropriate feedback for girls and boys. PMID:28346515

Prejudice at the nexus of race and gender: an outgroup male target hypothesis.

PubMed

Navarrete, Carlos David; McDonald, Melissa M; Molina, Ludwin E; Sidanius, Jim

2010-06-01

Adopting an evolutionary approach to the psychology of race bias, we posit that intergroup conflict perpetrated by male aggressors throughout human evolutionary history has shaped the psychology of modern forms of intergroup bias and that this psychology reflects the unique adaptive problems that differ between men and women in coping with male aggressors from groups other than one's own. Here we report results across 4 studies consistent with this perspective, showing that race bias is moderated by gender differences in traits relevant to threat responses that differ in their adaptive utility between the sexes-namely, aggression and dominance motives for men and fear of sexual coercion for women. These results are consistent with the notion that the psychology of intergroup bias is generated by different psychological systems for men and women, and the results underscore the importance of considering the gender of the outgroup target as well as the gender of the agent in psychological studies on prejudice and discrimination. (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Gender differences in reward and punishment for monetary and social feedback in children: An ERP study.

PubMed

Ding, Ying; Wang, Encong; Zou, Yuchen; Song, Yan; Xiao, Xue; Huang, Wanyi; Li, Yanfang

2017-01-01

Gender differences in feedback processing have been observed among adolescents and adults through event-related potentials. However, information on whether and how this feedback processing is affected by feedback valence, feedback type, and individual sensitivity in reward/punishment among children remains minimal. In this study, we used a guessing game task coupled with electroencephalography to investigate gender differences in feedback processing, in which feedback to reward and punishment was presented in the context of monetary and social conditions. Results showed that boys were less likely to switch their response after punishment, had generally less feedback-related negativity (FRN) amplitude, and longer FRN latency in monetary and punishment conditions than girls. Moreover, FRN for monetary punishment, which is related to individual difference in reward sensitivity, was observed only in girls. The study provides gender-specific evidence for the neural processing of feedback, which may offer educational guidance for appropriate feedback for girls and boys.

[Health-related behavior in a sample of Brazilian college students: gender differences].

PubMed

Colares, Viviane; Franca, Carolina da; Gonzalez, Emília

2009-03-01

This study investigated whether undergraduate students' health-risk behaviors differed according to gender. The sample consisted of 382 subjects, aged 20-29 years, from public universities in Pernambuco State, Brazil. Data were collected using the National College Health Risk Behavior Survey, previously validated in Portuguese. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were used. Associations were analyzed with the chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. Statistical significance was set at p < or = 0.05. In general, females engaged in the following risk behaviors less frequently than males: alcohol consumption (p = 0.005), smoking (p = 0.002), experimenting with marijuana (p = 0.002), consumption of inhalants (p < or = 0.001), steroid use (p = 0.003), carrying weapons (p = 0.001), and involvement in physical fights (p = 0.014). Meanwhile, female students displayed more concern about losing or maintaining weight, although they exercised less frequently than males. The findings thus showed statistically different health behaviors between genders. In conclusion, different approaches need to be used for the two genders.

Effects of spatial frequency content on classification of face gender and expression.

PubMed

Aguado, Luis; Serrano-Pedraza, Ignacio; Rodríguez, Sonia; Román, Francisco J

2010-11-01

The role of different spatial frequency bands on face gender and expression categorization was studied in three experiments. Accuracy and reaction time were measured for unfiltered, low-pass (cut-off frequency of 1 cycle/deg) and high-pass (cutoff frequency of 3 cycles/deg) filtered faces. Filtered and unfiltered faces were equated in root-mean-squared contrast. For low-pass filtered faces reaction times were higher than unfiltered and high-pass filtered faces in both categorization tasks. In the expression task, these results were obtained with expressive faces presented in isolation (Experiment 1) and also with neutral-expressive dynamic sequences where each expressive face was preceded by a briefly presented neutral version of the same face (Experiment 2). For high-pass filtered faces different effects were observed on gender and expression categorization. While both speed and accuracy of gender categorization were reduced comparing to unfiltered faces, the efficiency of expression classification remained similar. Finally, we found no differences between expressive and non expressive faces in the effects of spatial frequency filtering on gender categorization (Experiment 3). These results show a common role of information from the high spatial frequency band in the categorization of face gender and expression.

The reverse environmental gender gap in China: evidence from "The China Survey".

PubMed

Shields, Todd; Zeng, Ka

2012-01-01

Objectives This article explores gender differences in attitudes about the seriousness of the environment as a problem in China using the “2008 China Survey.” Methods We use generalized ordered logit models to analyze survey respondents’ environmental attitudes. Results Our results indicate that there is indeed a “gender gap” in environmental attitudes in China, but the pattern is reversed from what has been generally found in previous work conducted in the United States and Europe. Chinese men, not women, show a greater concern about environmental problems and the seriousness of the environmental degradation in China. Further, we find that this gender gap is based largely in the substantial economic and educational differences between men and women in contemporary China. Conclusions This study emphasizes the mediating influence of socioeconomic variables in explaining gender attitudes toward the environment in China. Our findings suggest that in different contexts, women may be faced with difficult decisions between immediate economic necessities and long-term environmental concerns. The observed environmental gender gap in China will likely persist unless further economic development results in improved access to education and economic conditions for Chinese women.

Exploring the gender gap in the conceptual survey of electricity and magnetism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henderson, Rachel; Stewart, Gay; Stewart, John; Michaluk, Lynnette; Traxler, Adrienne

2017-12-01

The "gender gap" on various physics conceptual evaluations has been extensively studied. Men's average pretest scores on the Force Concept Inventory and Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation are 13% higher than women's, and post-test scores are on average 12% higher than women's. This study analyzed the gender differences within the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM) in which the gender gap has been less well studied and is less consistent. In the current study, data collected from 1407 students (77% men, 23% women) in a calculus-based physics course over ten semesters showed that male students outperformed female students on the CSEM pretest (5%) and post-test (6%). Separate analyses were conducted for qualitative and quantitative problems on lab quizzes and course exams and showed that male students outperformed female students by 3% on qualitative quiz and exam problems. Male and female students performed equally on the quantitative course exam problems. The gender gaps within CSEM post-test scores, qualitative lab quiz scores, and qualitative exam scores were insignificant for students with a CSEM pretest score of 25% or less but grew as pretest scores increased. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that a latent variable, called Conceptual Physics Performance/Non-Quantitative (CPP/NonQnt), orthogonal to quantitative test performance was useful in explaining the differences observed in qualitative performance; this variable was most strongly related to CSEM post-test scores. The CPP/NonQnt of male students was 0.44 standard deviations higher than female students. The CSEM pretest measured CPP/NonQnt much less accurately for women (R2=4 % ) than for men (R2=17 % ). The failure to detect a gender gap for students scoring 25% or less on the pretest suggests that the CSEM instrument itself is not gender biased. The failure to find a performance difference in quantitative test performance while detecting a gap in qualitative performance suggests the qualitative differences do not result from psychological factors such as science anxiety or stereotype threat.

Does Child Maltreatment Predict Adult Crime? Reexamining the Question in a Prospective Study of Gender Differences, Education, and Marital Status.

PubMed

Jung, Hyunzee; Herrenkohl, Todd I; Klika, J Bart; Lee, Jungeun Olivia; Brown, Eric C

2015-08-01

Bivariate analyses of adult crime and child maltreatment showed that individuals who had been maltreated as children, according to child welfare reports, subsequently committed more crime than others who had not been maltreated. Analyses of crimes by category-property, person, and society-provided further evidence of a link between child maltreatment and crime at the bivariate level. Tests of gender differences showed that crime generally is more prevalent among males, although females with a history of maltreatment were more likely than those in a no-maltreatment (comparison) group to report having had some prior involvement in crime. Surprisingly, multivariate analyses controlling for childhood socioeconomic status, gender, minority racial status, marital status, and education level showed that, with one exception (crimes against society), the significant association between child maltreatment and crime observed in bivariate tests was not maintained. Implications for future research are discussed. © The Author(s) 2014.

Gender differences in illness behavior after cardiac surgery.

PubMed

Modica, Maddalena; Ferratini, Maurizio; Spezzaferri, Rosa; De Maria, Renata; Previtali, Emanuele; Castiglioni, Paolo

2014-01-01

Differences in the ways male and female patients confront their illness after cardiac surgery may contribute to previously observed gender differences in the outcomes of cardiac rehabilitation. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to verify whether there are gender-related differences in illness behavior (IB) soon after cardiac surgery and before entering cardiac rehabilitation. Patients (N = 1323) completed the IB Questionnaire and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) 9 ± 5 (mean ± SD) days after cardiac surgery. The scores were tested for gender differences in score distributions (Mann-Whitney U test) and in prevalence of clinically relevant scores (the Pearson χ² test). Multivariate regression analyses were made with IB Questionnaire and HADS scores as independent variables, and gender, age, education, marital status, and type of surgery as predictors. Denial was significantly (P < .01) prevalent among the men (3.6 ± 1.4) versus women (3.2 ± 1.6), whereas disease conviction (men = 2.1 ± 1.5, women = 2.5 ± 1.6), dysphoria (men = 1.5 ± 1.5, women = 2.0 ± 1.6), anxiety (men = 6.0 ± 3.6, women = 6.9 ± 3.9), and depression (men = 5.3 ± 3.8, women = 6.5 ± 4.0) were significantly more prevalent among women. The prevalences of clinically relevant scores for disease conviction, anxiety, and depression were also significantly higher in women. Multivariate analysis showed that gender predicted these scores even after the removal of confounders. Gender differences exist in denial, disease conviction, and dysphoria, probably depending on the culturally assigned roles of men and women. As these aspects of IB may compromise treatment compliance and the quality of life, the efficacy of cardiac rehabilitation programs might be improved taking into account the different prevalences in men and women.

Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Equity in Veteran Satisfaction with Health Care in the Veterans Affairs Health Care System.

PubMed

Zickmund, Susan L; Burkitt, Kelly H; Gao, Shasha; Stone, Roslyn A; Jones, Audrey L; Hausmann, Leslie R M; Switzer, Galen E; Borrero, Sonya; Rodriguez, Keri L; Fine, Michael J

2018-03-01

Patient satisfaction is an important dimension of health care quality. The Veterans Health Administration (VA) is committed to providing high-quality care to an increasingly diverse patient population. To assess Veteran satisfaction with VA health care by race/ethnicity and gender. We conducted semi-structured telephone interviews with gender-specific stratified samples of black, white, and Hispanic Veterans from 25 predominantly minority-serving VA Medical Centers from June 2013 to January 2015. Satisfaction with health care was assessed in 16 domains using five-point Likert scales. We compared the proportions of Veterans who were very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, and less than satisfied (i.e., neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied) in each domain, and used random-effects multinomial regression to estimate racial/ethnic differences by gender and gender differences by race/ethnicity. Interviews were completed for 1222 of the 1929 Veterans known to be eligible for the interview (63.3%), including 421 white, 389 black, and 396 Hispanic Veterans, 616 of whom were female. Veterans were less likely to be somewhat satisfied or less than satisfied versus very satisfied with care in each of the 16 domains. The highest satisfaction ratings were reported for costs, outpatient facilities, and pharmacy (74-76% very satisfied); the lowest ratings were reported for access, pain management, and mental health care (21-24% less than satisfied). None of the joint tests of racial/ethnic or gender differences in satisfaction (simultaneously comparing all three satisfaction levels) was statistically significant (p > 0.05). Pairwise comparisons of specific levels of satisfaction revealed racial/ethnic differences by gender in three domains and gender differences by race/ethnicity in five domains, with no consistent directionality across demographic subgroups. Our multisite interviews of a diverse sample of Veterans at primarily minority-serving sites showed generally high levels of health care satisfaction across 16 domains, with few quantitative differences by race/ethnicity or gender.

Anger, Smoking Behavior, and the Mediator Effects of Gender: An Investigation of Heavy and Moderate Smokers.

PubMed

Muscatello, Maria Rosaria Anna; Scimeca, Giuseppe; Lorusso, Simona; Battaglia, Fortunato; Pandolfo, Gianluca; Zoccali, Rocco A; Bruno, Antonio

2017-04-16

The existing literature suggests the presence of a possible relationship between high anger levels and smoking behavior; however, there are no available data highlighting possible differences between moderate and heavy smokers and the putative effect of gender on smoking behavior. The aims of the current study were to assess the relationship among anger, depression, and anxiety and smoking patterns taking into account the possible mediator role of gender. 150 smokers and 50 nonsmokers volunteers were recruited from the staff of the University of Messina, Italy. The final sample consisted of 90 smokers, divided in 50 heavy smokers (HS: more than 40 cigarettes per day), 40 moderate smokers (MS: 10-30 cigarettes per day), and 42 nonsmokers (NS). All subjects were assessed by State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2, Self-Rating Depression Scale, and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale. On anger, depression, and anxiety measures the HS group scored higher than MS and NS groups. HS showed higher than expected levels of trait-anger, a greater tendency to control anger reactions and to access to anger-management techniques. A moderate consumption of cigarettes (10-30 cigarettes per day) was not associated with negative emotions, as MS only showed higher than expected levels of state-anger. Cigarettes consumption was related to gender-specific anger features. Conclusions/Importance: Our study highlighted the importance of anger in smoking behavior and its related gender differences. Recognizing the link among anger, gender differences and smoking behavior could improve the knowledge for future-focused interventions on smoking cessation.

Influences of gender role and anxiety on sex differences in temporal summation of pain.

PubMed

Robinson, Michael E; Wise, Emily A; Gagnon, Christine; Fillingim, Roger B; Price, Donald D

2004-03-01

Previous research has consistently shown moderate to large differences between pain reports of men and women undergoing experimental pain testing. These differences have been shown for a variety of types of stimulation. However, only recently have sex differences been demonstrated for temporal summation of second pain. This study examined sex differences in response to temporal summation of second pain elicited by thermal stimulation of the skin. The relative influences of state anxiety and gender role expectations on temporal summation were investigated. Asymptomatic undergraduates (37 women and 30 men) underwent thermal testing of the thenar surface of the hand in a temporal summation protocol. Our results replicated those of Fillingim et al indicating that women showed increased temporal summation compared to men. We extended those findings to demonstrate that temporal summation is influenced by anxiety and gender role stereotypes about pain responding. When anxiety and gender role stereotypes are taken into account, sex is no longer a significant predictor of temporal summation. These findings highlight the contribution of social learning factors in the differences between sexes' pain perception. Results of this study demonstrate that psychosocial variables influence pain mechanisms. Temporal summation was related to gender role expectations of pain and anxiety. These variables explain a significant portion of the differences between men and women's pain processing, and may be related to differences in clinical presentation.

Gender Differences in Risk Factors for Adolescent Binge Drinking and Implications for Intervention and Prevention

PubMed Central

Dir, Allyson L.; Bell, Richard L.; Adams, Zachary W.; Hulvershorn, Leslie A.

2017-01-01

Alcohol use, particularly binge drinking (BD), is a major public health concern among adolescents. Recent national data show that the gender gap in alcohol use is lessening, and BD among girls is rising. Considering the increase in BD among adolescent girls, as well as females’ increased risk of experiencing more severe biopsychosocial negative effects and consequences from BD, the current review sought to examine gender differences in risk factors for BD. The review highlights gender differences in (1) developmental-related neurobiological vulnerability to BD, (2) psychiatric comorbidity and risk phenotypes for BD, and (3) social-related risk factors for BD among adolescents, as well as considerations for BD prevention and intervention. Most of the information gleaned thus far has come from preclinical research. However, it is expected that, with recent advances in clinical imaging technology, neurobiological effects observed in lower mammals will be confirmed in humans and vice versa. A synthesis of the literature highlights that males and females experience unique neurobiological paths of development, and although there is debate regarding the specific nature of these differences, literature suggests that these differences in turn influence gender differences in psychiatric comorbidity and risk for BD. For one, girls are more susceptible to stress, depression, and other internalizing behaviors and, in turn, these symptoms contribute to their risk for BD. On the other hand, males, given gender differences across the lifespan as well as gender differences in development, are driven by an externalizing phenotype for risk of BD, in part, due to unique paths of neurobiological development that occur across adolescence. With respect to social domains, although social and peer influences are important for both adolescent males and females, there are gender differences. For example, girls may be more sensitive to pressure from peers to fit in and impress others, while male gender role stereotypes regarding BD may be more of a risk factor for boys. Given these unique differences in male and female risk for BD, further research exploring risk factors, as well as tailoring intervention and prevention, is necessary. Although recent research has tailored substance use intervention to target males and females, more literature on gender considerations in treatment for prevention and intervention of BD in particular is warranted. PMID:29312017

Gender Differences in Risk Factors for Adolescent Binge Drinking and Implications for Intervention and Prevention.

PubMed

Dir, Allyson L; Bell, Richard L; Adams, Zachary W; Hulvershorn, Leslie A

2017-01-01

Alcohol use, particularly binge drinking (BD), is a major public health concern among adolescents. Recent national data show that the gender gap in alcohol use is lessening, and BD among girls is rising. Considering the increase in BD among adolescent girls, as well as females' increased risk of experiencing more severe biopsychosocial negative effects and consequences from BD, the current review sought to examine gender differences in risk factors for BD. The review highlights gender differences in (1) developmental-related neurobiological vulnerability to BD, (2) psychiatric comorbidity and risk phenotypes for BD, and (3) social-related risk factors for BD among adolescents, as well as considerations for BD prevention and intervention. Most of the information gleaned thus far has come from preclinical research. However, it is expected that, with recent advances in clinical imaging technology, neurobiological effects observed in lower mammals will be confirmed in humans and vice versa . A synthesis of the literature highlights that males and females experience unique neurobiological paths of development, and although there is debate regarding the specific nature of these differences, literature suggests that these differences in turn influence gender differences in psychiatric comorbidity and risk for BD. For one, girls are more susceptible to stress, depression, and other internalizing behaviors and, in turn, these symptoms contribute to their risk for BD. On the other hand, males, given gender differences across the lifespan as well as gender differences in development, are driven by an externalizing phenotype for risk of BD, in part, due to unique paths of neurobiological development that occur across adolescence. With respect to social domains, although social and peer influences are important for both adolescent males and females, there are gender differences. For example, girls may be more sensitive to pressure from peers to fit in and impress others, while male gender role stereotypes regarding BD may be more of a risk factor for boys. Given these unique differences in male and female risk for BD, further research exploring risk factors, as well as tailoring intervention and prevention, is necessary. Although recent research has tailored substance use intervention to target males and females, more literature on gender considerations in treatment for prevention and intervention of BD in particular is warranted.

The impact of job and family demands on partner's fatigue: A study of Japanese dual-earner parents.

PubMed

Watanabe, Mayumi; Shimazu, Akihito; Bakker, Arnold B; Demerouti, Evangelia; Shimada, Kyoko; Kawakami, Norito

2017-01-01

This study of Japanese dual-earner couples examined the impact of family and job demands on one's own and one's partner's fatigue as well as gender differences in these effects. A total of 2,502 parents (1,251 couples) were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire. A crossover model was tested using structural equation modeling. The results of structural equation modeling analyses showed that both job and family demands independently exacerbated fatigue. There was an indirect effect of job and family demands on partner fatigue through one's own fatigue only from husbands to wives. An indirect effect of job demands on partner fatigue through partner's family demands was identified only from wives to husbands. Furthermore, there were gender differences in the crossover of fatigue. This study shows that job and family demands influence family circumstances. When considering means to reduce employees' fatigue, gender differences in the mechanism of fatigue need to be taken into account.

Automatically measuring the effect of strategy drawing features on pupils' handwriting and gender

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tabatabaey-Mashadi, Narges; Sudirman, Rubita; Guest, Richard M.; Khalid, Puspa Inayat

2013-12-01

Children's dynamic drawing strategies have been recently recognized as indicators of handwriting ability. However the influence of each feature in predicting handwriting is unknown due to lack of a measuring system. An automated measuring algorithm suitable for psychological assessment and non-subjective scoring is presented here. Using the weight vector and classification rate of a machine learning algorithm, an overall feature's effect is calculated which is comparable in different groupings. In this study thirteen previously detected drawing strategy features are measured for their influence on handwriting and gender. Features are extracted from drawing a triangle, Beery VMI and Bender Gestalt tangent patterns. Samples are related to 203 pupils (77 below average writers, and 101 female). The results show that the number of strokes in drawing the triangle pattern plays a major role in both groupings; however Left Tendency flag feature is affected by children's handwriting about 2.5 times greater than their gender. Experiments indicate that different forms of a feature sometimes show different influences.

Beyond Pink and Blue: The Complexity of Early Androgen Effects on Gender Development.

PubMed

Berenbaum, Sheri A

2018-03-01

Why do girls and women differ from boys and men? Gender development is typically considered to result from socialization, but sex hormones present during sensitive periods of development, particularly prenatal androgens, play an important role. Data from natural experiments, especially from females with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, show the complexity of the effects of androgens on behavior: Prenatal androgens apparently have large effects on interests and engagement in gendered activities; moderate effects on spatial abilities; and relatively small or no effects on gender identity, gender cognitions, and gendered peer involvement. These differential effects provide an opportunity to move beyond identifying sources of variation in behavior to understanding developmental processes. These processes include links among gendered characteristics, psychological and neural mechanisms underlying development, and the joint effects of biological predispositions and social experiences.

An experimental test of the effects of gender constancy on sex typing.

PubMed

Arthur, Andrea E; Bigler, Rebecca S; Ruble, Diane N

2009-12-01

This study provides an experimental test of the hypothesis that level of gender constancy understanding affects children's sex typing. Preschool-age children (N=62, mean age=47 months) were randomly assigned to experimental lessons that taught that biological traits (including gender) are either fixed (pro-constancy condition) or mutable (anti-constancy condition). Posttests revealed that the lessons were effective; children in the pro-constancy condition showed higher gender constancy and appearance-reality distinction scores than did children in the anti-constancy condition. Sex typing did not, however, differ between treatment conditions at immediate and 3-month posttesting.

Career Advancement Outcomes in Academic Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM): Gender, Mentoring Resources, and Homophily

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sang Eun

This dissertation examines gender differences in career advancement outcomes among academic science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) scientists. In particular, this research examines effects of gender, PhD advisors and postdoctoral supervisors mentoring resources and gender homophily in the mentoring dyads on the career advancement outcomes at early career stages. Female academic scientists have disadvantages in the career progress in the academic STEM. They tend to fall behind throughout their career paths and to leave the field compared to their male colleagues. Researchers have found that gender differences in the career advancement are shaped by gender-biased evaluations derived from gender stereotypes. Other studies demonstrate the positive impacts of mentoring and gender homophily in the mentoring dyads. To add greater insights to the current findings of female academic scientists' career disadvantages, this dissertation investigates comprehensive effects of gender, mentoring, and gender homophily in the mentoring dyads on female scientists' career advancement outcomes in academic science. Based on the Status Characteristics Theory, the concept of mentoring, Social Capital Theory, and Ingroup Bias Theory, causal path models are developed to test direct and indirect effects of gender, mentoring resources, and gender homophily on STEM faculty's career advancement. The research models were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) with data collected from a national survey, funded by the National Science Foundation, completed in 2011 by tenured and tenure-track academic STEM faculty from higher education institutions in the United States. Findings suggest that there is no gender difference in career advancement controlling for mentoring resources and gender homophily in the mentoring dyads and other factors including research productivity and domestic caregiving responsibilities. Findings also show that the positive relationship between gender homophily in mentoring dyads and the reception of the mentoring resources, especially regarding providing help on career development and research collaboration, lead to enhanced early stage career advancement. Insights from the findings contribute both to theoretical understandings of the overall effects of gender, mentoring, and gender homophily in the mentoring dyads on female academic scientists' career advancement at early career stages and to provide evidence of positive effects of same-gender mentoring dyads to universities.

The Persistence of the Gender Gap in Introductory Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kost, Lauren E.; Pollock, Steven J.; Finkelstein, Noah D.

2008-10-01

We previously showed[l] that despite teaching with interactive engagement techniques, the gap in performance between males and females on conceptual learning surveys persisted from pre- to posttest, at our institution. Such findings were counter to previously published work[2]. Our current work analyzes factors that may influence the observed gender gap in our courses. Posttest conceptual assessment data are modeled using both multiple regression and logistic regression analyses to estimate the gender gap in posttest scores after controlling for background factors that vary by gender. We find that at our institution the gender gap persists in interactive physics classes, but is largely due to differences in physics and math preparation and incoming attitudes and beliefs.

Association of Anthropometric Indices of Obesity with Hypertension in Chinese Elderly: An Analysis of Age and Gender Differences

PubMed Central

Wang, Qian; Xu, Lingzhong; Li, Jiajia; Sun, Long; Qin, Wenzhe; Ding, Gan; Zhu, Jing; Zhang, Jiao; Yu, Zihang; Xie, Su

2018-01-01

This study aims to explore the association of anthropometric indices of obesity with hypertension in Chinese elderly and its possible gender and age differences. A total of 7070 adults age 60 or older were interviewed in a cross-sectional study conducted in 2017. Anthropometric indices for each participant were measured by using standard methods of trained doctoral/master students. We performed two binary logistic regression models to examine the association of the nine different anthropometric indices and hypertension by gender. Lastly, analyses were performed in two steps stratified for age. Comparing individuals with and without hypertension, there were statistically significant differences in anthropometric indices except height, a body shape index (ABSI), and hip index (HI) in males; and except height in females. There were gender differences in the relationship between anthropometric indices and the prevalence of hypertension in Chinese older adults. After stratification by age, the associations of all anthropometric indices became weaker, disappeared, or even went in the opposite direction. Furthermore, body mass index (BMI) in men (except individuals older than 80) and hip circumference (HC) in women showed a significant impact on the risk of hypertension. The association of anthropometric indices of obesity with hypertension in Chinese elderly differ by gender and age. These findings indicate a need to develop gender-specific strategies for the male and female elderly in the primary and secondary prevention of hypertension. PMID:29671813

Differential effects of gender on entropy perception

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Satcharoen, Kleddao

2017-12-01

The purpose of this research is to examine differences in perception of entropy (color intensity) between male and female computer users. The objectives include identifying gender-based differences in entropy intention and exploring the potential effects of these differences (if any) on user interface design. The research is an effort to contribute to an emerging field of interest in gender as it relates to science, engineering and technology (SET), particularly user interface design. Currently, there is limited evidence on the role of gender in user interface design and in use of technology generally, with most efforts at gender-differentiated or customized design based on stereotypes and assumptions about female use of technology or the assumption of a default position based on male preferences. Image entropy was selected as a potential characteristic where gender could be a factor in perception because of known differences in color perception acuity between male and female individuals, even where there is no known color perception abnormality (which is more common with males). Although the literature review suggested that training could offset differences in color perception and identification, tests in untrained subject groups routinely show that females are more able to identify, match, and differentiate colors, and that there is a stronger emotional and psychosocial association of color for females. Since image entropy is associated with information content and image salience, the ability to identify areas of high entropy could make a difference in user perception and technological capabilities.

Gender-related difference in the upper airway dimensions and hyoid bone position in Chinese Han children and adolescents aged 6-18 years using cone beam computed tomography.

PubMed

Jiang, Ying-Ying; Xu, Xin; Su, Hong-Li; Liu, Dong-Xu

2015-07-01

To investigate the gender-related differences in upper airway dimensions and hyoid bone position in Chinese Han children and adolescents (6-18 years) using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). CBCT-scans of 119 boys and 135 girls were selected and divided into four groups (group 1: 6-9 years; group 2: 10-12 years; group 3: 13-15 years; group 4: 16-18 years). The airway dimensions including the cross-sectional area (CSA), anteroposterior (AP) and lateral (LAT) width, length (L), mean CSA and volume (VOL) of upper airway segmentations and hyoid bone position including 11 linear and three angular measurements were investigated using Materialism's interactive medical image control system (MIMICS) 16.01 software. Gender-related differences were analyzed by two independent sample t-tests. No gender-related difference was found in values of the facial morphology, airway dimensions and hyoid bone position for group 1 (p > 0.05). The children and adolescents in groups 2, 3 and 4 showed significant gender-related differences in the measurement results of facial morphology, airway dimensions and hyoid bone positions (p < 0.05). What's more, the measurement values of boys were obviously larger than those of girls except some measurements in group 2. The measurements of airway dimensions and hyoid bone positions have gender-related differences in children and adolescents aged 10-18 years. These results could be taken into consideration during orthodontic diagnosis and treatment.

Gender identity and recalled gender related childhood play-behaviour in adult individuals with different forms of intersexuality.

PubMed

Richter-Appelt, Hertha; Discher, Christine; Gedrose, Benjamin

2005-09-01

The concept of intersexuality subsumes a wide variety of phenomena with very specific underlying causes. In all these cases, an untypical development takes place during the prenatal sex differentiation process becoming clinically manifest, either at, or soon after birth or at the time of puberty. It subsumes conditions in which biological sexual characteristics (e.g. chromosomal sex, gonadal sex, hormonal sex, morphological sex) differ from each other and one person cannot easily be assigned to one sex. One of the main goals of medical treatment of persons with intersex-syndroms is the development of a stable gender identity. Over the last few years, sex (and gender) assignment of persons with different forms of intersexuality has become a much discussed topic. An interesting--and very obviously observable--variable that was brought in connection with sex assignment is gender related childhood play behaviour. The purpose of the presented study is to examine 37 persons with different forms of intersexuality (disturbances of androgen biosynthesis, partial and complete androgen insensitivity, gonadal dysgenesis with 46,XY and congenital adrenal hyperplasia with 46,XX) with regard to gender identity and gender role behaviour in childhood. Not all subjects in the study group had developed a clear female or male gender identity. In contrast to previous studies, some persons with CAIS did not recall distinguished female childhood play behaviour and these persons did not show a clear female gender identity. In contrast to results from other studies, the CAH-affected girls in this study did not seem to recall masculinized behaviour. Further research is needed to guarantee better psychosexual development with good quality of life in individuals with intersexuality.

How female and male physicians' communication is perceived differently.

PubMed

Mast, Marianne Schmid; Kadji, Keou Kambiwa

2018-06-07

This paper is based on a 2017 Baltimore International Conference on Communication in Healthcare (ICCH) plenary presentation by the first author and addresses how female and male physicians' communication is perceived and evaluated differently. Female physicians use patient-centered communication which is the interaction style clearly preferred by patients. Logically, patients should be much more satisfied with female than male physicians. However, research shows that this is not the case. This article provides an overview on how female and male physician communication is evaluated and perceived differently by patients and discusses whether and how gender stereotypes can explain these differences in perception and evaluation. Male physicians obtain good patient outcomes when verbally expressing patient-centeredness while female physicians have patients who report better outcomes when they adapt their nonverbal communication to the different needs of their patients. The analysis reveals that existing empirical findings cannot simply be explained by the adherence or not to gender stereotypes. Female physicians do not always get credit for showing gender role congruent behavior. All in all, female and male physicians do not obtain credit for the same behaviors. Physician communication training might put different accents for female and male physicians. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Frequency of employer changes and their financial return: gender differences amongst German university graduates.

PubMed

Wieschke, Johannes

2018-01-01

Gender differences in the frequency of employer changes and their financial return were examined in a sample of Bavarian university graduates. The search and matching theories were used to develop hypotheses which were then tested against each other. The results show that in the first few years after graduation women change employer more frequently than men. In large part this can be explained by gender differences in labor market structures, in particular the fact that a woman's first job is less likely to be in a large company, in an executive position or on a permanent contract and women tend to be less satisfied with their first job. After controlling for variance in these factors the coefficient changes sign, indicating that under similar circumstances men change employer more often. Furthermore, both men and women benefit financially from changing employer. The absolute return is higher for men, but as men tend to have a higher starting salary there is no gender difference in the relative return and hence no effect on the gender gap. The results are also discussed in the light of the specifics of the structure of the German labor market.

Gender Differences in Anxiety Disorders: Prevalence, Course of Illness, Comorbidity and Burden of Illness

PubMed Central

McLean, Carmen P.; Asnaani, Anu; Litz, Brett T.; Hofmann, Stefan G.

2011-01-01

Women have consistently higher prevalence rates of anxiety disorders, but less is known about how gender affects age of onset, chronicity, comorbidity, and burden of illness. Gender differences in DSM-IV anxiety disorders were examined in a large sample of adults (N = 20,013) in the United States using data from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Studies (CPES). The lifetime and 12-month male:female prevalence ratios of any anxiety disorder were 1:1.7 and 1:1.79, respectively. Women had higher rates of lifetime diagnosis for each of the anxiety disorders examined, except for social anxiety disorder which showed no gender difference in prevalence. No gender differences were observed in the age of onset and chronicity of the illness. However, women with a lifetime diagnosis of an anxiety disorder were more likely than men to also be diagnosed with another anxiety disorder, bulimia nervosa, and major depressive disorder. Furthermore, anxiety disorders were associated with a greater illness burden in women than in men, particularly among European American women and to some extend also among Hispanic women. These results suggest that anxiety disorders are not only more prevalent but also more disabling in women than in men. PMID:21439576

Gender identities and gender dysphoria in the Netherlands.

PubMed

Kuyper, Lisette; Wijsen, Ciel

2014-02-01

Several studies estimate the prevalence of gender dysphoria among adults by examining the number of individuals turning to health services. Since individuals might be hesitant to seek medical care related to gender dysphoria, these studies could underestimate the prevalence. The studies also lack information regarding the variance among different aspects of gender dysphoric conditions. Therefore, the current study estimated the prevalence by examining self-reported gender identity and dysphoria in a Dutch population sample (N = 8,064, aged 15-70 years old). Three measures assessed aspects of gender dysphoria: gender identity, dislike of the natal female/male body, and wish to obtain hormones/sex reassignment surgery. Results showed that 4.6 % of the natal men and 3.2 % of the natal women reported an ambivalent gender identity (equal identification with other sex as with sex assigned at birth) and 1.1 % of the natal men and 0.8 % of the natal women reported an incongruent gender identity (stronger identification with other sex as with sex assigned at birth). Lower percentages reported a dislike of their natal body and/or a wish for hormones/surgery. Combining these figures estimated the percentage of men reporting an ambivalent or incongruent gender identity combined with a dislike of their male body and a wish to obtain hormones/surgery at 0.6 %. For women, this was 0.2 %. These novel findings show that studies based on the number of individuals seeking medical care might underestimate the prevalence of gender dysphoria. Furthermore, the findings argue against a dichotomous approach to gender dysphoria.

Gender differences in addiction severity.

PubMed

Díaz-Mesa, Eva M; García-Portilla, Paz; Fernández-Artamendi, Sergio; Sáiz, Pilar A; Bobes Bascarán, Teresa; Casares, María José; Fonseca, Eduardo; Al-Halabí, Susana; Bobes, Julio

2016-06-14

Gender has been associated with substance use disorders (SUD). However, there are few studies that have evaluated gender differences in a global and a standardized way, and with a large sample of patients with SUD. Our goal is to analyze the role of gender in addiction severity throughout multiple life domains, using the Addiction Severity Index-6 (ASI-6). A naturalistic, multicenter and prospective study was conducted. A total of 221 patients with SUD (80.1% men) were interviewed with the ASI-6. Our results indicate that the Recent Summary Scores (RSSs) of men and women are similar, with the exception of Psychiatric and Partner- Problems, where women showed higher severity (p = .017 and p = .013, respectively). Statistically significant gender differences were found in certain aspects of the ASI-6 domains: men have more problems of physical health, legal issues, and alcohol and other substance use; and woman score higher in problems of mental health, social network, subjective evaluations of SUD consequences, and treatment needs. These results should be taken into account to improve the identification, prevention, and treatment of SUD.

Gender differences in social support and leisure-time physical activity.

PubMed

Oliveira, Aldair J; Lopes, Claudia S; Rostila, Mikael; Werneck, Guilherme Loureiro; Griep, Rosane Härter; Leon, Antônio Carlos Monteiro Ponce de; Faerstein, Eduardo

2014-08-01

To identify gender differences in social support dimensions' effect on adults' leisure-time physical activity maintenance, type, and time. Longitudinal study of 1,278 non-faculty public employees at a university in Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Southeastern Brazil. Physical activity was evaluated using a dichotomous question with a two-week reference period, and further questions concerning leisure-time physical activity type (individual or group) and time spent on the activity. Social support was measured with the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Scale. For the analysis, logistic regression models were adjusted separately by gender. A multinomial logistic regression showed an association between material support and individual activities among women (OR = 2.76; 95%CI 1.2;6.5). Affective support was associated with time spent on leisure-time physical activity only among men (OR = 1.80; 95%CI 1.1;3.2). All dimensions of social support that were examined influenced either the type of, or the time spent on, leisure-time physical activity. In some social support dimensions, the associations detected varied by gender. Future studies should attempt to elucidate the mechanisms involved in these gender differences.

Worried Women, Complacent Men? Gendered Responses to Differential Student Funding in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kettley, Nigel; Whitehead, Joan M.; Raffan, John

2008-01-01

Changing financial arrangements for undergraduates have led to a growth in widening participation research. However, hardly any studies explore gender differences in the impact of differential funding on students' sense of well-being, their financial coping strategies and their educational attainment. Our research shows that there are few gender…

Gender Differences in Attitudes toward Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kauffman, Stephen E.; Poulin, John; Silver, Paula

1997-01-01

Examines gender-related beliefs about the causes of substance abuse, the power of various substances, the prevalence of substance use, and the effectiveness of various interventions. Results show that women were more likely to attribute causality to biological or environmental factors and to believe prevention and treatment were more effective.…

Gender and Age as Moderators of the Relationship between the Efficacy of Vocational Teachers' Personal Resources and Strain.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pithers, Robert T.; Soden, Rebecca

2002-01-01

Results of the Occupational Stress Inventory completed by 256 vocational teachers showed a significant negative relationship between personal resources (recreation, self-care, social support, rational/cognitive) and occupational strain, differing by gender, age, and type of strain (vocational, psychological, interpersonal, physical). Women and…

The critical role of culture and environment as determinants of women's participation in computer science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frieze, Carol

This thesis proposes the need for, and illustrates, a new approach to how we think about, and act on, issues relating to women's participation, or lack of participation, in computer science (CS). This approach is based on a cultural perspective arguing that many of the reasons for women entering---or not entering---CS programs have little to do with gender and a lot to do with environment and culture. Evidence for this approach comes primarily from a qualitative, research study, which shows the effects of changes in the micro-culture on CS undergraduates at Carnegie Mellon, and from studies of other cultural contexts that illustrate a "Women-CS fit". We also discuss the interventions that have been crucial to the evolution of this specific micro-culture. Our argument goes against the grain of many gender and CS studies which conclude that the reasons for women's low participation in CS are based in gender --and particularly in gender differences in how men and women relate to the field. Such studies tend to focus on gender differences and recommend accommodating (what are perceived to be) women's different ways of relating to CS. This is often interpreted as contextualizing the curriculum to make it "female-friendly". The CS curriculum at Carnegie Mellon was not contextualized to be "female-friendly". Nevertheless, over the past few years, the school has attracted and graduated well above the US national average for women in undergraduate CS programs. We argue that this is due in large part to changes in the culture and environment of the department. As the environment has shifted from an unbalanced to a more balanced environment (balanced in terms of gender, breadth of student personalities, and professional support for women) the way has been opened for a range of students, including a significant number of women, to participate, and be successful, in the CS major. Our research shows that as men and women inhabit, and participate in, a more balanced environment, perceived gender differences start to dissolve and we see men and women displaying many gender similarities in how they relate to CS.

Genome-wide association analysis of gender differences in major depressive disorder in the Netherlands NESDA and NTR population-based samples.

PubMed

Aragam, Nagesh; Wang, Ke-Sheng; Pan, Yue

2011-10-01

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a universally prevalent, genetic, and environment dependent mental condition that disables people of every culture, race, gender, and age. While the gender differences for MDD have been widely reported in literature, few genome-wide analyses of gender differences have been reported to date. We conducted a genome-wide association analysis of gender differences for MDD using the Netherlands NESDA and NTR population-based samples (1726 cases and 1630 controls). PLINK software was used to analyze the genome-wide association data of Perlegen 600 K SNP Chips. We identified 40 male-specific and 56 female-specific MDD associated SNPs with P-values less than 10(-4). The best male-specific SNP was rs9352774 (P=2.26 × 10(-6)) within LGSN gene while the best female-specific SNP was rs2715148 (P=5.64 × 10(-7)) within PCLO gene. We also found 38 SNPs showing gene × gender interactions in influencing MDD (P<10(-4)). The best SNP was rs12692709 (P=5.75 × 10(-6)) near FIGN gene at 2q24.3 while the next best SNP was rs11039588 (P=1.16 × 10(-5)) within OR4B1 gene. The findings from this study need be replicated in other populations. These results provide genetic basis for gender differences in MDD and will serve as a resource for replication in other populations to elucidate the potential role of these genetic variants in MDD. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Trends in Child Immunization across Geographical Regions in India: Focus on Urban-Rural and Gender Differentials

PubMed Central

Singh, Prashant Kumar

2013-01-01

Background Although child immunization is regarded as a highly cost-effective lifesaver, about fifty percent of the eligible children aged 12–23 months in India are without essential immunization coverage. Despite several programmatic initiatives, urban-rural and gender difference in child immunization pose an intimidating challenge to India’s public health agenda. This study assesses the urban-rural and gender difference in child immunization coverage during 1992–2006 across six major geographical regions in India. Data and Methods Three rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted during 1992–93, 1998–99 and 2005–06 were analyzed. Bivariate analyses, urban-rural and gender inequality ratios, and the multivariate-pooled logistic regression model were applied to examine the trends and patterns of inequalities over time. Key Findings The analysis of change over one and half decades (1992–2006) shows considerable variations in child immunization coverage across six geographical regions in India. Despite a decline in urban-rural and gender differences over time, children residing in rural areas and girls remained disadvantaged. Moreover, northeast, west and south regions, which had the lowest gender inequality in 1992 observed an increase in gender difference over time. Similarly, urban-rural inequality increased in the west region during 1992–2006. Conclusion This study suggests periodic evaluation of the health care system is vital to assess the between and within group difference beyond average improvement. It is essential to integrate strong immunization systems with broad health systems and coordinate with other primary health care delivery programs to augment immunization coverage. PMID:24023816

Gender differences in the functional neuroanatomy of emotional episodic autobiographical memory.

PubMed

Piefke, Martina; Weiss, Peter H; Markowitsch, Hans J; Fink, Gereon R

2005-04-01

Autobiographical memory is based on interactions between episodic memory contents, associated emotions, and a sense of self-continuity along the time axis of one's life. The functional neuroanatomy subserving autobiographical memory is known to include prefrontal, medial and lateral temporal, as well as retrosplenial brain areas; however, whether gender differences exist in neural correlates of autobiographical memory remains to be clarified. We reanalyzed data from a previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment to investigate gender-related differences in the neural bases of autobiographical memories with differential remoteness and emotional valence. On the behavioral level, there were no significant gender differences in memory performance or emotional intensity of memories. Activations common to males and females during autobiographical memory retrieval were observed in a bilateral network of brain areas comprising medial and lateral temporal regions, including hippocampal and parahippocampal structures, posterior cingulate, as well as prefrontal cortex. In males (relative to females), all types of autobiographical memories investigated were associated with differential activation of the left parahippocampal gyrus. By contrast, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was activated differentially by females. In addition, the right insula was activated differentially in females during remote and negative memory retrieval. The data show gender-related differential neural activations within the network subserving autobiographical memory in both genders. We suggest that the differential activations may reflect gender-specific cognitive strategies during access to autobiographical memories that do not necessarily affect the behavioral level of memory performance and emotionality. (c) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Ethnic and gender differences in the association between discrimination and depressive symptoms among five immigrant groups.

PubMed

Kim, Il-Ho; Noh, Samuel

2014-12-01

This study examines ethnic and gender differences in exposure to discrimination and its association with depressive symptoms among five immigrant groups. Data were derived from a cross-sectional survey of 900 adult immigrants (50.8% men, 49.2% women) sampled from five ethnic immigrant communities in Toronto between April and September 2001. Men reported higher levels of discrimination than women. Ethiopians had the highest perception of discrimination followed by Korean, Iranian, Vietnamese, and Irish immigrants. With regard to discrimination-related depressive symptoms, Iranian and Korean men showed a greater risk than their Irish counterparts. Among women, Vietnamese and Irish seemed to be more vulnerable to discrimination than other ethnic groups. Despite experiencing the highest level of discrimination, Ethiopian men and women showed no association between discrimination and depressive symptoms. The exposure and psychological response to discrimination vary significantly across ethnicities and gender.

Examining Moderation Analyses in Propensity Score Methods: Application to Depression and Substance Use

PubMed Central

Green, Kerry M.; Stuart, Elizabeth A.

2014-01-01

Objective This study provides guidance on how propensity score methods can be combined with moderation analyses (i.e., effect modification) to examine subgroup differences in potential causal effects in non-experimental studies. As a motivating example, we focus on how depression may affect subsequent substance use differently for men and women. Method Using data from a longitudinal community cohort study (N=952) of urban African Americans with assessments in childhood, adolescence, young adulthood and midlife, we estimate the influence of depression by young adulthood on substance use outcomes in midlife, and whether that influence varies by gender. We illustrate and compare five different techniques for estimating subgroup effects using propensity score methods, including separate propensity score models and matching for men and women, a joint propensity score model for men and women with matching separately and together by gender, and a joint male/female propensity score model that includes theoretically important gender interactions with matching separately and together by gender. Results Analyses showed that estimating separate models for men and women yielded the best balance and, therefore, is a preferred technique when subgroup analyses are of interest, at least in this data. Results also showed substance use consequences of depression but no significant gender differences. Conclusions It is critical to prespecify subgroup effects before the estimation of propensity scores and to check balance within subgroups regardless of the type of propensity score model used. Results also suggest that depression may affect multiple substance use outcomes in midlife for both men and women relatively equally. PMID:24731233

Strain of ascending aorta on cardiac magnetic resonance in 1027 patients: Relation with age, gender, and cardiovascular disease.

PubMed

Scarabello, Marco; Codari, Marina; Secchi, Francesco; Cannaò, Paola M; Alì, Marco; Di Leo, Giovanni; Sardanelli, Francesco

2018-02-01

To evaluate ascending aortic strain (AAS) with cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in a large consecutive series of patients with different types of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Two-dimensional phase-contrast gradient-echo sequences of the ascending aorta were retrospectively reviewed in 1027 patients (726 males, 301 females). Aortic lumen area was segmented using a semi-automatic approach to calculate AAS values. Subgroup analysis was performed for patients with normal CMR, tetralogy of Fallot (ToF), and ischemic heart disease (IHD). Multivariate and post-hoc analyses were performed to evaluate the effect of age, gender, and CVD on AAS values. Shapiro-Wilk, three- and two-way ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U, and Spearman correlation statistics were used. Multivariate analysis showed significant differences in AAS among decades of age (p<0.001), genders (p=0.006) and CVD subgroups (p<0.001) without interaction among these factors. A gender-related difference (higher AAS in females) was significant in ToF (p=0.008), while an AAS reduction during aging was observed in all CVD subgroups. Post-hoc analysis showed a significantly lower AAS in ToF and IHD patients compared to subjects with normal CMR (p<0.001). Differences in age, gender, and CVD independently affect AAS. The lower AAS observed in ToF fosters its assessment during follow-up in adulthood. Future studies on causes and clinical implications of a higher AAS in females affected by ToF are warranted. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Catching up with wonderful women: The women-are-wonderful effect is smaller in more gender egalitarian societies.

PubMed

Krys, Kuba; Capaldi, Colin A; van Tilburg, Wijnand; Lipp, Ottmar V; Bond, Michael Harris; Vauclair, C-Melanie; Manickam, L Sam S; Domínguez-Espinosa, Alejandra; Torres, Claudio; Lun, Vivian Miu-Chi; Teyssier, Julien; Miles, Lynden K; Hansen, Karolina; Park, Joonha; Wagner, Wolfgang; Yu, Angela Arriola; Xing, Cai; Wise, Ryan; Sun, Chien-Ru; Siddiqui, Razi Sultan; Salem, Radwa; Rizwan, Muhammad; Pavlopoulos, Vassilis; Nader, Martin; Maricchiolo, Fridanna; Malbran, María; Javangwe, Gwatirera; Işık, İdil; Igbokwe, David O; Hur, Taekyun; Hassan, Arif; Gonzalez, Ana; Fülöp, Márta; Denoux, Patrick; Cenko, Enila; Chkhaidze, Ana; Shmeleva, Eleonora; Antalíková, Radka; Ahmed, Ramadan A

2017-03-14

Inequalities between men and women are common and well-documented. Objective indexes show that men are better positioned than women in societal hierarchies-there is no single country in the world without a gender gap. In contrast, researchers have found that the women-are-wonderful effect-that women are evaluated more positively than men overall-is also common. Cross-cultural studies on gender equality reveal that the more gender egalitarian the society is, the less prevalent explicit gender stereotypes are. Yet, because self-reported gender stereotypes may differ from implicit attitudes towards each gender, we reanalysed data collected across 44 cultures, and (a) confirmed that societal gender egalitarianism reduces the women-are-wonderful effect when it is measured more implicitly (i.e. rating the personality of men and women presented in images) and (b) documented that the social perception of men benefits more from gender egalitarianism than that of women. © 2017 International Union of Psychological Science.

Women are not less field independent than men-the role of stereotype threat.

PubMed

Drążkowski, Dariusz; Szwedo, Jakub; Krajczewska, Aleksandra; Adamczuk, Anna; Piątkowski, Krzysztof; Jadwiżyc, Marcin; Rakowski, Adam

2017-10-01

Prior research has shown that females are less field independent (FI) than males. However, when gender identity is salient, performance on tests assessing constructs similar to FI may be hindered, because of stereotype threat. This study examined the impact of stereotype threat on gender differences in FI. We expected that (a) reporting one's own gender prior to FI testing and (b) having an opposite-gender experimenter would activate stereotype threat, and in turn result in lower performance on a test of FI among females. Overall, 170 participants were randomly assigned to one of eight conditions in a between-participants design varying the participant's gender, experimenter's gender and timing of the gender question (before vs. after test). Results showed that reporting one's gender before the FI test led to lower FI performance among females. Furthermore, females achieved higher FI when experimenters were females and gender questions were administered after the FI test. © 2015 International Union of Psychological Science.

Perceived Discrimination and Binge Eating Disorder; Gender Difference in African Americans.

PubMed

Assari, Shervin

2018-04-24

Environmental stressors, such as perceived discrimination (PD), are linked to Binge Eating Disorder (BED). The current study investigated the association between PD and BED among African Americans, and the variation in such an association based on gender. Data of the National Survey of American Life (NSAL), 2001⁻2003, with a nationally-representative sample of African American adults, were used ( n = 3516). The independent variable in the study was PD. The dependent variable was BED, measured using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Socio-demographics (age, education, employment, and marital status) were covariates, and gender was the moderator variable. Survey logistic regressions with and without gender × PD interaction terms were used for data analysis. In the pooled sample, PD was associated with higher odds of BED, net of socio-demographic factors. Models also showed a significant gender × PD interaction term suggesting a stronger association between PD and BED for women, compared to men. Gender specific models showed an association between PD and BED among female, but not male, African Americans. Although a link may exist between PD and BED among African Americans, the magnitude of this association depends on gender, with a stronger association among females than males. This finding is in line with the literature that has shown gender-specific consequences of environmental stress for African Americans.

[Dimensions of personality, attachment style and early maladaptive schemas in alcohol-dependent patients: Are there gender-specific differences?

PubMed

Camart, N; Cotte, M; Leignel, S; Bouvet, C; Limosin, F

2016-12-01

Literature reports particularities in certain psychological dimensions, such as personality traits, early maladaptive schemas and attachment styles among patients dependent on alcohol. Several international studies have also emphasized significant gender differences in psychological profiles. However, in France, only a few studies have dealt with this subject. Our aim was on the one hand to study the characteristics of alcohol-dependent patients in these variables, and on the other hand to search for gender differences. The personality dimensions were assessed with the French Big Five Inventory (Fr-BFI), the attachment style with Bartholomew's Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ), and early maladaptive schemas with the short version of Young's questionnaire (YSQ-S1). Seventy-three subjects were included: 39 alcohol-dependent patients (19 men and 20 women) and 34 healthy control subjects (17 men and 17 women). The scores of alcohol-dependent patients were compared with those of a healthy control group (n=34, 17 men, 17 women) and available standards. We also compared the scores of men and women with alcohol dependence between them, and we compared the scores of men and women to those of the control group and those of the reference sample of the same sex. This is an ongoing study and we publish here the first results. Compared with control subjects, and the reference sample, alcohol-dependent patients showed significantly higher levels of neuroticism and lower levels of extraversion. Furthermore, differences in attachment styles were observed compared to the control group: alcohol-dependent patients presented a less secure attachment, seemed more fearful and detached, but the results remained within the normal standards. Compared to the control subjects, alcohol-dependent patients showed a significant increase in scores regarding many schemas: emotional deprivation, abandonment, abuse/mistrust, isolation, imperfection, dependence, symbiotic relationship, subjugation, and emotional inhibition. Men and women with alcohol dependence did not show a significant difference between them concerning the dimensions of personality, the schemas, and attachment styles. In addition, the comparison of each sub-group (male/female) with the control group of the same sex and standards available showed specific features: for dimensions of personality, alcohol-dependent men presented a high level of neuroticism and a low level of extraversion, while the women showed no specific features. Concerning attachment, both men and women differed from the control group. Their attachment was more fearful and men showed a less secure and more detached attachment. As for patterns, three are higher among men and women with alcohol dependence compared to controls of the same sex: emotional deprivation, abuse/mistrust, and imperfection. In addition, these schemas seem to be more specific according to gender: alcoholic women differed from controls of the same sex at the subjugation schema, which was not the case for men, while only men differed from men of the control group by higher scores in insufficient self-control, dependency and symbiotic relationship. This study shows not only particularities in patients with alcohol dependence concerning personality dimensions, styles of attachment and early maladaptive schemas, but also gender differences when comparing each subgroup (men and women) with controls of the same sex. Even if these results need to be confirmed by using a larger sample, the particularities deserve consideration, especially gender differences in view of appropriate psychotherapeutic strategies. Copyright © 2016 L’Encéphale, Paris. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The relative age effect among elite youth competitive swimmers.

PubMed

Costa, Aldo M; Marques, Mário C; Louro, Hugo; Ferreira, Sandra S; Marinho, Daniel A

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to analyse the relative age effect (RAE) in competitive swimming. The best 50 Portuguese swimmers (12- to 18-year-olds) for the main individual swimming pool events of both genders were considered. Analysis was conducted on 7813 swimming event participants, taking account of respective swimmer birth dates and the Fédération Internationale de Natation points gained. Differences in the distribution of birth dates by quarter year were determined using the Chi-square. A one-way analysis of variance ANOVA was used to test for differences measured in points between individuals by quarterly birth year intervals. A two-way analysis of variance ANOVA was also conducted to test the interaction between gender and seasonal birth date with regard to performance. The results show an inequitable distribution (p<0.01) of birth dates by quarter for almost all age groups and both genders. However, the distribution of birth dates by quarter for each considered swim event shows that RAE seems to exist only for 12-year-old females and 12- to 15-year-old males. Analysing mean swimming performance, post-hoc results (p<0.01) show no consistency in RAE. Higher performance occurs among older swimmers only in 100 m butterfly (female 1998, 1st≠2nd quarter, p=0.003). The results also show no interaction between gender and seasonal birth date (p<0.01). Findings of this study show that a higher number of swimmers, particular males, are born in the first two quarters of the year, although there is mostly no effect of seasonal birth date on performance differences within the top 50 swimmers.

A Multiple Identity Approach to Gender: Identification with Women, Identification with Feminists, and Their Interaction

PubMed Central

van Breen, Jolien A.; Spears, Russell; Kuppens, Toon; de Lemus, Soledad

2017-01-01

Across four studies, we examine multiple identities in the context of gender and propose that women's attitudes toward gender group membership are governed by two largely orthogonal dimensions of gender identity: identification with women and identification with feminists. We argue that identification with women reflects attitudes toward the content society gives to group membership: what does it mean to be a woman in terms of group characteristics, interests and values? Identification with feminists, on the other hand, is a politicized identity dimension reflecting attitudes toward the social position of the group: what does it mean to be a woman in terms of disadvantage, inequality, and relative status? We examine the utility of this multiple identity approach in four studies. Study 1 showed that identification with women reflects attitudes toward group characteristics, such as femininity and self-stereotyping, while identification with feminists reflects attitudes toward the group's social position, such as perceived sexism. The two dimensions are shown to be largely independent, and as such provide support for the multiple identity approach. In Studies 2–4, we examine the utility of this multiple identity approach in predicting qualitative differences in gender attitudes. Results show that specific combinations of identification with women and feminists predicted attitudes toward collective action and gender stereotypes. Higher identification with feminists led to endorsement of radical collective action (Study 2) and critical attitudes toward gender stereotypes (Studies 3–4), especially at lower levels of identification with women. The different combinations of high vs. low identification with women and feminists can be thought of as reflecting four theoretical identity “types.” A woman can be (1) strongly identified with neither women nor feminists (“low identifier”), (2) strongly identified with women but less so with feminists (“traditional identifier”), (3) strongly identified with both women and feminists (“dual identifier”), or (4) strongly identified with feminists but less so with women (“distinctive feminist”). In sum, by considering identification with women and identification with feminists as multiple identities we aim to show how the multiple identity approach predicts distinct attitudes to gender issues and offer a new perspective on gender identity. PMID:28713297

A Multiple Identity Approach to Gender: Identification with Women, Identification with Feminists, and Their Interaction.

PubMed

van Breen, Jolien A; Spears, Russell; Kuppens, Toon; de Lemus, Soledad

2017-01-01

Across four studies, we examine multiple identities in the context of gender and propose that women's attitudes toward gender group membership are governed by two largely orthogonal dimensions of gender identity: identification with women and identification with feminists. We argue that identification with women reflects attitudes toward the content society gives to group membership: what does it mean to be a woman in terms of group characteristics, interests and values? Identification with feminists, on the other hand, is a politicized identity dimension reflecting attitudes toward the social position of the group: what does it mean to be a woman in terms of disadvantage, inequality, and relative status? We examine the utility of this multiple identity approach in four studies. Study 1 showed that identification with women reflects attitudes toward group characteristics, such as femininity and self-stereotyping, while identification with feminists reflects attitudes toward the group's social position, such as perceived sexism. The two dimensions are shown to be largely independent, and as such provide support for the multiple identity approach. In Studies 2-4, we examine the utility of this multiple identity approach in predicting qualitative differences in gender attitudes. Results show that specific combinations of identification with women and feminists predicted attitudes toward collective action and gender stereotypes. Higher identification with feminists led to endorsement of radical collective action (Study 2) and critical attitudes toward gender stereotypes (Studies 3-4), especially at lower levels of identification with women. The different combinations of high vs. low identification with women and feminists can be thought of as reflecting four theoretical identity "types." A woman can be (1) strongly identified with neither women nor feminists ("low identifier"), (2) strongly identified with women but less so with feminists ("traditional identifier"), (3) strongly identified with both women and feminists ("dual identifier"), or (4) strongly identified with feminists but less so with women ("distinctive feminist"). In sum, by considering identification with women and identification with feminists as multiple identities we aim to show how the multiple identity approach predicts distinct attitudes to gender issues and offer a new perspective on gender identity.

Workplace mobbing and bystanders' helping behaviour towards victims: the role of gender, perceived responsibility and anticipated stigma by association.

PubMed

Mulder, Roelie; Pouwelse, Mieneke; Lodewijkx, Hein; Bolman, Catherine

2014-08-01

We examined victims' perceived responsibility and bystanders' anticipated risk of being victimized themselves when others associate them with the victim (stigma by association, SBA) as possible antecedents of bystanders' helping behaviour towards a victim of workplace mobbing, and explored the effects of gender. Guided by the attribution model of social conduct (Weiner, 2006), a 2 × 2 vignette experiment was conducted. Participants were Dutch regional government employees (N = 161). Path analyses generally supported the hypotheses, but showed different results for women and men. In the strong (Vs. weak) responsibility condition, women reported less sympathy and more anger and men only more anger, which resulted in lower helping intention. Additionally, for men the results showed an unexpected direct positive effect of responsibility on helping intention. Furthermore, in the strong SBA condition, women and men reported more fear and men, unexpectedly, more anger. Consequently, helping intention decreased. The findings on gender are discussed in the context of social role theory, gender and emotion. Our findings suggest that to prevent and tackle mobbing, organizations and professionals should be aware of the attributional and emotional processes and gender differences in bystanders' helping behaviour. © 2013 International Union of Psychological Science.

A two-question method for assessing gender categories in the social and medical sciences.

PubMed

Tate, Charlotte Chuck; Ledbetter, Jay N; Youssef, Cris P

2013-01-01

Three studies (N = 990) assessed the statistical reliability of two methods of determining gender identity that can capture transgender spectrum identities (i.e., current gender identities different from birth-assigned gender categories). Study 1 evaluated a single question with four response options (female, male, transgender, other) on university students. The missing data rate was higher than the valid response rates for transgender and other options using this method. Study 2 evaluated a method of asking two separate questions (i.e., one for current identity and another for birth-assigned category), with response options specific to each. Results showed no missing data and two times the transgender spectrum response rate compared to Study 1. Study 3 showed that the two-question method also worked in community samples, producing near-zero missing data. The two-question method also identified cisgender identities (same birth-assigned and current gender identity), making it a dynamic and desirable measurement tool for the social and medical sciences.

Gender and perceptions of romantic partners' sexual risk.

PubMed

Conley, Terri D; Peplau, Letitia Anne

2010-02-01

Research shows that in most situations, women perceive themselves to be at greater risk of harm than do men. Gustafson's gender role perspective on risk perception suggests that this is because women are socialized to feel that they need protection, especially from men. Based on Gustafson's gender role perspective on sex differences in risk perception, we predicted that in at least one context, perception of romantic partners' sexual risk, this gender difference would be reversed. Specifically, women should rate boyfriends as having lower risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than boyfriends rate themselves having. In two studies, we examined heterosexual couples and compared women's perceptions of their boyfriends' sexual risk level with the boyfriend's self-perception of sexual risk. Self-reported measures of risk for STIs, perception of romantic partners' risk for STIs. On multiple measures, women rated their boyfriends as having a lower risk for STIs than the men rated themselves. Men did not show this pattern and, in some cases, showed the reverse pattern of perceiving their girlfriends to have a greater level of risk than girlfriends themselves believed they had. Consistent with Gustafson's gender role perspective on risk perception, heterosexual women perceived their romantic partners as relatively less risky in terms of STI risk than men perceived themselves. One potential implication of this finding is that women may be less likely to protect themselves against disease in close romantic relationships because they believe that their partners are low risk, regardless of the partners' actual risk levels.

Congruence between gender stereotypes and activity preference in self-identified tomboys and non-tomboys.

PubMed

Martin, Carol Lynn; Dinella, Lisa M

2012-06-01

The major goal was to examine a central tenet of cognitive approaches to gender development, namely, that congruence exists between personal gender stereotypes and behaviors. Item-by-item comparisons of girls' stereotypes about activities and their preferences for activities were conducted, for both girls who claimed to be tomboys and those who did not. Congruence was expected for all girls, but because of their gender non-normative interests, tomboys may exhibit less congruence. A secondary goal was to examine factors that might influence congruence, specifically, whether tomboys develop more inclusive stereotypes and develop greater understanding of stereotype variability. Participants included 112 girls (7-12 years old, M age=9). Girls were interviewed about their activity preferences, beliefs about girls' and boys' activity preferences, understanding variability of stereotypes, and identification as tomboys. Tomboys (30% of the sample) and non-tomboys did not differ in their liking of or in the number of liked feminine activities. However, tomboys showed more interest in masculine activities than non-tomboys. Tomboys and non-tomboys did not differ in stereotype inclusiveness, although tomboys showed a trend toward more inclusive stereotypes. Both groups showed high levels of congruence between stereotypes and preferences. Congruence was stronger for nontomboys (14 times more likely to exhibit responses congruent with stereotypes vs. incongruent ones), as compared to tomboys who were four times more likely to exhibit responses congruent with stereotypes versus incongruent ones. Implications of these findings for cognitive approaches to gender development are discussed.

Estimation of stature from hand and foot dimensions in a Korean population.

PubMed

Kim, Wonjoon; Kim, Yong Min; Yun, Myung Hwan

2018-04-01

The estimation of stature using foot and hand dimensions is essential in the process of personal identification. The shapes of feet and hands vary depending on races and gender, and it is of great importance to design an adequate equation in consideration of variances to estimate stature. This study is based on a total of 5,195 South Korean males and females, aged from 20 to 59 years. Body dimensions of stature, hand length, hand breadth, foot length, and foot breadth were measured according to standard anthropometric procedures. The independent t-test was performed in order to verify significant gender-induced differences and the results showed that there was significant difference between males and females for all the foot-hand dimensions (p<0.01). All dimensions showed a positive and statistically significant relation with stature in both genders (p<0.01). For both genders, the foot length showed highest correlation, whereas the hand breadth showed least correlation. The stepwise regression analysis was conducted, and the results showed that males had the highest prediction accuracy in the regression equation consisting of foot length and hand length (R 2 =0.532), whereas females had the highest accuracy in the regression model consisting of foot length and hand breadth (R 2 =0.437) The findings of this study indicated that hand and foot dimensions can be used to predict the stature of South Korean in the forensic science field. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

Gender differences in public office workers' satisfaction, subjective symptoms and musculoskeletal complaints in workplace and office environments.

PubMed

Lee, Sangbok; Park, Myoung Hwan; Jeong, Byung Yong

2018-06-01

This study investigates differences between male and female public office workers' satisfaction levels, sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms and musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) complaints in workplace and office environments. Questionnaire surveys were performed in 30 offices from 15 public institutions. Male and female workers of the same age were coupled and selected from each office, gathering a total of 120 male and 120 female subjects. The results show that differences exist between genders in noise and lighting satisfaction levels, SBS-related symptoms (eye, nose, skin) and MSD complaints of hand/wrist/finger, while there is no difference in overall satisfaction level of office environments. The study also suggests that office design for public office workers should take into account gender differences in preventing MSDs and also SBS. The findings of this study are expected to serve as basic data for designing effective public office environments.

Gender perspective in occupational medicine and workplace risk assessment: state of the art and research agenda.

PubMed

Protano, C; Magrini, A; Vitali, M; Sernia, S

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the current situation and the research agenda in the field of gender differences, both generically in the occupational settings and in the specific activity of risk assessment. Gender is a key determinant of health; the evaluation of documents and scientific literature shows increasing attention to a gender oriented approach, as demonstrated by the development of Gender Medicine, actually cross-oriented in all medical specialties, the publication of books dedicated to this topic and the birth of "ad hoc" new scientific societies and journals. Even today, however, the gender differences are not considered as they should in the context of health disciplines, including occupational medicine. In this respect, in fact, the critical issues to be overcome are numerous, such as the phenomena of "segregation", the exposure to risk factors and their effects, related also to non-professional, socio-cultural features that differentiate male and female workers. All these factors can lead to situations of inequality in health. In fact, the European directives on safety at work repeatedly highlight the attention to gender differences in prevention, assessment and management of risks. In this regard, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work advocates an approach "more sensitive" to gender in all the processes of assessment and risk management, from the research of all potential sources of risk to the decision-making processes, in order to address the prevention of risks in a holistic manner.

Handedness is a biomarker of variation in anal sex role behavior and Recalled Childhood Gender Nonconformity among gay men.

PubMed

Swift-Gallant, Ashlyn; Coome, Lindsay A; Monks, D Ashley; VanderLaan, Doug P

2017-01-01

Developmental theories of the biological basis of sexual orientation suggest that sexually differentiated psychological and behavioural traits should be linked with sexual orientation. Subgroups of gay men delineated by anal sex roles differ according to at least one such trait: gender expression. The present study assessed the hypothesis that handedness, a biologically determined sexually differentiated trait, corresponds to differences in subgroups of gay men based on anal sex role. Furthermore, it assessed whether handedness mediates the association between gender nonconformity and male sexual orientation. Straight and gay men (N = 333) completed the Edinburgh Inventory of Handedness and the Recalled Childhood Gender Nonconformity Scale. Gay men also completed measures of anal sex role preference. As in previous studies, gay men showed greater non-right-handedness and gender nonconformity than straight men. Also, among gay men, bottoms/versatiles (i.e., gay men who take a receptive anal sex role, or who take on both a receptive and insertive anal sex role) were more gender-nonconforming than tops (i.e., gay men who take an insertive anal sex role). In support of the hypothesis, bottoms/versatiles were more non-right-handed than tops and handedness mediated the male sexual orientation and anal sex role differences in Recalled Childhood Gender Nonconformity. Together, these findings suggest that developmental processes linked to handedness underpin variation among men in sexual orientation and gender nonconformity as well as variation among subgroups of gay men that are delineated by anal sex roles.

Straight but Not Narrow; Within-Gender Variation in the Gender-Specificity of Women’s Sexual Response

PubMed Central

Chivers, Meredith L.; Bouchard, Katrina N.; Timmers, Amanda D.

2015-01-01

Gender differences in the specificity of sexual response have been a primary focus in sexual psychophysiology research, however, within-gender variability suggests sexual orientation moderates category-specific responding among women; only heterosexual women show gender-nonspecific genital responses to sexual stimuli depicting men and women. But heterosexually-identified or “straight” women are heterogeneous in their sexual attractions and include women who are exclusively androphilic (sexually attracted to men) and women who are predominantly androphilic with concurrent gynephilia (sexually attracted to women). It is therefore unclear if gender-nonspecific responding is found in both exclusively and predominantly androphilic women. The current studies investigated within-gender variability in the gender-specificity of women’s sexual response. Two samples of women reporting concurrent andro/gynephilia viewed (Study 1, n = 29) or listened (Study 2, n = 30) to erotic stimuli varying by gender of sexual partner depicted while their genital and subjective sexual responses were assessed. Data were combined with larger datasets of predominantly gyne- and androphilic women (total N = 78 for both studies). In both studies, women reporting any degree of gynephilia, including those who self-identified as heterosexual, showed significantly greater genital response to female stimuli, similar to predominantly gynephilic women; gender-nonspecific genital response was observed for exclusively androphilic women only. Subjective sexual arousal patterns were more variable with respect to sexual attractions, likely reflecting stimulus intensity effects. Heterosexually-identified women are therefore not a homogenous group with respect to sexual responses to gender cues. Implications for within-gender variation in women’s sexual orientation and sexual responses are discussed. PMID:26629910

Straight but Not Narrow; Within-Gender Variation in the Gender-Specificity of Women's Sexual Response.

PubMed

Chivers, Meredith L; Bouchard, Katrina N; Timmers, Amanda D

2015-01-01

Gender differences in the specificity of sexual response have been a primary focus in sexual psychophysiology research, however, within-gender variability suggests sexual orientation moderates category-specific responding among women; only heterosexual women show gender-nonspecific genital responses to sexual stimuli depicting men and women. But heterosexually-identified or "straight" women are heterogeneous in their sexual attractions and include women who are exclusively androphilic (sexually attracted to men) and women who are predominantly androphilic with concurrent gynephilia (sexually attracted to women). It is therefore unclear if gender-nonspecific responding is found in both exclusively and predominantly androphilic women. The current studies investigated within-gender variability in the gender-specificity of women's sexual response. Two samples of women reporting concurrent andro/gynephilia viewed (Study 1, n = 29) or listened (Study 2, n = 30) to erotic stimuli varying by gender of sexual partner depicted while their genital and subjective sexual responses were assessed. Data were combined with larger datasets of predominantly gyne- and androphilic women (total N = 78 for both studies). In both studies, women reporting any degree of gynephilia, including those who self-identified as heterosexual, showed significantly greater genital response to female stimuli, similar to predominantly gynephilic women; gender-nonspecific genital response was observed for exclusively androphilic women only. Subjective sexual arousal patterns were more variable with respect to sexual attractions, likely reflecting stimulus intensity effects. Heterosexually-identified women are therefore not a homogenous group with respect to sexual responses to gender cues. Implications for within-gender variation in women's sexual orientation and sexual responses are discussed.

The validity of the 12-item Bem Sex Role Inventory in older Spanish population: an examination of the androgyny model.

PubMed

Vafaei, Afshin; Alvarado, Beatriz; Tomás, Concepcion; Muro, Carmen; Martinez, Beatriz; Zunzunegui, Maria Victoria

2014-01-01

The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) is the most commonly used and validated gender role measurement tool across countries and age groups. However, it has been rarely validated in older adults and sporadically used in aging and health studies. Perceived gender role is a crucial part of a person's identity and an established determinant of health. Androgyny model suggests that those with high levels of both masculinity and femininity (androgynous) are more adaptive and hence have better health. Our objectives were to explore the validity of BSRI in an older Spanish population, to compare different standard methods of measuring gender roles, and to examine their impact on health indicators. The BSRI and health indicator questions were completed by 120 community-dwelling adults aged 65+ living in Aragon, Spain. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to examine psychometric properties of the BSRI. Androgyny was measured by three approaches: geometric mean, t-ratio, and traditional four-gender groups classification. Relationships between health indicators and gender roles were explored. Factor analysis resulted in two-factor solution consistent with the original masculine and feminine items with high loadings and good reliability. There were no associations between biological sex and gender roles. Different gender role measurement approaches classified participants differently into gender role groups. Overall, androgyny was associated with better mobility and physical and mental health. The traditional four groups approach showed higher compatibility with the androgyny model and was better able to disentangle the differential impact of gender roles on health. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Children's Gender-Typed Toy Interests: Does Propulsion Matter?

PubMed

Dinella, Lisa M; Weisgram, Erica S; Fulcher, Megan

2017-07-01

Children's toy play is at the foundation of child development. However, gender differentiation in early play experiences may result in gender differences in cognitive abilities, social interactions, and vocational choices. We investigated gender-typing of toys and toys' propulsive properties (e.g., wheels, forward motion) as possible factors impacting children's toy interests, perceptions of other children's interests, and children's actual toy choices during free play. In Studies 1 and 2, 82 preschool children (42 boys, 40 girls; mean age = 4.90 years) were asked to report their interest and perceptions of other children's interests in toys. In Study 1, masculine, feminine, and neutral toys with and without propulsive properties were presented. Children reported greater interest in gender-typed toys and neutral toys compared to cross-gender-typed toys. In Study 2, unfamiliar, neutral toys with and without propulsive properties were presented. Propulsive properties did not affect children's interest across both studies. Study 3 was an observational study that assessed toy preferences among 42 preschool children (21 males, 21 females, mean age = 4.49 years) during a play session with masculine, feminine, and neutral toys with and without propulsive properties. Gender-typed toy preferences were less apparent than expected, with children showing high interest in neutral toys, and girls playing with a wide variety of masculine, feminine, and neutral toys. Gender differences in interest for toys with propulsion properties were not evident. Overall, gender differences in children's interest in toys as a function of propulsion properties were not found in the three experiments within this study.

Gender and age do not influence the ability to work.

PubMed

Padula, Rosimeire Simprini; da Silva Valente, Luciana do Socorro; de Moraes, Mônica Vasconcelos; Chiavegato, Luciana Dias; Cabral, Cristina Maria Nunes

2012-01-01

Work capacity is related to physical, environmental and psychosocial factors and is influenced by individual characteristics and occupations. The aim of this study was to evaluated the relationship between work capacity, gender and age. 360 people employed at an institution of higher education of both genders and similar age were asked to participate in this study. The ability to work was analyzed using Work Ability Index (WAI). Descriptive statistical, Pearson correlations and ANOVA test was applied. Of these, 197 workers who participated in the study completed and returned the questionnaire. The results show there weren't any significant differences between work ability in relation to gender and age, but we observed an increase variability of responses for WAI score in older workers. No significant differences in the perception of the ability of work between men and women..

The gender gap in mobility: a global cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Mechakra-Tahiri, Samia Djemâa; Freeman, Ellen E; Haddad, Slim; Samson, Elodie; Zunzunegui, Maria Victoria

2012-08-02

Several studies have demonstrated that women have greater mobility disability than men. The goals of this research were: 1) to assess the gender gap in mobility difficulty in 70 countries; 2) to determine whether the gender gap is explained by sociodemographic and health factors; 3) to determine whether the gender gap differs across 6 regions of the world with different degrees of gender equality according to United Nations data. Population-based data were used from the World Health Survey (WHS) conducted in 70 countries throughout the world. 276,647 adults aged 18 years and over were recruited from 6 world regions. Mobility was measured by asking the level of difficulty people had moving around in the last 30 days and then creating a dichotomous measure (no difficulty, difficulty). The human development index and the gender-related development index for each country were obtained from the United Nations Development Program website. Poisson regression with Taylor series linearized variance estimation was used. Women were more likely than men to report mobility difficulty (38% versus 27%, P < 0.0001). The age-adjusted prevalence rate ratio for female gender was 1.35 (95% CI 1.31-1.38). The addition of education, marital status, and urban versus rural setting reduced the prevalence rate ratio to 1.30 (95% CI 1.26-1.33). The addition of the presence of back pain, arthritis, angina, depressive symptoms, and cognitive difficulties further reduced the prevalence rate ratio to 1.12 (95% CI 1.09-1.15). There was statistical interaction on the multiplicative scale between female gender and region (P < 0.01). The Eastern Mediterranean region, which had the greatest loss of human development due to gender inequality, showed the largest gender gap in mobility difficulty, while the Western Pacific region, with the smallest loss of human development due to gender inequality, had the smallest gender gap in mobility difficulty. These are the first world-wide data to examine the gender gap in mobility. Differences in chronic diseases are the main reasons for this gender gap. The gender gap seems to be greater in regions with the largest loss of human development due to gender inequality.

Gender Differences in Natural Language Factors of Subjective Intoxication in College Students: An Experimental Vignette Study

PubMed Central

Levitt, Ash; Schlauch, Robert C.; Bartholow, Bruce D.; Sher, Kenneth J.

2013-01-01

Background Examining the natural language college students use to describe various levels of intoxication can provide important insight into subjective perceptions of college alcohol use. Previous research (Levitt et al., 2009) has shown that intoxication terms reflect moderate and heavy levels of intoxication, and that self-use of these terms differs by gender among college students. However, it is still unknown whether these terms similarly apply to other individuals and, if so, whether similar gender differences exist. Method To address these issues, the current study examined the application of intoxication terms to characters in experimentally manipulated vignettes of naturalistic drinking situations within a sample of university undergraduates (N = 145). Results Findings supported and extended previous research by showing that other-directed applications of intoxication terms are similar to self-directed applications, and depend on the gender of both the target and the user. Specifically, moderate intoxication terms were applied to and from women more than men, even when the character was heavily intoxicated, whereas heavy intoxication terms were applied to and from men more than women. Conclusions The findings suggest that gender differences in the application of intoxication terms are other-directed as well as self-directed, and that intoxication language can inform gender-specific prevention and intervention efforts targeting problematic alcohol use among college students. PMID:23841828

To each its own? Gender differences in affective, autonomic, and behavioral responses to same-sex and opposite-sex visual sexual stimuli.

PubMed

Sarlo, Michela; Buodo, Giulia

2017-03-15

A large body of research on gender differences in response to erotic stimuli has focused on genital and/or subjective sexual arousal. On the other hand, studies assessing gender differences in emotional psychophysiological responding to sexual stimuli have only employed erotic pictures of male-female couples or female/male nudes. The present study aimed at investigating differences between gynephilic men and androphilic women in emotional responding to visual sexual stimuli depicting female-male, female-female and male-male couples. Affective responses were explored in multiple response systems, including autonomic indices of emotional activation, i.e., heart rate and skin conductance, along with standardized measures of valence and arousal. Blood pressure was measured as an index of autonomic activation associated with sexual arousal, and free viewing times as an index of interest/avoidance. Overall, men showed gender-specific activation characterized by clearly appetitive reactions to the target of their sexual attraction (i.e., women), with physiological arousal discriminating female-female stimuli as the most effective sexual cues. In contrast, women's emotional activation to sexual stimuli was clearly non-specific in most of the considered variables, with the notable exception of the self-report measures. Overall, affective responses replicate patterns of gender-specific and gender-nonspecific sexual responses in gynephilic men and androphilic women. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Do patient expectations about arthroplasty at initial presentation for hip or knee pain differ by sex and ethnicity?

PubMed

Lavernia, Carlos J; Contreras, Juan S; Parvizi, Javad; Sharkey, Peter F; Barrack, Robert; Rossi, Mark D

2012-10-01

Many studies show gender and ethnic differences in healthcare utilization and outcomes. Patients' presurgical cognitions regarding surgical outcomes also may vary by gender and ethnicity and play a role in explaining utilization and outcome differences. However, it is unclear whether and to what extent gender and ethnicity play a role in patients' presurgical cognitions. Do gender and ethnicity influence outcome expectations? Is arthroplasty-related knowledge affected by gender and ethnicity? Do gender and ethnicity influence willingness to pay for surgery? In a prospective, multicenter study we gave 765 patients an anonymous questionnaire on expectations, arthroplasty knowledge, and preferences before their consultation for hip and/or knee pain, from March 2005 to July 2007. Six hundred seventy-two of the 765 patients (88%) completed questionnaires. Non-Hispanics and men were more likely to indicate they would be able to engage in more activities. Non-Hispanics and men had greater arthroplasty knowledge. Hispanics and women were more likely to report they would not pay for a total joint arthroplasty (TJA) relative to non-Hispanics and men. Sex and ethnic differences in patients presenting for their initial visit to the orthopaedists for hip or knee pain influence expectations, knowledge, and preferences concerning TJAs. Longitudinal study of relationships between patients' perceptions and utilization or outcomes regarding TJA is warranted.

Gender differences in natural language factors of subjective intoxication in college students: an experimental vignette study.

PubMed

Levitt, Ash; Schlauch, Robert C; Bartholow, Bruce D; Sher, Kenneth J

2013-12-01

Examining the natural language college students use to describe various levels of intoxication can provide important insight into subjective perceptions of college alcohol use. Previous research (Levitt et al., Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2009; 33: 448) has shown that intoxication terms reflect moderate and heavy levels of intoxication and that self-use of these terms differs by gender among college students. However, it is still unknown whether these terms similarly apply to other individuals and, if so, whether similar gender differences exist. To address these issues, the current study examined the application of intoxication terms to characters in experimentally manipulated vignettes of naturalistic drinking situations within a sample of university undergraduates (n = 145). Findings supported and extended previous research by showing that other-directed applications of intoxication terms are similar to self-directed applications and depend on the gender of both the target and the user. Specifically, moderate intoxication terms were applied to and from women more than men, even when the character was heavily intoxicated, whereas heavy intoxication terms were applied to and from men more than women. The findings suggest that gender differences in the application of intoxication terms are other-directed as well as self-directed and that intoxication language can inform gender-specific prevention and intervention efforts targeting problematic alcohol use among college students. Copyright © 2013 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Patterns of gender development.

PubMed

Martin, Carol Lynn; Ruble, Diane N

2010-01-01

A comprehensive theory of gender development must describe and explain long-term developmental patterning and changes and how gender is experienced in the short term. This review considers multiple views on gender patterning, illustrated with contemporary research. First, because developmental research involves understanding normative patterns of change with age, several theoretically important topics illustrate gender development: how children come to recognize gender distinctions and understand stereotypes, and the emergence of prejudice and sexism. Second, developmental researchers study the stability of individual differences over time, which elucidates developmental processes. We review stability in two domains-sex segregation and activities/interests. Finally, a new approach advances understanding of developmental patterns, based on dynamic systems theory. Dynamic systems theory is a metatheoretical framework for studying stability and change, which developed from the study of complex and nonlinear systems in physics and mathematics. Some major features and examples show how dynamic approaches have been and could be applied in studying gender development.

Patterns of Gender Development

PubMed Central

Martin, Carol Lynn; Ruble, Diane N.

2013-01-01

A comprehensive theory of gender development must describe and explain long-term developmental patterning and changes and how gender is experienced in the short term. This review considers multiple views on gender patterning, illustrated with contemporary research. First, because developmental research involves understanding normative patterns of change with age, several theoretically important topics illustrate gender development: how children come to recognize gender distinctions and understand stereotypes, and the emergence of prejudice and sexism. Second, developmental researchers study the stability of individual differences over time, which elucidates developmental processes. We review stability in two domains—sex segregation and activities/interests. Finally, a new approach advances understanding of developmental patterns, based on dynamic systems theory. Dynamic systems theory is a metatheoretical framework for studying stability and change, which developed from the study of complex and nonlinear systems in physics and mathematics. Some major features and examples show how dynamic approaches have been and could be applied in studying gender development. PMID:19575615

Sex/gender differences in the brain and cognition in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Mendrek, Adrianna; Mancini-Marïe, Adham

2016-08-01

The early conceptualizations of schizophrenia have noted some sex/gender differences in epidemiology and clinical expression of the disorder. Over the past few decades, the interest in differences between male and female patients has expanded to encompass brain morphology and neurocognitive function. Despite some variability and methodological shortcomings, a few patterns emerge from the available literature. Most studies of gross neuroanatomy show more enlarged ventricles and smaller frontal lobes in men than in women with schizophrenia; finding reflecting normal sexual dimorphism. In comparison, studies of brain asymmetry and specific corticolimbic structures, suggest a disturbance in normal sexual dimorphism. The neurocognitive findings are somewhat consistent with this picture. Studies of cognitive functions mediated by the lateral frontal network tend to show sex differences in patients which are in the same direction as those observed in the general population, whereas studies of processes mediated by the corticolimbic system more frequently reveal reversal of normal sexual dimorphisms. These trends are faint and future research would need to delineate neurocognitive differences between men and women with various subtypes of schizophrenia (e.g., early versus late onset), while taking into consideration hormonal status and gender of tested participants. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gender Differences in the Efficacy and Safety of Chronic Nightly Zolpidem.

PubMed

Roehrs, Timothy A; Roth, Thomas

2016-03-01

Studies have shown pharmacokinetic differences for hypnotics in women compared to men, but few studies have assessed either short-or long-term differences in efficacy and safety. To evaluate gender differences in the efficacy and safety of chronic nightly zolpidem (10 mg), we did a post hoc assessment of a large clinical trial. In the trial, participants with primary insomnia (n = 89), ages 23-70, meeting DSM-IV-TR criteria for primary insomnia were randomized, double blind, to nightly zolpidem, 10 mg (n = 47) or placebo (n = 42) 30 minutes before bedtime nightly for 12 months. Polysomnographic sleep on 2 nights in months 1 and 8 and likelihood of next-day sleepiness, rebound insomnia, and dose escalation were evaluated in months 1, 4, and 12. Relative to placebo, zolpidem significantly increased sleep efficiency and reduced sleep latency and wake after sleep onset assessed at months 1 and 8, with no differences in efficacy between women and men and no diminution of efficacy over months. On a next-day multiple sleep latency test (MSLT), no residual sedation was observed for either women or men. No rebound insomnia or dose escalation was seen with no gender differences in either. In adults with primary insomnia, nightly zolpidem administration showed no gender differences in acute or chronic efficacy or in next-day sleepiness. Zolpidem remained efficacious and safe across 12 months. CLINCIAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01006525; Trial Name: Safety and Efficacy of Chronic Hypnotic Use; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01006525. © 2016 American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Eccentric and isometric shoulder rotator cuff strength testing using a hand-held dynamometer: reference values for overhead athletes.

PubMed

Cools, Ann M J; Vanderstukken, Fran; Vereecken, Frédéric; Duprez, Mattias; Heyman, Karel; Goethals, Nick; Johansson, Fredrik

2016-12-01

In order to provide science-based guidelines for injury prevention or return to play, regular measurement of isometric and eccentric internal (IR) and external (ER) rotator strength is warranted in overhead athletes. However, up to date, no normative database exists regarding these values, when measured with a hand-held dynamometer. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to provide a normative database on isometric and eccentric rotator cuff (RC) strength values in a sample of overhead athletes, and to discuss gender, age and sports differences. A HHD was used to measure RC strength in 201 overhead athletes between 18 and 50 years old from three different sports disciplines: tennis, volleyball and handball. Isometric as well as eccentric strength was measured in different shoulder positions. Outcome variables of interest were isometric ER and IR strength, eccentric ER strength, and intermuscular strength ratios ER/IR. Our results show significant side, gender and sports discipline differences in the isometric and eccentric RC strength. However, when normalized to body weight, gender differences often are absent. In general, strength differences are in favour of the dominant side, the male athletes and handball. Intermuscular ER/IR ratios showed gender, sports, and side differences. This normative database is necessary to help the clinician in the evaluation of RC strength in healthy and injured overhead athletes. In view of the preventive screening and return-to-play decisions in overhead athletes, normalization to body weight and calculating intermuscular ratios are key points in this evaluation. Diagnostic study, Level III.

Gender and internet consumers' decision-making.

PubMed

Yang, Chyan; Wu, Chia-Chun

2007-02-01

The purpose of this research is to provide managers of shopping websites information regarding consumer purchasing decisions based on the Consumer Styles Inventory (CSI). According to the CSI, one can capture what decision-making styles online shoppers use. Furthermore, this research also discusses the gender differences among online shoppers. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to understand the decision-making styles and discriminant analysis was used to distinguish the differences between female and male shoppers. The result shows that there are differences in purchasing decisions between online female and male Internet users.

Gender equality and smoking: a theory-driven approach to smoking gender differences in Spain.

PubMed

Bilal, Usama; Beltrán, Paula; Fernández, Esteve; Navas-Acien, Ana; Bolumar, Francisco; Franco, Manuel

2016-05-01

The intersection between gender and class can aid in understanding gender differences in smoking. To analyse how changes in gender inequality relate to differences in smoking prevalence by gender, education and birth cohort in Spain over the past five decades (1960-2010). The Gender Inequality Index (GII) was calculated in 5-year intervals from 1960 to 2010. GII ranges from 0 to 1 (1=highest inequality) and encompasses three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and labour market. Estimates of female and male smoking prevalence were reconstructed from representative National Health Surveys and stratified by birth cohort and level of education. We calculated female-to-male smoking ratios from 1960 to 2010 stratified by education and birth cohort. Gender inequality in Spain decreased from 0.65 to 0.09 over the past 50 years. This rapid decline was inversely correlated (r=-0.99) to a rising female-to-male smoking ratio. The youngest birth cohort of the study (born 1980-1990) and women with high education levels had similar smoking prevalences compared with men. Women with high levels of education were also the first to show a reduction in smoking prevalence, compared with less educated women. Gender inequality fell significantly in Spain over the past 50 years. This process was accompanied by converging trends in smoking prevalence for men and women. Smoking prevalence patterns varied greatly by birth cohort and education levels. Countries in earlier stages of the tobacco epidemic should consider gender-sensitive tobacco control measures and policies. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Survival Analysis of Faculty Retention and Promotion in the Social Sciences by Gender

PubMed Central

Varbanov, Roumen A.; Hoh, Yee Shwen; Knisley, Margaret L.; Holmes, Mary Alice

2015-01-01

Background Recruitment and retention of talent is central to the research performance of universities. Existing research shows that, while men are more likely than women to be promoted at the different stages of the academic career, no such difference is found when it comes to faculty retention rates. Current research on faculty retention, however, focuses on careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). We extend this line of inquiry to the social sciences. Methods We follow 2,218 tenure-track assistant professors hired since 1990 in seven social science disciplines at nineteen U.S. universities from time of hire to time of departure. We also track their time to promotion to associate and full professor. Using survival analysis, we examine gender differences in time to departure and time to promotion. Our methods account for censoring and unobserved heterogeneity, as well as effect heterogeneity across disciplines and cohorts. Results We find no statistically significant differences between genders in faculty retention. However, we do find that men are more likely to be granted tenure than women. When it comes to promotion to full professor, the results are less conclusive, as the effect of gender is sensitive to model specification. Conclusions The results corroborate previous findings about gender patterns in faculty retention and promotion. They suggest that advances have been made when it comes to gender equality in retention and promotion, but important differences still persist. PMID:26580565

Sports-related and gender differences on neuropsychological measures of frontal lobe functioning.

PubMed

Ryan, Jeanne P; Atkinson, Thomas M; Dunham, Katherine T

2004-01-01

To determine similarities and differences in the performance of female and male athletes on neuropsychological measures of frontal lobe functioning. A cross-sectional study of male and female college-aged athletes involved in one of the following sports: hockey, basketball, softball, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, and track. Division III college. A total of 262 athletes (male, n=157; female, n=105) participated in the study. Controlled Oral Word Association (letters F, A, S), Cognitive Assessment System (Planned Codes, Planned Connections, Number Detection), and WAIS-R-NI Vocabulary were administered to all athletes. MANCOVA was performed with gender and sport as fixed factors. Female athletes displayed faster and more accurate performance on perceptual-motor tasks (P<0.01) and on one condition of a verbal fluency task (P<0.01) compared with male athletes. Male hockey athletes showed superior perceptual-motor speed and accuracy (P<0.01) compared with male athletes in the track/swimming group. Evaluators were naive to athletes' gender and sport. Gender- and sport-specific performances on perceptual-motor and verbal fluency tasks were found. Adding cognitive components to base functions eliminates gender- and sports-related distinctions, suggesting that existing differences are related to basic, fundamental skills, which are inherent and practiced within the respective sport. Understanding the differences and similarities across sports and gender on various neurocognitive measures is relevant for determining group differences in studies examining the consequences of mild traumatic brain injury among athletes.

Ankle fractures have features of an osteoporotic fracture.

PubMed

Lee, K M; Chung, C Y; Kwon, S S; Won, S H; Lee, S Y; Chung, M K; Park, M S

2013-11-01

We report the bone attenuation of ankle joint measured on computed tomography (CT) and the cause of injury in patients with ankle fractures. The results showed age- and gender-dependent low bone attenuation and low-energy trauma in elderly females, which suggest the osteoporotic features of ankle fractures. This study was performed to investigate the osteoporotic features of ankle fracture in terms of bone attenuation and cause of injury. One hundred ninety-four patients (mean age 51.0 years, standard deviation 15.8 years; 98 males and 96 females) with ankle fracture were included. All patients underwent CT examination, and causes of injury (high/low-energy trauma) were recorded. Mean bone attenuations of the talus, medial malleolus, lateral malleolus, and distal tibial metaphysis were measured on CT images. Patients were divided into younger age (<50 years) and older age (≥50 years) groups, and mean bone attenuation and causes of injury were compared between the two groups in each gender. Proportion of low-energy trauma was higher in the older age group than in the younger age group, but the difference was only significant in female gender (p = 0.011). The older age group showed significantly lower bone attenuation in the talus, medial malleolus, lateral malleolus, and distal tibial metaphysis than the younger age group in both genders. The older age group showed more complex pattern of fractures than the younger age group. With increasing age, bone attenuations tended to decrease and the difference of bone attenuation between the genders tended to increase in the talus, medial malleolus, lateral malleolus, and distal tibial metaphysis. Ankle fracture had features of osteoporotic fracture that is characterized by age- and gender-dependent low bone attenuation. Ankle fracture should not be excluded from the clinical and research interest as well as from the benefit of osteoporosis management.

The association of age, gender, ethnicity, family history, obesity and hypertension with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Trinidad.

PubMed

Nayak, B Shivananda; Sobrian, Arianne; Latiff, Khalif; Pope, Danielle; Rampersad, Akash; Lourenço, Kodi; Samuel, Nichole

2014-01-01

To assess the impact of risk factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, family history, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and hypertension, on the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Trinidadian population. A cross-sectional case control study comprised 146 non-diabetics and 147 type 2 diabetics ≥18 years of age, from North Central, South West and Eastern regions of Trinidad. Cross-tabulations revealed a significant difference between type 2-diabetes and age at p<0.01, and between type 2 diabetes and family history, ethnicity, waist circumference and hypertension at p<0.05. Logistic regression showed age to be the most influential risk factor. The systolic blood pressure specifically showed a significant difference at p<0.05, with the mean values for non-diabetics and type 2 diabetics being, 130.62 (±2.124) and 141.35 (±2.312), respectively. No significant difference was observed between type 2 diabetes and gender and BMI. Age was the most significant risk factor of type 2 diabetes. Therefore it can be concluded that family history, ethnicity, waist circumference and hypertension are more significant risk factors of this disease than BMI and gender in the Trinidadian population. Copyright © 2014 Diabetes India. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Psychosocial predictors of cannabis use in adolescents at risk.

PubMed

Hüsler, Gebhard; Plancherel, Bernard; Werlen, Egon

2005-09-01

This research has tested a social disintegration model in conjunction with risk and protection factors that have the power to differentiate relative, weighted interactions among variables in different socially disintegrated groups. The model was tested in a cross-sectional sample of 1082 at-risk youth in Switzerland. Structural equation analyses show significant differences between the social disintegration (low, moderate, high) groups and gender, indicating that the model works differently for groups and for gender. For the highly disintegrated adolescents results clearly show that the risk factors (negative mood, peer network, delinquency) are more important than the protective factors (family relations, secure sense of self). Family relations lose all protective value against negative peer influence, but personal variables, such as secure self, gain protective power.

Stability and Change of Adolescents' Aggressive Behavior in Residential Youth Care.

PubMed

Eltink, E M A; Ten Hoeve, J; De Jongh, T; Van der Helm, G H P; Wissink, I B; Stams, G J J M

2018-01-01

Aggression in residential youth care institutions is a frequent problem. The present short-term longitudinal study examined individual and institutional predictors of aggression in a group of 198 adolescents placed in open, semi-secure and secure residential institutions from the perspective of the importation and deprivation model. A total of 198 adolescents in residential youth care filled in questionnaires regarding group climate and aggression with a 3 month interval. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed to test the degree to which individual and contextual factors predict aggression. Very limited support was found for the effect of contextual factors; only repression showed a trend, predicting direct aggression, while gender composition of the living groups yielded a small effect. Girls placed in same-gender groups showed lower levels of indirect (relational) aggression compared to adolescents placed in mixed-gender or boys-only groups, even when controlled for gender and initial levels of aggression. Type of institution (i.e., level of security) did not predict differences in aggression. In particular individual characteristics of the adolescents were associated with later aggression, including initial levels of aggression, showing substantial 3 months stability, age and gender of the adolescents. These findings are in line with research showing that aggression is relatively stable. Very limited support for environmental effects was found.

Seclusion, decision-making power, and gender disparities in adult health: Examining hypertension in India.

PubMed

Stroope, Samuel

2015-09-01

Research on the social determinants of health in developing countries is increasingly focusing on the importance of gender. Cardiovascular conditions such as hypertension are a growing concern in developing countries, where they are now the leading cause of death. Researchers have documented differences in hypertension between men and women, but the importance of gendered practices in shaping these differences has been left unexamined. Using national data from the India Human Development Survey 2005 (N=101,593), this study assesses the moderating role of two salient and widespread gendered practices-women's seclusion and decision-making power-on hypertension disparities between women and men. Both seclusion and low decision-making power are associated with increased odds of hypertension for women, but in the case of seclusion reduced hypertension for men. Results also show the gender gap in hypertension is exacerbated with women's seclusion and low decision-making power. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

How do sexual harassment policies shape gender beliefs? An exploration of the moderating effects of norm adherence and gender.

PubMed

Tinkler, Justine E

2013-09-01

Sexual harassment laws have led to important organizational changes in the workplace yet research continues to document resistance to their implementation and backlash against the people who mobilize such laws. Employing experimental research methods, this study proposes and tests a theory specifying the mechanisms through which sexual harassment policies affect gender beliefs. The findings show evidence that sexual harassment policies strengthen unequal gender beliefs among men and women most committed to traditional gender interaction norms. I also find that men and women's different structural locations in the status hierarchy lead to different, but related sets of concerns about the status threats posed by sexual harassment policies. By specifying the social psychological processes through which sexual harassment law affects beliefs about men and women, this study sets the stage for investigating ways to make laws designed to reduce inequality between social groups more effective. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gender-related individual differences and the structure of vocational interests: the importance of the people-things dimension.

PubMed

Lippa, R

1998-04-01

In 3 studies (respective Ns = 289, 394, and 1,678), males and females were assessed on Big Five traits, masculine instrumentality (M), feminine expressiveness (F), gender diagnosticity (GD), and RIASEC (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional) vocational interest scales. Factor analyses of RIASEC scores consistently showed evidence for D.J. Prediger's (1982) People-Things and Ideas-Data dimensions, and participants' factor scores on these dimensions were computed. In all studies Big Five Openness was related to Ideas-Data but not to People-Things. Gender was strongly related to People-Things but not to Ideas-Data. Within each sex, GD correlated strongly with People-Things but not with Ideas-Data. M, F, and Big Five measures other than Openness tended not to correlate strongly with RIASEC scales or dimensions. The results suggest that gender and gender-related individual differences within the sexes are strongly linked to the People-Things dimension of vocational interests.

Gender differences in psychological morbidity, burnout, job stress and job satisfaction among Chinese neurologists: a national cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Pu, Juncai; Zhou, Xinyu; Zhu, Dan; Zhong, Xiaoni; Yang, Lining; Wang, Haiyang; Zhang, Yuqing; Fan, Songhua; Liu, Lanxiang; Xie, Peng

2017-07-01

Women are an important part of the medical workforce, yet little is known about gender differences in psychological morbidity, burnout, job stress and job satisfaction among neurologists. This study assessed gender differences in a large national sample of Chinese neurologists. Multivariate analyses were performed to examine associations. A total of 5558 neurologists were included in the analysis. Compared with their male counterparts, female neurologists were generally younger; were less likely to be married or to have children; had higher levels of education; were in practice for a shorter period of time; were less likely to hold senior roles; and had lower incomes. Male and female neurologists worked similar hours and spent a similar number of nights on call. No gender differences were found in psychological morbidity, burnout, and high levels of job stress for female and male, respectively. Women had higher emotional exhaustion scores, while men were more likely to have low levels of job satisfaction. The multivariate analysis showed that factors independently associated with psychological morbidity, burnout, high levels of job stress and low levels of job satisfaction were generally similar for women and men. These findings increase our understanding of gender differences in psychological morbidity, burnout, job stress, and job satisfaction among neurologists. As more women join the medical profession, these differences may be useful in designing medical training and practice.

Keep calm! Gender differences in mental rotation performance are modulated by habitual expressive suppression.

PubMed

Fladung, Anne-Katharina; Kiefer, Markus

2016-11-01

Men have been frequently found to perform more accurately than women in mental rotation tasks. However, men and women also differ with regard to the habitual use of emotion regulation strategies, particularly with regard to expressive suppression, i.e., the suppression of emotional expression in behavior. As emotional suppression is more often used by men, emotion regulation strategies might be a variable modulating gender differences in mental rotation performance. The present study, therefore, examined the influences of gender and emotion regulation strategies on mental rotation performance accuracy and feedback processing. Twenty-eight men and 28 women matched for relevant demographic variables performed mental rotation tasks of varying difficulty over a prolonged time. Emotional feedback was given immediately after each trial. Results showed that women reported to use expressive suppression less frequently than men. Women made more errors in the mental rotation task than men confirming earlier demonstrations of gender differences. Furthermore, women were more impaired by the negative feedback as indicated by the increased likelihood of subsequent errors compared with men. Task performance of women not habitually using expressive suppression was most inferior and most strongly influenced by failure feedback compared with men. Women using expressive suppression more habitually did not significantly differ in mental rotation accuracy and feedback processing from men. Hence, expressive suppression reduces gender differences in mental rotation accuracy by improving cognitive performance following failure feedback.

Gender Difference in Event Related Potentials to Masked Emotional Stimuli in the Oddball Task

PubMed Central

Kim, Eun Young; Park, Gewnhi; Kim, Sangrae; Kim, Imyel; Chae, Jeong-Ho; Kim, Hyun Taek

2013-01-01

Objective We investigated gender differences in event-related potential (ERP) responses to subliminally presented threat-related stimuli. Methods Twenty-four participants were presented with threat-related and neutral pictures for a very brief period of time (17 ms). To explore gender differences in ERP responses to subliminally presented stimuli, we examined six ERP components [P1, N170, N250, P300, Early Posterior Negativity (EPN) and Late Positive Potential (LPP)]. Results The result revealed that only female participants showed significant increases in the N170 and the EPN in response to subliminally presented threat-related stimuli compared to neutral stimuli. Conclusion Our results suggest that female participants exhibit greater cortical processing of subliminally presented threat-related stimuli than male participants. PMID:23798965

Men, women…who cares? A population-based study on sex differences and gender roles in empathy and moral cognition.

PubMed

Baez, Sandra; Flichtentrei, Daniel; Prats, María; Mastandueno, Ricardo; García, Adolfo M; Cetkovich, Marcelo; Ibáñez, Agustín

2017-01-01

Research on sex differences in empathy has revealed mixed findings. Whereas experimental and neuropsychological measures show no consistent sex effect, self-report data consistently indicates greater empathy in women. However, available results mainly come from separate populations with relatively small samples, which may inflate effect sizes and hinder comparability between both empirical corpora. To elucidate the issue, we conducted two large-scale studies. First, we examined whether sex differences emerge in a large population-based sample (n = 10,802) when empathy is measured with an experimental empathy-for-pain paradigm. Moreover, we investigated the relationship between empathy and moral judgment. In the second study, a subsample (n = 334) completed a self-report empathy questionnaire. Results showed some sex differences in the experimental paradigm, but with minuscule effect sizes. Conversely, women did portray themselves as more empathic through self-reports. In addition, utilitarian responses to moral dilemmas were less frequent in women, although these differences also had small effect sizes. These findings suggest that sex differences in empathy are highly driven by the assessment measure. In particular, self-reports may induce biases leading individuals to assume gender-role stereotypes. Awareness of the role of measurement instruments in this field may hone our understanding of the links between empathy, sex differences, and gender roles.

Gender difference in health and its determinants in the old-aged population in India.

PubMed

Dhak, Biplab

2009-09-01

This paper examines the gender differential in health and its socioeconomic and demographic determinants in the old-age population of India based on the National Sample Survey 60th round data collected in 2004. As in developed countries, older women in India report poorer self-reported health and experience greater immobility compared with men. Stepwise logistic regression analysis shows that the gender differential in health is linked to various socioeconomic and demographic variables and that the gender gap could be narrowed with appropriate policy intervention. Specifically, paying special attention towards improving the socioeconomic status of widowed/separated women could attenuate a substantial portion of the observed gender gap in the health of the old-age population.

Children, Gender, and Social Structure: An Analysis of the Contents of Letters to Santa Claus.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richardson, John G.; Simpson, Carl H.

1982-01-01

Focusing on those elements of children's preferences which link gender to social structure, the present study analyzes children's letters to Santa Claus. Findings show boys' and girls' requests to be similar when aspects of the child's world are measured and quite different when qualities representing the adult social order are measured.…

Gender and the Internet. Working Paper 2002-10

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ono, Hiroshi; Zavodny, Madeline

2002-01-01

This article examines whether there are differences in men's and women's use of the Internet and whether any such gender gaps have changed in recent years. The authors use data from several surveys during the period 1997 to 2001 to show trends in Internet usage and to estimate regression models of Internet usage that control for individuals'…

Gender-Based Employment and Income Differences in Urban China: Considering the Contributions of Marriage and Parenthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Yuping; Hannum, Emily; Wang, Meiyan

2008-01-01

Previous research on China's labor market gender gaps has emphasized the human and political capital disadvantages of women and new discrimination in the reform era. Analyzing the China Urban Labor Survey/China Adult Literacy Survey, this paper shows that while women are significantly disadvantaged by various measures of human and political…

Understanding Gender Inequality and the Role of the Work/Family Interface in Contemporary Academia: An Introduction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dubois-Shaik, Farah; Fusulier, Bernard

2017-01-01

This double special issue gathers a series of nuanced critically conceptual and case-study research showing that in the contemporary European context, despite regional differences in gender regimes, political and economic demands and organizational cultures, work/life balance policies and their translation into practice remains a highly ambiguous…

Mapping Gender and Social Background Differences in Education and Youth Transitions across Europe

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iannelli, Cristina; Smyth, Emer

2008-01-01

This paper uses data drawn from the European Union Labour Force Survey 2000 Ad Hoc Module on School to Work Transitions to explore the influence of gender and social background (measured in terms of parental education) on young people's educational and early labour market outcomes across 12 European countries. Our results show that social…

Serendipity? Are There Gender Differences in the Adoption of Computers? A Case Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vernon-Gerstenfeld, Susan

1989-01-01

Discusses a study about the effect of learning styles of patent examiners on adoption of computers. Subjects' amount of computer use was a function of learning style, age, comfort after training, and gender. Findings indicate that women showed a greater propensity to adopt than men. Discusses implications for further research. (JS)

An Observational Study of Early Heterosexual Interaction at Middle School Dances

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pellegrini, Anthony D.; Long, Jeffery D.

2007-01-01

In this longitudinal, observational study of heterosexual interaction at middle school dances we examined the degree to which boys' and girls' groups became more gender integrated over time. The results show groups became more integrated over time with the pattern differing by gender. Boys had a relatively low level of contact with girls over the…

Leaks in the pipeline: separating demographic inertia from ongoing gender differences in academia.

PubMed

Shaw, Allison K; Stanton, Daniel E

2012-09-22

Identification of the causes underlying the under-representation of women and minorities in academia is a source of ongoing concern and controversy. This is a critical issue in ensuring the openness and diversity of academia; yet differences in personal experiences and interpretations have mired it in controversy. We construct a simple model of the academic career that can be used to identify general trends, and separate the demographic effects of historical differences from ongoing biological or cultural gender differences. We apply the model to data on academics collected by the National Science Foundation (USA) over the past three decades, across all of science and engineering, and within six disciplines (agricultural and biological sciences, engineering, mathematics and computer sciences, physical sciences, psychology, and social sciences). We show that the hiring and retention of women in academia have been affected by both demographic inertia and gender differences, but that the relative influence of gender differences appears to be dwindling for most disciplines and career transitions. Our model enables us to identify the two key non-structural bottlenecks restricting female participation in academia: choice of undergraduate major and application to faculty positions. These transitions are those in greatest need of detailed study and policy development.

Gender in ice hockey: women in a male territory.

PubMed

Gilenstam, K; Karp, S; Henriksson-Larsén, K

2008-04-01

This study investigates how female ice hockey players describe and explain their situation within as well as outside their sport. Information was obtained by semi-structured interviews with female ice hockey players. The results were analyzed in a gender perspective where the main starting point was the concepts of different levels of power relations in society developed by Harding and applied to sports by Kolnes (the symbolic, structural, and individual level). The study shows that the players appeared to share the traditional views of men and women. They also described gender differences in terms of financial and structural conditions as well as differences in ice hockey history. Even though the players described structural inequalities, they were quite content with their situation and the differences in conditions were not considered when they explained the gender differences in ice hockey performance. At the individual level, the players considered themselves different from other women and appeared to share the traditional views of femininity and masculinity. It has been suggested that performance of a sport traditionally associated with the other sex might alter the traditional view of men and women; however, our results lend little support to this suggestion.

Learning your way in a city: experience and gender differences in configurational knowledge of one's environment.

PubMed

De Goede, Maartje; Postma, Albert

2015-01-01

Males tend to outperform females in their knowledge of relative and absolute distances in spatial layouts and environments. It is unclear yet in how far these differences are innate or develop through life. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether gender differences in configurational knowledge for a natural environment might be modulated by experience. In order to examine this possibility, distance as well as directional knowledge of the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands was assessed in male and female inhabitants who had different levels of familiarity with this city. Experience affected the ability to solve difficult distance knowledge problems, but only for females. While the quality of the spatial representation of metric distances improved with more experience, this effect was not different for males and females. In contrast directional configurational measures did show a main gender effect but no experience modulation. In general, it seems that we obtain different configurational aspects according to different experiential time schemes. Moreover, the results suggest that experience may be a modulating factor in the occurrence of gender differences in configurational knowledge, though this seems dependent on the type of measurement. It is discussed in how far proficiency in mental rotation ability and spatial working memory accounts for these differences.

Learning your way in a city: experience and gender differences in configurational knowledge of one’s environment

PubMed Central

De Goede, Maartje; Postma, Albert

2015-01-01

Males tend to outperform females in their knowledge of relative and absolute distances in spatial layouts and environments. It is unclear yet in how far these differences are innate or develop through life. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether gender differences in configurational knowledge for a natural environment might be modulated by experience. In order to examine this possibility, distance as well as directional knowledge of the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands was assessed in male and female inhabitants who had different levels of familiarity with this city. Experience affected the ability to solve difficult distance knowledge problems, but only for females. While the quality of the spatial representation of metric distances improved with more experience, this effect was not different for males and females. In contrast directional configurational measures did show a main gender effect but no experience modulation. In general, it seems that we obtain different configurational aspects according to different experiential time schemes. Moreover, the results suggest that experience may be a modulating factor in the occurrence of gender differences in configurational knowledge, though this seems dependent on the type of measurement. It is discussed in how far proficiency in mental rotation ability and spatial working memory accounts for these differences. PMID:25914663

Gender influence on fatigability of back muscles during intermittent isometric contractions: a study of neuromuscular activation patterns.

PubMed

Larivière, Christian; Gravel, Denis; Gagnon, Denis; Gardiner, Phillip; Bertrand Arsenault, A; Gaudreault, Nathaly

2006-11-01

Gender difference in the fatigability of muscles can be attributed to muscle mass (or strength) and associated level of vascular occlusion, substrate utilization, muscle composition, and neuromuscular activation patterns. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of neuromuscular activation patterns to explain gender differences in back muscle fatigability during intermittent isometric tasks. Sixteen males and 15 females performed maximal voluntary contractions (Strength) and a fatigue test to exhaustion (fatigue criterion=time to exhaustion), while standing in a static dynamometer measuring L5/S1 extension moment. The fatigue test consisted of repetitions of an 8-s cycle (1.5 s ramp to reach 40% of maximal voluntary contraction +5s plateau at 40% of maximal voluntary contraction +1.5s rest). Surface electromyography signals were collected bilaterally from 4 back muscles (multifidus at the L5 level, iliocostalis lumborum at L3, and longissimus at L1 and T10). Males were stronger (P<0.05) than females (316, SD 82>196, SD 25 Nm) but showed significantly shorter time-to-exhaustion values (7.1, SD 5.2<13.0, SD 6.1 min.), the latter result being corroborated by electromyographic indices of fatigue. However, the gender effect on time to exhaustion disappeared when accounting for Strength, thus supporting the muscle mass hypothesis. Among the various electromyographic indices computed to assess neuromuscular activation patterns, the amount of alternating activity between homolateral and between contralateral muscles showed a gender effect (females>males). These results support the muscle mass hypothesis as well as the neuromuscular activation hypothesis to explain gender differences in back muscle fatigability.

Gender Differences in the Recognition of Vocal Emotions

PubMed Central

Lausen, Adi; Schacht, Annekathrin

2018-01-01

The conflicting findings from the few studies conducted with regard to gender differences in the recognition of vocal expressions of emotion have left the exact nature of these differences unclear. Several investigators have argued that a comprehensive understanding of gender differences in vocal emotion recognition can only be achieved by replicating these studies while accounting for influential factors such as stimulus type, gender-balanced samples, number of encoders, decoders, and emotional categories. This study aimed to account for these factors by investigating whether emotion recognition from vocal expressions differs as a function of both listeners' and speakers' gender. A total of N = 290 participants were randomly and equally allocated to two groups. One group listened to words and pseudo-words, while the other group listened to sentences and affect bursts. Participants were asked to categorize the stimuli with respect to the expressed emotions in a fixed-choice response format. Overall, females were more accurate than males when decoding vocal emotions, however, when testing for specific emotions these differences were small in magnitude. Speakers' gender had a significant impact on how listeners' judged emotions from the voice. The group listening to words and pseudo-words had higher identification rates for emotions spoken by male than by female actors, whereas in the group listening to sentences and affect bursts the identification rates were higher when emotions were uttered by female than male actors. The mixed pattern for emotion-specific effects, however, indicates that, in the vocal channel, the reliability of emotion judgments is not systematically influenced by speakers' gender and the related stereotypes of emotional expressivity. Together, these results extend previous findings by showing effects of listeners' and speakers' gender on the recognition of vocal emotions. They stress the importance of distinguishing these factors to explain recognition ability in the processing of emotional prosody. PMID:29922202

Ethical reflections of gender equality and equity in adolescence medicine.

PubMed

Tozzo, P; Caenazzo, L

2015-01-01

Gender differences, in both clinical and research environment, exist also in a particular category of patients, adolescents, who constitute a vulnerable group with respect to healthcare decisions. In clinical context, the main ethical issues that may be identified within gender medicine for adolescent patients are related to the information given to the patient and its parents, the adolescent's capacity of understanding considering his/her maturity, vulnerability and autonomy, the consent to medical treatment in relation to the different possible approaches to their different efficacy and possible side effects. Also, with regard to the research context, ethical issues may arise from the participation of female minors in clinical trials. Ethical concerns may also arise in the field of resource allocation in health policies, such as the equitable distribution and access to resources, considering the young age of the subjects involved. A bioethical reflection, which takes into account not only the differences biologically and epidemiologically relevant, but also the main determinants of health in adolescence, might find a role in structured education for diversity and gender equity. Given the magnitude of the problem, to encourage the pursuit of gender equity in health and, in some situations, also to promote the full recognition of the right to health of women are some of the most effective and direct ways to reduce inequalities and to ensure a rational and efficient use of available resources, including through a bioethical reflection on the topic. The Authors show the necessity to differentiate the various aspects of gender differences in adolescence medicine, providing arguments in support of the fact that interventions for health prevention and promotion should be modulated in relation to the gender of the recipients, emphasizing the most important aspects for each group of individuals. This approach could implement personalized medicine, even and especially considering gender differences, benefiting from the contribution that a bioethical reflection can provide.

Gender inequality in the clinical outcomes of equally treated acute coronary syndrome patients in Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Hersi, Ahmad; Al-Habib, Khalid; Al-Faleh, Husam; Al-Nemer, Khalid; Alsaif, Shukri; Taraben, Amir; Kashour, Tarek; Abuosa, Ahmed Mohamed; Al-Murayeh, Mushabab Ayedh

2013-01-01

Gender associations with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), remain inconsistent. Gender-specific data in the Saudi Project for Assessment of Coronary Events registry, launched in December 2005 and currently with 17 participating hospitals, were explored. A prospective multicenter study of patient with ACS in secondary and tertiary care centers in Saudi Arabia were included in this analysis. Patients enrolled from December 2005 until December 2007 included those presented to participating hospitals or transferred from non-registry hospitals. Summarized data were analyzed. Of 5061 patients, 1142 (23%) were women. Women were more frequently diagnosed with non ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI [43%]) than unstable angina (UA [29%]) or ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI [29%]). More men had STEMI (42%) than NSTEMI (37%) or UA (22%). Men were younger than women (57 vs 63 years) who had more diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. More men had a history of coronary artery disease. More women received angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) and fewer had percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Gender differences in the subset of STEMI patients were similar to those in the entire cohort. However, gender differences in the subset of STEMI showed fewer women given b-blockers, and an insignificant PCI difference between genders. Thrombolysis rates between genders were similar. Overall, in-hospital mortality was significantly worse for women and, by ACS type, was significantly greater in women for STEMI and NSTEMI. However, after age adjustment there was no difference in mortality between men and women in patients with NSTEMI. The multivariate-adjusted (age, risk factors, treatments, door-to-needle time) STEMI gender mortality difference was not significant (OR=2.0, CI: 0.7-5.5; P=.14). These data are similar to other reported data. However, differences exist, and their explanation should be pursued to provide a valuable insight into understanding ACS and improving its management.

Gender, socioeconomic position, revascularization procedures and mortality in patients presenting with STEMI and NSTEMI in the era of primary PCI. Differences or inequities?

PubMed

Gnavi, Roberto; Rusciani, Raffaella; Dalmasso, Marco; Giammaria, Massimo; Anselmino, Monica; Roggeri, Daniela Paola; Roggeri, Alessandro

2014-10-20

Several studies have reported gender and socioeconomic differences in the use of revascularization procedures in patients with acute myocardial infarction. However, it is not clear whether these differences influence patients' survival. Moreover, most of the studies neither considered STEMI and NSTEMI separately, nor included primary PCI, which nowadays is the treatment of choice in case of AMI. In an unselected population of patients admitted to hospital with a first episode of STEMI and NSTEMI we examined gender and socioeconomic differences in the use of cardiac invasive procedures and in one-year mortality. Subjects hospitalized with a first episode of STEMI (n=3506) or NSTEMI (n=2286) were selected from the Piedmont (Italy) hospital discharge database. We considered the percentage of patients undergoing PCI, primary PCI and CABG, and in-hospital mortality. Out of hospital mortality was calculated through record linkage with the regional register. The relation between outcomes and gender or educational level was investigated using appropriate multivariate regression models adjusting for available confounders. After adjustment for age, comorbidity and hospital characteristics, women and low educated patients had a lower probability of undergoing revascularization procedures. However, neither in-hospital, nor 30-day, nor 1-year mortality showed gender or social disparities. Despite gender and socioeconomic differences in the use of revascularization, no differences emerged in in-hospital and 1-year mortality. These findings could suggest that patients are differently, but equitably, treated; differences are more likely due to an inability to fully adjust for clinical conditions rather than to a selection process at admission. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Differences in gender participation in college physical science laboratory as perceived by students and instructors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gifford, Fay Evan

The purpose of this study was to determine the difference in gender participation in the college physical science laboratory as perceived by students. The sample n this study consisted of 168 college sophomore architecture students (56 males and 33 females) and engineering students (61 males and 18 females). Depending on the type of information desired, a number of analyses were used including independent samples t-test, two-way Anova, general linear model analysis, Univariate analysis of variance, and descriptive statistics. In the analysis of data for the first fourteen questions of the questionnaire, which are called descriptive data, both gender and academic discipline differences were examined. It was found both genders picked personal choice as the role they played in the lab, and they were recorder, computer operator, and set up. There was no major difference here for the two disciplines except for engineers (by four to one over the architectures), who thought one member took the lead and assigned the role. There was no statistically significant difference in attitude toward group laboratory work between the two genders, but there was a significant difference by academic discipline here. There was a significant difference between genders for the way that students were assigned to small groups (i.e., the females would prefer the professor assign the role). For the open-ended student question dealing with suggestions for improving student participation in the labs, about one-third responded. One major difference between the disciplines was the architectural students by a twenty to one ratio over the engineers thought they didn't need a physics lab. For Hypothesis 4, there was a general agreement between the students' and the instructors' that there was not a difference in the students' gender responses and the instructors'. For Hypothesis 5, the responses from the four special gender questions for the students and instructors show that the males don't agree with the instructors on any of the four questions, but the females agree with the instructors on two of the questions.

Gender differences in physical disability among older adults in underprivileged communities in Lebanon.

PubMed

Zeki Al Hazzouri, Adina; Mehio Sibai, Abla; Chaaya, Monique; Mahfoud, Ziyad; Yount, Kathryn M

2011-03-01

To examine the role of health conditions, socioeconomic, and socioenvironmental factors in explaining gender differences in physical disability among older adults. We compared 412 women and 328 men residing in underprivileged communities in Lebanon on their activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and physical tasks (PT). Binary logistic regression analyses adjusting for possible explanatory covariates were conducted sequentially. Women showed higher prevalence rates of ADL, IADL, and PT compared to men. Gender disparities in ADL disability were explained by chronic-disease risk factors and health conditions (OR = 1.46; 95% CI = 0.94-2.25). The odds of disability in IADL and PT remained significantly higher for women compared to men after accounting for all available covariates. These results suggest underlying differences in functional status between women and men, yet, may have been influenced by the sensitivity of the measures to the social context and gendered environment surrounding daily activities.

Gender Differences among Medically Serious Suicide Attempters aged 15–54 Years in Rural China

PubMed Central

Sun, Long; Zhang, Jie

2017-01-01

China is one of few countries which reported higher female suicide rates in the worldwide. However, little is known about the gender differences among Chinese rural suicide attempters. This study aims to analyze the gender differences among medically serious suicide attempters aged 15–54 years in rural China. Subjects were 791 medically serious suicide attempters and 791 controls aged 15–54 years in rural China. Socio-demographic, psychological and some critical variables were assessed in the interview. The results showed that all of the factors (education years, family suicide history, negative life events, social support, impulsivity and mental disorder) associated with male suicide attempters also could be found for females. Physical disease, mental disorder and pesticide ingestion played more roles on male suicide attempters. Ever married, peasant, religious belief, and less social support played more roles on female suicide attempters. Compared with male suicide attempters, female ones are mainly influenced by social factors. A gender-specific approach should be emphasized in suicide prevention. PMID:28249203

Gender differences in the media interviews of Bill and Hillary Clinton.

PubMed

Suleiman, Camelia; O'Connell, Daniel C

2008-01-01

Does gender make a difference in the way politicians speak and are spoken to in public? This paper examines perspective in three television interviews and two radio interviews with Bill Clinton in June 2004 and in three television interviews and two radio interviews with Hillary Clinton in June 2003 with the same interviewers. Our perspectival approach assumes that each utterance has a dialogically constructed point of view. Earlier research has shown that markers of conceptual orality and literacy as well as referencing (name and pronoun use for self and other reference) do reflect perspective. This paper asks whether perspective is gendered. Our data analysis demonstrates that some markers of perspective show gender differences while others do not. Those that do include the number of syllables spoken by each interlocutor, referencing, the use of the intensifier so, the use of the hedge you know, the use of non-standard pronunciations, turn transitions, and lastly the use of laughter.

The effects of gender and self-insight on early semantic processing.

PubMed

Xu, Xu; Kang, Chunyan; Guo, Taomei

2014-01-01

This event-related potential (ERP) study explored individual differences associated with gender and level of self-insight in early semantic processing. Forty-eight Chinese native speakers completed a semantic judgment task with three different categories of words: abstract neutral words (e.g., logic, effect), concrete neutral words (e.g., teapot, table), and emotion words (e.g., despair, guilt). They then assessed their levels of self-insight. Results showed that women engaged in greater processing than did men. Gender differences also manifested in the relationship between level of self-insight and word processing. For women, level of self-insight was associated with level of semantic activation for emotion words and abstract neutral words, but not for concrete neutral words. For men, level of self-insight was related to processing speed, particularly in response to abstract and concrete neutral words. These findings provide electrophysiological evidence for the effects of gender and self-insight on semantic processing and highlight the need to take into consideration subject variables in related research.

[Gender differences of psychological, nutritional, and physical fitness variables influencing obesity/overweight in Austrian children and adolescents].

PubMed

Ardelt-Gattinger, Elisabeth; Ring-Dimitriou, Susanne; Hofmann, Johannes; Paulmichl, Katharina; Zsoldos, Fanni; Weghuber, Daniel

2016-03-01

Eating behavior and physical activity behavior are under the control of certain cognitive patterns. 6600 adults and 4400 children/adolescents (8-18 years) were tested with the Obesity Diagnostics and Evaluation System (AD-EVA). Potentially significant gender differences will be detailed for the entire juvenile cohort, the subgroup of obese children/adolescents as compared to the adult cohort in this article.Among all the subscales tested, obese girls primarily showed significantly higher values of (preclinical) eating disorders than boys. These data are relevant for both prevention and health promotion.No significant differences were found in regard to sports motivation. This warrants facilitation of physical activity for both genders. Further, a male predilection for "Snacks" and "High-fat food" that could be found in the total representative study group, could not be verified in the subgroup of obese girls and boys, thus suggesting a similarily unhealthy eating behavior in both genders of juvenility.

Breaking the glass ceiling: structural, cultural, and organizational barriers preventing women from achieving senior and executive positions.

PubMed

Johns, Merida L

2013-01-01

The business case for gender diversity in senior and executive positions is compelling. Studies show that companies that have the best records for promoting women outstrip their competition on every measure of profitability. Yet women disproportionately are failing to attain high-level positions. Reviewing current data on women in the workplace, findings of studies on the relationship between gender diversity in senior management and company performance, and the literature on gender behavioral differences and the workplace, this article explores the possible reasons for the persistent wage and gender gap between women and men in senior leadership positions and discusses possible remedies.

The acquisition of gender labels in infancy: Implications for sex-typed play

PubMed Central

Zosuls, Kristina M.; Ruble, Diane N.; Tamis-LeMonda, Catherine S.; Shrout, Patrick E.; Bornstein, Marc H.; Greulich, Faith K.

2009-01-01

Two aspects of children’s early gender development - the spontaneous production of gender labels and sex-typed play - were examined longitudinally in a sample of 82 children. Survival analysis, a statistical technique well suited to questions involving developmental transitions, was used to investigate the timing of the onset of children’s gender labeling as based on mothers’ biweekly reports on their children’s language from 9 through 21 months. Videotapes of children’s play both alone and with mother at 17 and 21 months were independently analyzed for play with gender stereotyped and neutral toys. Finally, the relation between gender labeling and sex-typed play was examined. Children transitioned to using gender labels at approximately 19 months on average. Although girls and boys showed similar patterns in the development of gender labeling, girls began labeling significantly earlier than boys. Modest sex differences in play were present at 17 months and increased at 21 months. Gender labeling predicted increases in sex-typed play, suggesting that knowledge of gender categories might influence sex-typing before the age of 2. PMID:19413425

Characterizing the gender gap in introductory physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kost, Lauren E.; Pollock, Steven J.; Finkelstein, Noah D.

2009-06-01

Previous research [S. J. Pollock , Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 3, 1 (2007)] showed that despite the use of interactive engagement techniques, the gap in performance between males and females on a conceptual learning survey persisted from pretest to post-test at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Such findings were counter to previously published work [M. Lorenzo , Am. J. Phys. 74, 118 (2006)]. This study begins by identifying a variety of other gender differences. There is a small but significant difference in the course grades of males and females. Males and females have significantly different prior understandings of physics and mathematics. Females are less likely to take high school physics than males, although they are equally likely to take high school calculus. Males and females also differ in their incoming attitudes and beliefs about physics. This collection of background factors is analyzed to determine the extent to which each factor correlates with performance on a conceptual post-test and with gender. Binned by quintiles, we observe that males and females with similar pretest scores do not have significantly different post-test scores (p>0.2) . The post-test data are then modeled using two regression models (multiple regression and logistic regression) to estimate the gender gap in post-test scores after controlling for these important prior factors. These prior factors account for about 70% of the observed gender gap. The results indicate that the gender gap exists in interactive physics classes at our institution but is largely associated with differences in previous physics and math knowledge and incoming attitudes and beliefs.

Gender differences in physiologic markers and health behaviors associated with childhood obesity.

PubMed

Govindan, Morgen; Gurm, Roopa; Mohan, Sathish; Kline-Rogers, Eva; Corriveau, Nicole; Goldberg, Caren; Durussel-Weston, Jean; Eagle, Kim A; Jackson, Elizabeth A

2013-09-01

Previous studies have demonstrated gender-related differences in body composition, physical activity, and diet. This observational study assesses gender variance in independent predictors for obesity to determine targeted areas for intervention. Data from 1714 sixth-grade students enrolled in Project Healthy Schools were compared by using health behaviors and physiologic markers (lipids, random glucose, blood pressure, and resting and recovery heart rates). Students were stratified by gender and obesity (BMI ≥95th percentile by age and gender). Physiologic markers and behaviors were compared by using χ(2) analysis. Univariate associations with P < .10 were included in a stepwise logistic regression model to determine independent predictors for obesity by gender. Nonobese students (both boys and girls) showed significantly healthier physiologic parameters compared with their obese counterparts. Two behaviors independently correlated with obesity in both boys and girls: regularly eating school lunches (odds ratio [OR] 1.29, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.64; OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.00-1.62, respectively) and watching ≥2 hours of television per day (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.07-1.32; OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.06-1.34, respectively). Vigorous physical activity and involvement in school sports teams appeared to be protective against obesity in boys (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.82-0.98; OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.64-0.94, respectively), whereas milk consumption appeared protective in girls (OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.67-0.98). Among middle-school children, we observed gender-related differences in factors associated with obesity. Additional research is warranted to determine the beneficial impact of improving school lunches and decreasing screen time, while improving our understanding of gender-related differences in milk consumption and physical activities in relation to BMI.

Gender mix in twins and fetal growth, length of gestation and adult cancer risk.

PubMed

Luke, Barbara; Hediger, Mary; Min, Sung-Joon; Brown, Morton B; Misiunas, Ruta B; Gonzalez-Quintero, Victor Hugo; Nugent, Clark; Witter, Frank R; Newman, Roger B; Hankins, Gary D V; Grainger, David A; Macones, George A

2005-01-01

This study evaluated the effect of gender mix (the gender combinations of twin pairs) on fetal growth and length of gestation, and reviewed the literature on the long-term effects of this altered fetal milieu on cancer risk. In singletons, it is well established that females weigh less than males at all gestations, averaging 125-135 g less at full term. This gender difference is generally believed to be the result of the effect of androgens on fetal growth. The gender difference in fetal growth is greater before the third trimester and less towards term, with males growing not only more, but also earlier than females. Plurality is a known risk factor for reduced fetal growth and birthweight. Compared with singletons, the mean birthweight percentiles of twins fall substantially (by 10% or more) below the singleton 10th percentile by 28 weeks, below the singleton 50th percentile by 30 weeks, and below the singleton 90th percentile by 34 weeks. In unlike-gender twin pairs, it has been reported that the female prolongs gestation for her brother, resulting in a higher birthweight for the male twin than that of like-gender male twins. Other researchers have demonstrated that females in unlike-gender pairs had higher birthweights than females in like-gender pairs. Analyses from our consortium on 2491 twin pregnancies with known chorionicity showed longer gestations and faster rates of fetal growth in both males and females in unlike-gender pairs compared with like-gender male or female pairs, although these differences were not statistically significant. The post-natal effects for females growing in an androgenic-anabolic environment include increased sensation-seeking behaviour and aggression, lowered visual acuity, more masculine attitudes and masculinising effects of the auditory system and craniofacial growth. In contrast, there is no evidence to suggest that there might be a similar feminising effect on males from unlike-gender pairs. This hormonal exposure in utero may influence adult body size and susceptability to breast cancer.

Gender bias in under-five mortality in low/middle-income countries.

PubMed

Costa, Janaína Calu; da Silva, Inacio Crochemore Mohnsam; Victora, Cesar Gomes

2017-01-01

Due to biological reasons, boys are more likely to die than girls. The detection of gender bias requires knowing the expected relation between male and female mortality rates at different levels of overall mortality, in the absence of discrimination. Our objective was to compare two approaches aimed at assessing excess female under-five mortality rate (U5MR) in low/middle-income countries. We compared the two approaches using data from 60 Demographic and Health Surveys (2005-2014). The prescriptive approach compares observed mortality rates with historical patterns in Western societies where gender discrimination was assumed to be low or absent. The descriptive approach is derived from global estimates of all countries with available data, including those affected by gender bias. The prescriptive approach showed significant excess female U5MR in 20 countries, compared with only one country according to the descriptive approach. Nevertheless, both models showed similar country rankings. The 13 countries with the highest and the 10 countries with the lowest rankings were the same according to both approaches. Differences in excess female mortality among world regions were significant, but not among country income groups. Both methods are useful for monitoring time trends, detecting gender-based inequalities and identifying and addressing its causes. The prescriptive approach seems to be more sensitive in the identification of gender bias, but needs to be updated using data from populations with current-day structures of causes of death.

Johnny Depp, Reconsidered: How Category-Relative Processing Fluency Determines the Appeal of Gender Ambiguity.

PubMed

Owen, Helen E; Halberstadt, Jamin; Carr, Evan W; Winkielman, Piotr

2016-01-01

Individuals that combine features of both genders-gender blends-are sometimes appealing and sometimes not. Heretofore, this difference was explained entirely in terms of sexual selection. In contrast, we propose that part of individuals' preference for gender blends is due to the cognitive effort required to classify them, and that such effort depends on the context in which a blend is judged. In two studies, participants judged the attractiveness of male-female morphs. Participants did so after classifying each face in terms of its gender, which was selectively more effortful for gender blends, or classifying faces on a gender-irrelevant dimension, which was equally effortful for gender blends. In both studies, gender blends were disliked when, and only when, the faces were first classified by gender, despite an overall preference for feminine features in all conditions. Critically, the preferences were mediated by the effort of stimulus classification. The results suggest that the variation in attractiveness of gender-ambiguous faces may derive from context-dependent requirements to determine gender membership. More generally, the results show that the difficulty of resolving social category membership-not just attitudes toward a social category-feed into perceivers' overall evaluations toward category members.

Gender Policies and Gender Inequalities in Health in Europe: Results of the SOPHIE Project.

PubMed

Palència, Laia; De Moortel, Deborah; Artazcoz, Lucía; Salvador-Piedrafita, María; Puig-Barrachina, Vanessa; Hagqvist, Emma; Pérez, Glòria; Ruiz, Marisol E; Trujillo-Alemán, Sara; Vanroelen, Christophe; Malmusi, Davide; Borrell, Carme

2017-01-01

The aim of this article is to explain the results of the SOPHIE project regarding the effect of gender policies on gender inequalities in health in Europe. We start with the results of a systematic review on how gender regimes and gender equality policies at the country level impact women's health and gender inequalities in health. Then, we report on three empirical analyses on the relationship between different family policy models existing in Europe and gender inequalities in health. Finally we present four case studies on specific examples of gender policies or determinants of gender inequalities in health. The results show that policies that support women's participation in the labor force and decrease their burden of care, such as public services and support for families and entitlements for fathers, are related to lower levels of gender inequality in terms of health. In addition, public services and benefits for disabled and dependent people can reduce the burden placed on family caregivers and hence improve their health. In the context of the current economic crisis, gender equality policies should be maintained or improved. © The Author(s) 2016.

Individual Differences in the Relationship Between Attachment and Nomophobia Among College Students: The Mediating Role of Mindfulness

PubMed Central

Arpaci, Ibrahim; Özteke Kozan, Hatice İrem; Kesici, Şahin

2017-01-01

Background There is a growing interest in nomophobia, which is defined as the fear of being out of cellular phone contact, or "feelings of discomfort or anxiety experienced by individuals when they are unable to use their mobile phones or utilize the affordances these devices provide”. However, only limited research can be found in terms of its determinants at present. Contemporary literature suggests that the relationships among attachment styles, mindfulness, and nomophobia have not been investigated. Objective This study aims to investigate the mediating effect of mindfulness on the relationship between attachment and nomophobia. In addition, the study also focuses on gender differences in attachment, mindfulness, and nomophobia. A theory-based structural model was tested to understand the essentials of the associations between the constructs. Methods The Experiences in Close Relationships Scale, Nomophobia Questionnaire, and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale were used to collect data from undergraduate students (N=450; 70.9% women [319/450]; mean age=21.94 years [SD 3.61]). Two measurement models (ie, attachment and mindfulness) and a structural model were specified, estimated, and evaluated. Results The structural equation model shows that the positive direct effects of avoidant (.13, P=.03) and anxious attachment (.48, P<.001) on nomophobia were significant. The negative direct effects of avoidant (−.18, P=.01) and anxious attachment (−.33, P<.001) on mindfulness were also significant. Moreover, mindfulness has a significant negative effect on nomophobia for women only (−.13, P=.03). Finally, the Sobel test showed that the indirect effects of avoidant and anxious attachment on nomophobia via mindfulness were significant (P<.001). The direct and indirect effects of anxious attachment, avoidant attachment, and mindfulness altogether accounted for 33% of the total variance in nomophobia. Gender comparison results show that there is a significant difference in attachment based on gender (F2,447=6.97, P=.01, Wilk λ=.97, partial η2=.03). Women (mean 68.46 [SD 16.96]) scored significantly higher than men (mean 63.59 [SD 15.97]) in anxious attachment (F1=7.93, P=.01, partial η2=.02). Gender differences in mindfulness were not significant (F4,448=3.45, P=.69). On the other hand, results do show significant gender differences in nomophobia (F4,445=2.71, P=.03, Wilk λ=.98, partial η2=.02) where women scored significantly higher than men. Conclusions In general, individuals who are emotionally more dependent and crave more closeness and attention in the relationship tend to display higher levels of fear or discomfort when they have no access to their mobile phones. However, gender has a differential impact on the relationship between avoidant attachment and nomophobia. This study establishes the impact of mindfulness on nomophobia for women; therefore, future studies should test the effectiveness of mindfulness-based therapy approaches and confirm whether they are effective and efficient. On the basis of significant gender difference in nomophobia and attachment, we conclude that gender should be taken into account in mindfulness-based treatments dealing with nomophobia. PMID:29242179

An olfactory demography of a diverse metropolitan population.

PubMed

Keller, Andreas; Hempstead, Margaret; Gomez, Iran A; Gilbert, Avery N; Vosshall, Leslie B

2012-10-10

Human perception of the odour environment is highly variable. People vary both in their general olfactory acuity as well as in if and how they perceive specific odours. In recent years, it has been shown that genetic differences contribute to variability in both general olfactory acuity and the perception of specific odours. Odour perception also depends on other factors such as age and gender. Here we investigate the influence of these factors on both general olfactory acuity and on the perception of 66 structurally and perceptually different odours in a diverse subject population. We carried out a large human olfactory psychophysics study of 391 adult subjects in metropolitan New York City, an ethnically and culturally diverse North American metropolis. 210 of the subjects were women and the median age was 34.6 years (range 19-75). We recorded ~2,300 data points per subject to obtain a comprehensive perceptual phenotype, comprising multiple perceptual measures of 66 diverse odours. We show that general olfactory acuity correlates with gender, age, race, smoking habits, and body type. Young, female, non-smoking subjects had the highest average olfactory acuity. Deviations from normal body type in either direction were associated with decreased olfactory acuity. Beyond these factors we also show that, surprisingly, there are many odour-specific influences of race, age, and gender on olfactory perception. We show over 100 instances in which the intensity or pleasantness perception of an odour is significantly different between two demographic groups. These data provide a comprehensive snapshot of the olfactory sense of a diverse population. Olfactory acuity in the population is most strongly influenced by age, followed by gender. We also show a large number of diverse correlations between demographic factors and the perception of individual odours that may reflect genetic differences as well as different prior experiences with these odours between demographic groups.

An olfactory demography of a diverse metropolitan population

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Human perception of the odour environment is highly variable. People vary both in their general olfactory acuity as well as in if and how they perceive specific odours. In recent years, it has been shown that genetic differences contribute to variability in both general olfactory acuity and the perception of specific odours. Odour perception also depends on other factors such as age and gender. Here we investigate the influence of these factors on both general olfactory acuity and on the perception of 66 structurally and perceptually different odours in a diverse subject population. Results We carried out a large human olfactory psychophysics study of 391 adult subjects in metropolitan New York City, an ethnically and culturally diverse North American metropolis. 210 of the subjects were women and the median age was 34.6 years (range 19–75). We recorded ~2,300 data points per subject to obtain a comprehensive perceptual phenotype, comprising multiple perceptual measures of 66 diverse odours. We show that general olfactory acuity correlates with gender, age, race, smoking habits, and body type. Young, female, non-smoking subjects had the highest average olfactory acuity. Deviations from normal body type in either direction were associated with decreased olfactory acuity. Beyond these factors we also show that, surprisingly, there are many odour-specific influences of race, age, and gender on olfactory perception. We show over 100 instances in which the intensity or pleasantness perception of an odour is significantly different between two demographic groups. Conclusions These data provide a comprehensive snapshot of the olfactory sense of a diverse population. Olfactory acuity in the population is most strongly influenced by age, followed by gender. We also show a large number of diverse correlations between demographic factors and the perception of individual odours that may reflect genetic differences as well as different prior experiences with these odours between demographic groups. PMID:23046643

“Women Are Better Than Men”–Public Beliefs on Gender Differences and Other Aspects in Multitasking

PubMed Central

Szameitat, André J.; Hamaida, Yasmin; Tulley, Rebecca S.; Saylik, Rahmi; Otermans, Pauldy C. J.

2015-01-01

Reports in public media suggest the existence of a stereotype that women are better at multitasking than men. The present online survey aimed at supporting this incidental observation by empirical data. For this, 488 participants from various ethnic backgrounds (US, UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey, and others) filled out a self-developed online-questionnaire. Results showed that overall more than 50% of the participants believed in gender differences in multitasking abilities. Of those who believed in gender differences, a majority of 80% believed that women were better at multitasking. The main reasons for this were believed to be an evolutionary advantage and more multitasking practice in women, mainly due to managing children and household and/or family and job. Findings were consistent across the different countries, thus supporting the existence of a widespread gender stereotype that women are better at multitasking than men. Further questionnaire results provided information about the participants’ self-rated own multitasking abilities, and how they conceived multitasking activities such as childcare, phoning while driving, and office work. PMID:26479359

Gender Differences in Stressors Related to Migration and Acculturation in Patients with Psychiatric Disorders and Turkish Migration Background.

PubMed

Müller, Matthias Johannes; Koch, Eckhardt

2017-06-01

Migration, acculturation, and psychiatric disorders may cause stress and adaptation processes differently in men and women, but empirical research is scarce. In a retrospective study n = 62 Turkish migrants and n = 62 native German inpatients with depressive or anxiety disorders, matched for age, gender, and diagnoses, were compared using a 10-item instrument for the assessment of migration- and acculturation related stressors (MIGSTR10). Gender differences in the prevalence of stressors and in the total sum of stressors were calculated and compared between migrants and indigenous patients. Results showed a higher global stress level in migrants and in women than in men with migration background. Regarding single stressors, the perceived loss of status was significantly more prevalent and more pronounced in men than in women (P < 0.05) whereas guilt feelings were more severe in women with Turkish migration background compared to men (P < 0.05). Gender differences of perceived stress should be taken into account in migration and acculturation research.

Gender differences in identity processes and self-esteem in middle and later adulthood.

PubMed

Skultety, Karyn M; Krauss Whitbourne, Susan

2004-01-01

Gender differences were examined in the identity processes of identity assimilation (maintaining identity despite age changes), identity accommodation (changing identity) and balance (using both processes) and in the relationship of these processes to self-esteem. We tested a community sample of 222 adults (131 females and 91 males) ranging from 40 to 84 years of age (M = 57.5, SD = 12.1). Analysis of variance yielded evidence showing greater use of identity accommodation for women. Identity accommodation was negatively associated with self-esteem for both genders, while identity assimilation was positively associated with self-esteem for women only. For both men and women, identity balance was positively related to self-esteem. Women's use of the identity processes in relation to self-esteem is discussed. Societal views on aging are suggested to impact women, such that they engage in identity accommodation while benefiting from identity assimilation. From these findings, it appears that examining the processes contributing to the maintenance of self-esteem may be a more useful approach to characterizing the aging process and gender differences than focusing on mean differences alone.

"Women Are Better Than Men"-Public Beliefs on Gender Differences and Other Aspects in Multitasking.

PubMed

Szameitat, André J; Hamaida, Yasmin; Tulley, Rebecca S; Saylik, Rahmi; Otermans, Pauldy C J

2015-01-01

Reports in public media suggest the existence of a stereotype that women are better at multitasking than men. The present online survey aimed at supporting this incidental observation by empirical data. For this, 488 participants from various ethnic backgrounds (US, UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey, and others) filled out a self-developed online-questionnaire. Results showed that overall more than 50% of the participants believed in gender differences in multitasking abilities. Of those who believed in gender differences, a majority of 80% believed that women were better at multitasking. The main reasons for this were believed to be an evolutionary advantage and more multitasking practice in women, mainly due to managing children and household and/or family and job. Findings were consistent across the different countries, thus supporting the existence of a widespread gender stereotype that women are better at multitasking than men. Further questionnaire results provided information about the participants' self-rated own multitasking abilities, and how they conceived multitasking activities such as childcare, phoning while driving, and office work.

Gender differences in abdominal aortic aneurysm therapy - a systematic review.

PubMed

Stoberock, Konstanze; Kölbel, Tilo; Atlihan, Gülsen; Debus, Eike Sebastian; Tsilimparis, Nikolaos; Larena-Avellaneda, Axel; Behrendt, Christian Alexander; Wipper, Sabine

2018-06-01

This article analyses if and to what extent gender differences exist in abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) therapy. For this purpose Medline (PubMed) was searched from January 1999 to January 2018. Keywords were: "abdominal aortic aneurysm", "gender", "prevalence", "EVAR", and "open surgery of abdominal aortic aneurysm". Regardless of open or endovascular treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms, women have a higher rate of complications and longer hospitalizations compared to men. The majority of studies showed that women have a lower survival rate for surgical and endovascular treatment of abdominal aneurysms after both elective and emergency interventions. Women receive less surgical/interventional and protective medical treatment. Women seem to have a higher risk of rupture, a lower survival rate in AAA, and a higher rate of complications, regardless of endovascular or open treatment. The gender differences may be due to a higher age of women at diagnosis and therapy associated with higher comorbidity, but also because of genetic, hormonal, anatomical, biological, and socio-cultural differences. Strategies for treatment in female patients must be further defined to optimize outcome.

Sexuality and gender role in autism spectrum disorder: a case control study.

PubMed

Bejerot, Susanne; Eriksson, Jonna M

2014-01-01

The 'extreme male brain theory of autism' describes an extreme male pattern of cognitive traits defined as strong systemising abilities paired with empathising weaknesses in autism spectrum disorder. However, beyond these cognitive traits, clinical observations have suggested an ambiguous gender-typed pattern regarding several sexually dimorphic traits. The aim of the present study was to investigate if patterns of non-cognitive sexually dimorphic traits differed between the autism spectrum disorder and control groups. Fifty adults with autism spectrum disorder and intelligence within the normal range, and 53 neurotypical controls responded to questions on gender role, self-perceived gender typicality and gender identity, as well as sexuality. Measures used were a Swedish modification of the Bem Sex Role Inventory and questions on sexuality and gender designed for the purpose of this study. Our results showed that one common gender role emerged in the autism spectrum disorder group. Masculinity (e.g. assertiveness, leadership and competitiveness) was weaker in the autism spectrum disorder group than in the controls, across men and women. Self-perceived gender typicality did not differ between the groups but tomboyism and bisexuality were overrepresented amongst women with autism spectrum disorder. Lower libido was reported amongst both male and female participants with autism spectrum disorder compared with controls. We conclude that the extreme male patterns of cognitive functions in the autistic brain do not seem to extend to gender role and sexuality. A gender-atypical pattern for these types of characteristics is suggested in autism spectrum disorder.

Sexuality and Gender Role in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Case Control Study

PubMed Central

Bejerot, Susanne; Eriksson, Jonna M.

2014-01-01

The ‘extreme male brain theory of autism’ describes an extreme male pattern of cognitive traits defined as strong systemising abilities paired with empathising weaknesses in autism spectrum disorder. However, beyond these cognitive traits, clinical observations have suggested an ambiguous gender-typed pattern regarding several sexually dimorphic traits. The aim of the present study was to investigate if patterns of non-cognitive sexually dimorphic traits differed between the autism spectrum disorder and control groups. Fifty adults with autism spectrum disorder and intelligence within the normal range, and 53 neurotypical controls responded to questions on gender role, self-perceived gender typicality and gender identity, as well as sexuality. Measures used were a Swedish modification of the Bem Sex Role Inventory and questions on sexuality and gender designed for the purpose of this study. Our results showed that one common gender role emerged in the autism spectrum disorder group. Masculinity (e.g. assertiveness, leadership and competitiveness) was weaker in the autism spectrum disorder group than in the controls, across men and women. Self-perceived gender typicality did not differ between the groups but tomboyism and bisexuality were overrepresented amongst women with autism spectrum disorder. Lower libido was reported amongst both male and female participants with autism spectrum disorder compared with controls. We conclude that the extreme male patterns of cognitive functions in the autistic brain do not seem to extend to gender role and sexuality. A gender-atypical pattern for these types of characteristics is suggested in autism spectrum disorder. PMID:24498228

The High School Environment and the Gender Gap in Science and Engineering

PubMed Central

Legewie, Joscha; DiPrete, Thomas A.

2016-01-01

Despite the striking reversal of the gender gap in education, women pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees at much lower rates than those of their male peers. This study extends existing explanations for these gender differences and examines the role of the high school context for plans to major in STEM fields. Building on recent gender theories, we argue that widely shared and hegemonic gender beliefs manifest differently across schools so that the gender-specific formation of study plans is shaped by the local environment of high schools. Using the National Education Longitudinal Study, we first show large variations between high schools in the ability to attract students to STEM fields conditional on a large set of pre–high school measures. Schools that are successful in attracting students to these fields reduce the gender gap by 25 percent or more. As a first step toward understanding what matters about schools, we then estimate the effect of two concrete high school characteristics on plans to major in STEM fields in college—a high school's curriculum in STEM and gender segregation of extracurricular activities. These factors have a substantial effect on the gender gap in plans to major in STEM: a finding that is reaffirmed in a number of sensitivity analyses. Our focus on the high school context opens concrete avenues for policy intervention and is of central theoretical importance to understand the gender gap in orientations toward STEM fields. PMID:27857451

The High School Environment and the Gender Gap in Science and Engineering.

PubMed

Legewie, Joscha; DiPrete, Thomas A

2014-10-01

Despite the striking reversal of the gender gap in education, women pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees at much lower rates than those of their male peers. This study extends existing explanations for these gender differences and examines the role of the high school context for plans to major in STEM fields. Building on recent gender theories, we argue that widely shared and hegemonic gender beliefs manifest differently across schools so that the gender-specific formation of study plans is shaped by the local environment of high schools. Using the National Education Longitudinal Study, we first show large variations between high schools in the ability to attract students to STEM fields conditional on a large set of pre-high school measures. Schools that are successful in attracting students to these fields reduce the gender gap by 25 percent or more. As a first step toward understanding what matters about schools, we then estimate the effect of two concrete high school characteristics on plans to major in STEM fields in college-a high school's curriculum in STEM and gender segregation of extracurricular activities. These factors have a substantial effect on the gender gap in plans to major in STEM: a finding that is reaffirmed in a number of sensitivity analyses. Our focus on the high school context opens concrete avenues for policy intervention and is of central theoretical importance to understand the gender gap in orientations toward STEM fields.

Feminine gender identity and physical aggressiveness in heterosexual and homosexual pedophiles.

PubMed

Freund, K; Blanchard, R

1987-01-01

This study explored the differences among six groups of adult males in retrospective self-reports of childhood gender identity and physical aggressiveness. The three groups of homosexual men preferred prepubescent, pubescent, or physically mature sexual partners. The three groups of heterosexual men preferred prepubescent partners, normal sexual interaction with physically mature partners (controls), or anomalous interaction with physically mature partners. Childhood gender identity was measured with the Feminine Gender Identity Scale (FGIS), and boyhood aggressiveness was measured with the Physical Aggressiveness Scale (PAS). Duncan tests at the .05 level showed that the FGIS differentiated the homosexuals who preferred mature partners from the five other groups; whereas the PAS differentiated all homosexual groups from all heterosexual groups. These results suggest that male homosexuals in general tend to be unaggressive in boyhood, whereas only those who prefer mature sexual partners show significant levels of feminine identification.

Gender Stereotyping and Affective Attitudes Towards Science in Chinese Secondary School Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Mingxin; Hu, Weiping; Jiannong, Shi; Adey, Philip

2010-02-01

This study explores explicit and implicit gender-science stereotypes and affective attitudes towards science in a sample of Chinese secondary school students. The results showed that (1) gender-science stereotyping was more and more apparent as the specialization of science subjects progresses through secondary school, becoming stronger from the 10th grade; girls were more inclined to stereotype than boys while this gender difference decreased with increasing grade; (2) girls tend to have an implicit science-unpleasant/humanities-pleasant association from the 8th grade, while boys showed a negative implicit attitude towards science up to the 11th grade. In self-report, girls preferred humanities to science, while boys preferred science to humanities; (3) implicit affective attitude was closely related to implicit stereotype. In particular, implicit affective attitude has a stronger predictive power on stereotype than the other way around, the result of which may have more significance for girls.

Gender-related power differences, beliefs and reactions towards people living with HIV/AIDS: an urban study in Nigeria.

PubMed

Mbonu, Ngozi C; Van den Borne, Bart; De Vries, Nanne K

2010-06-12

Although there are an increasing number of studies on HIV-related stigma in Nigeria, very little research has focused on how power differences based on gender perpetuate the stigmatization of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and how these gender differences affect the care that PLWHA receive in health care institutions. We explore gender-related beliefs and reactions of society, including health care professionals (HCPs), with regard to PLWHA, using Connell's theoretical framework of gender and power (1987). With Connell's structural theory of gender and power (financial inequality, authority and structure of social norms), we can describe gender differences in stigmatization of PLWHA. We conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews, lasting 60 to 90 minutes, with 100 persons (40 members of the general public, 40 HCPs and 20 PLWHA) in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The Nvivo 7 computer package was used to analyze the data. There are similarities and differences between the general public and HCPs towards PLWHA in gender-related beliefs and reactions. For instance, although association with promiscuity and power differences were commonly acknowledged in the different groups, there are differences in how these reactions are shown; such as HCPs asking the female PLWHA to inform their partners to ensure payment of hospital bills. Women with HIV/AIDS in particular are therefore in a disadvantaged position with regard to the care they receive. Despite the fact that men and women with HIV/AIDS suffer the same illness, clear disparities are apparent in the negative reaction women and men living with HIV/AIDS experience in society. We show that women's generally low status in society contributes to the extreme negative reactions to which female PLWHA are subject. The government should create policies aimed at reducing the power differences in family, society and health care systems, which would be important to decrease the gender-related differences in stigma experienced by PLWHA. Interventions should be directed at the prevailing societal norms through appropriate legislation and advocacy at grassroots level with the support of men to counter laws that put women in a disadvantaged position. Furthermore, development of a policy that encourages equality in access to health care for all patients with HIV/AIDS by applying the same conditions to both men and women in health care institutions is recommended. There is a need to protect women's rights through implementing support policies, including paying attention to gender in the training of HCPs.

Gender-related power differences, beliefs and reactions towards people living with HIV/AIDS: an urban study in Nigeria

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Although there are an increasing number of studies on HIV-related stigma in Nigeria, very little research has focused on how power differences based on gender perpetuate the stigmatization of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and how these gender differences affect the care that PLWHA receive in health care institutions. We explore gender-related beliefs and reactions of society, including health care professionals (HCPs), with regard to PLWHA, using Connell's theoretical framework of gender and power (1987). With Connell's structural theory of gender and power (financial inequality, authority and structure of social norms), we can describe gender differences in stigmatization of PLWHA. Method We conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews, lasting 60 to 90 minutes, with 100 persons (40 members of the general public, 40 HCPs and 20 PLWHA) in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The Nvivo 7 computer package was used to analyze the data. Results There are similarities and differences between the general public and HCPs towards PLWHA in gender-related beliefs and reactions. For instance, although association with promiscuity and power differences were commonly acknowledged in the different groups, there are differences in how these reactions are shown; such as HCPs asking the female PLWHA to inform their partners to ensure payment of hospital bills. Women with HIV/AIDS in particular are therefore in a disadvantaged position with regard to the care they receive. Conclusion Despite the fact that men and women with HIV/AIDS suffer the same illness, clear disparities are apparent in the negative reaction women and men living with HIV/AIDS experience in society. We show that women's generally low status in society contributes to the extreme negative reactions to which female PLWHA are subject. The government should create policies aimed at reducing the power differences in family, society and health care systems, which would be important to decrease the gender-related differences in stigma experienced by PLWHA. Interventions should be directed at the prevailing societal norms through appropriate legislation and advocacy at grassroots level with the support of men to counter laws that put women in a disadvantaged position. Furthermore, development of a policy that encourages equality in access to health care for all patients with HIV/AIDS by applying the same conditions to both men and women in health care institutions is recommended. There is a need to protect women's rights through implementing support policies, including paying attention to gender in the training of HCPs. PMID:20540794

Sex-dependent age modulation of frontostriatal and temporo-parietal activation during cognitive control.

PubMed

Christakou, Anastasia; Halari, Rozmin; Smith, Anna B; Ifkovits, Eve; Brammer, Mick; Rubia, Katya

2009-10-15

Developmental functional imaging studies of cognitive control show progressive age-related increase in task-relevant fronto-striatal activation in male development from childhood to adulthood. Little is known, however, about how gender affects this functional development. In this study, we used event related functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine effects of sex, age, and their interaction on brain activation during attentional switching and interference inhibition, in 63 male and female adolescents and adults, aged 13 to 38. Linear age correlations were observed across all subjects in task-specific frontal, striatal and temporo-parietal activation. Gender analysis revealed increased activation in females relative to males in fronto-striatal areas during the Switch task, and laterality effects in the Simon task, with females showing increased left inferior prefrontal and temporal activation, and males showing increased right inferior prefrontal and parietal activation. Increased prefrontal activation clusters in females and increased parietal activation clusters in males furthermore overlapped with clusters that were age-correlated across the whole group, potentially reflecting more mature prefrontal brain activation patterns for females, and more mature parietal activation patterns for males. Gender by age interactions further supported this dissociation, revealing exclusive female-specific age correlations in inferior and medial prefrontal brain regions during both tasks, and exclusive male-specific age correlations in superior parietal (Switch task) and temporal regions (Simon task). These findings show increased recruitment of age-correlated prefrontal activation in females, and of age-correlated parietal activation in males, during tasks of cognitive control. Gender differences in frontal and parietal recruitment may thus be related to gender differences in the neurofunctional maturation of these brain regions.

Gender differences in mental disorders and suicidality in Europe: results from a large cross-sectional population-based study.

PubMed

Boyd, Anders; Van de Velde, Sarah; Vilagut, Gemma; de Graaf, Ron; O'Neill, Siobhan; Florescu, Silvia; Alonso, Jordi; Kovess-Masfety, Vivane

2015-03-01

When evaluating gender differences in mental disorders and suicidality, specifically between European countries, studies are sparse and frequently hindered by methodological issues, such as the limited items evaluated and inconsistent sampling designs. In ten European countries participating in the World Mental Health Survey Initiative, lifetime internalizing and externalizing disorders and suicidality were assessed among 37,289 respondents. Disorders were classified using DMS-IV criteria. Odds ratios (OR) for gender differences were calculated using logistic regression, while trends across age-groups were tested via gender × age interaction. Within countries, prevalence of any lifetime internalizing disorder ranged from 10.8% to 44.5% among women and 5.9% to 26.5% among men, with women having consistently higher odds than men (OR range: 1.52-2.73). Prevalence of any lifetime externalizing disorders ranged from 0.2% to 6.6% among women and 2.2% to 22.4% among men, with women having consistently lower odds than men (OR range: 0.05-0.35). Any lifetime suicide attempt was found in 0.8-5.4% of women and 0.3-2.4% of men, showing inconsistent relative gender-differences across countries (OR range: 0.77-4.72). Significant effects in gender OR across age-groups were not observed for any internalizing disorder or suicide attempt, yet were present for any externalizing disorder in France (p = 0.01), the Netherlands (p = 0.05), and Spain (p = 0.02). Mental disorders were assessed with the CIDI 3.0 and not psychiatric evaluations. Suicidality does not fully represent more important clinical events, such as suicide mortality. Consistent across European countries, internalizing disorders are more common among women and externalizing disorders among men, whereas gender differences in suicidality varied. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Gender differences in neural correlates of stress-induced anxiety.

PubMed

Seo, Dongju; Ahluwalia, Aneesha; Potenza, Marc N; Sinha, Rajita

2017-01-02

Although gender differences have been identified as a crucial factor for understanding stress-related anxiety and associated clinical disorders, the neural mechanisms underlying these differences remain unclear. To explore gender differences in the neural correlates of stress-induced anxiety, the current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine brain responses in 96 healthy men and women with commensurable levels of trait anxiety as they engaged in a personalized guided imagery paradigm to provoke stress and neutral-relaxing experiences. During the task, a significant gender main effect emerged, with men displaying greater responses in the caudate, cingulate gyrus, midbrain, thalamus, and cerebellum. In contrast, women showed greater responses in the posterior insula, temporal gyrus, and occipital lobe. Additionally, a significant anxiety ratings × gender interaction from whole-brain regression analyses was observed in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, left inferior parietal lobe, left temporal gyrus, occipital gyrus, and cerebellum (P < 0.05, whole-brain family-wise error corrected), with positive associations between activity in these regions and stress-induced anxiety in women, but negative associations in men, indicating that men and women differentially use neural resources when experiencing stress-induced anxiety. The findings suggest that in response to stress, there is a greater use of the medial prefrontal-parietal cortices in experiencing subjective anxiety in women, while decreased use of this circuit was associated with increased subjective anxiety states in men. The current study has implications for understanding gender-specific differences in stress-induced anxiety and vulnerability to stress-related clinical disorders, and for developing more effective treatment strategies tailored to each gender. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Gender differences in physical activity and health-related behaviors among stroke survivors: data from the 5th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

PubMed

Lee, Yookyung; Kim, Won-Seok; Paik, Nam-Jong

2017-07-01

Physical activity and health-related behaviors are important in primary prevention of stroke and are also recommended for secondary prevention. Gender differences in physical activity and health-related behaviors have been reported in various populations and diseased states but data is lacking on stroke survivors. To assess gender disparities in physical activity in stroke patients and to investigate possible reasons for such disparities. This is a cross-sectional study using nationwide data from the 5th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010-2012). A total of 9539 participants (stroke (n = 170), non-stroke (n = 9369)) between the ages of 40-80, with no problems walking were included. Physical activity, smoking, and alcohol drinking of stroke survivors were assessed by gender and compared with non-stroke groups. Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) for insufficient physical activity and possible explanatory variables for gender differences. Women showed higher prevalence of insufficient physical activity after adjusting for age (OR = 7.32, 95% CI: 1.89-28.32) compared to men. Medical conditions such as depression and comorbidities failed to explain the low physical activity in women with stroke but adding socioeconomic factors to the model nullified the gender difference in physical activity. In order to reduce noted gender disparities in physical activity following stroke, more focused effort to increase physical activity in women, especially with lower socioeconomic status, has to be considered.

Gender differences in psychosocial determinants of self-perceived health among Portuguese older adults in nursing homes.

PubMed

Alarcão, Violeta; Madeira, Teresa; Peixoto-Plácido, Catarina; Sousa-Santos, Nuno; Fernandes, Elisabete; Nicola, Paulo; Santos, Osvaldo; Gorjão-Clara, João

2018-05-23

Self-perceived health declines with age, varies by gender and is a predictor of mortality, morbidity, physical and psychological functioning. However, gender differences in health and illness perception are complex and not yet fully understood. This study aimed to explore gender-related differences in psychosocial determinants of self-perceived health among older adults living in nursing homes. Nationwide face-to-face survey of the Portuguese population aged 65 and over. A representative sample of nursing homes residents was obtained through a multistage cluster random sampling of nursing homes, stratified by main Portuguese administrative regions (NUTS II). Overall, 1186 nursing homes residents voluntarily enrolled in this study (participation rate, 93%) and a total of 515 participants (70.1% women) were considered to have adequate cognitive functioning to answer all questionnaires. A significant association between self-rated health and gender was found: 90.6% of all women (95% CI: 85.7-93.9) and 82.3% of all men (95% CI: 72.9-88.9) rated their health as less than good (p = 0.023). Gender-stratified analyses showed differences in psychosocial determinants of self-perceived health. While symptoms of depression and loneliness feelings were the major psychosocial determinants of poor self-perceived health among women, age and subjective financial well-being were the only determinants among men. Factors associated with perceived health, as representative of healthy ageing, were identified by gender, leading to future avenues for fruitful investigation. The acknowledgement of interpersonal and socioeconomic factors that determine the experience of ageing at a national level is crucial to improve the health of elders.

Gender-Specific Covariations between Competencies, Interest and Effort during Science Learning in Virtual Environments

PubMed Central

Christophel, Eva; Schnotz, Wolfgang

2017-01-01

Women are still underrepresented in engineering courses although some German universities offer separate women’s engineering courses which include virtual STEM learning environments. To outline information about fundamental aspects relevant for virtual STEM learning, one has to reveal which similarities both genders in virtual learning show. Moreover, the question arises as to whether there are in fact differences in the virtual science learning of female and male learners. Working with virtual STEM learning environments requires strategic and arithmetic-operative competences. Even if we assume that female and male learners have similar competences levels, their correlational pattern of competences, motivational variables, and invested effort during virtual STEM learning might differ. If such gender differences in the correlations between cognitive and motivational variables and learning behavior were revealed, it would be possible to finetune study conditions for female students in a separate engineering course and shape virtual STEM learning in a more gender-appropriate manner. That might support an increase in the number of women in engineering courses. To reveal the differences and similarities between female and male learners, a field study was conducted with 56 students (female = 27, male = 29) as part of the Open MINT Labs project (the German term for Open STEM Labs, OML). The participants had to complete a virtual STEM learning environment during their regular science lessons. The data were collected with questionnaires. The results revealed that the strategic competences of both genders were positively correlated with situational interest in the virtual learning environment. This result shows the big impact strategic competences have for both genders regarding their situational interest. In contrast, the correlations between mental effort and competences differed between female and male participants. Especially female learners’ mental effort decreased if they had more strategic competences. On the other hand, female learners’ mental effort increased if they had more arithmetic-operative competences. All in all, female learners seem to be more sensitive to differences in their strategic and arithmetic-operative competences regarding their mental effort. These results imply that the implementation of separate women’s engineering courses could be an interesting approach. PMID:29114234

Gender-Specific Covariations between Competencies, Interest and Effort during Science Learning in Virtual Environments.

PubMed

Christophel, Eva; Schnotz, Wolfgang

2017-01-01

Women are still underrepresented in engineering courses although some German universities offer separate women's engineering courses which include virtual STEM learning environments. To outline information about fundamental aspects relevant for virtual STEM learning, one has to reveal which similarities both genders in virtual learning show. Moreover, the question arises as to whether there are in fact differences in the virtual science learning of female and male learners. Working with virtual STEM learning environments requires strategic and arithmetic-operative competences. Even if we assume that female and male learners have similar competences levels, their correlational pattern of competences, motivational variables, and invested effort during virtual STEM learning might differ. If such gender differences in the correlations between cognitive and motivational variables and learning behavior were revealed, it would be possible to finetune study conditions for female students in a separate engineering course and shape virtual STEM learning in a more gender-appropriate manner. That might support an increase in the number of women in engineering courses. To reveal the differences and similarities between female and male learners, a field study was conducted with 56 students (female = 27, male = 29) as part of the Open MINT Labs project (the German term for Open STEM Labs, OML). The participants had to complete a virtual STEM learning environment during their regular science lessons. The data were collected with questionnaires. The results revealed that the strategic competences of both genders were positively correlated with situational interest in the virtual learning environment. This result shows the big impact strategic competences have for both genders regarding their situational interest. In contrast, the correlations between mental effort and competences differed between female and male participants. Especially female learners' mental effort decreased if they had more strategic competences. On the other hand, female learners' mental effort increased if they had more arithmetic-operative competences. All in all, female learners seem to be more sensitive to differences in their strategic and arithmetic-operative competences regarding their mental effort. These results imply that the implementation of separate women's engineering courses could be an interesting approach.

Neural markers of a greater female responsiveness to social stimuli

PubMed Central

Proverbio, Alice M; Zani, Alberto; Adorni, Roberta

2008-01-01

Background There is fMRI evidence that women are neurally predisposed to process infant laughter and crying. Other findings show that women might be more empathic and sensitive than men to emotional facial expressions. However, no gender difference in the brain responses to persons and unanimated scenes has hitherto been demonstrated. Results Twenty-four men and women viewed 220 images portraying persons or landscapes and ERPs were recorded from 128 sites. In women, but not in men, the N2 component (210–270) was much larger to persons than to scenes. swLORETA showed significant bilateral activation of FG (BA19/37) in both genders when viewing persons as opposed to scenes. Only women showed a source of activity in the STG and in the right MOG (extra-striate body area, EBA), and only men in the left parahippocampal area (PPA). Conclusion A significant gender difference was found in activation of the left and right STG (BA22) and the cingulate cortex for the subtractive condition women minus men, thus indicating that women might have a greater preference or interest for social stimuli (faces and persons). PMID:18590546

Gender Affects Skin Wound Healing in Plasminogen Deficient Mice

PubMed Central

Rønø, Birgitte; Engelholm, Lars Henning; Lund, Leif Røge; Hald, Andreas

2013-01-01

The fibrinolytic activity of plasmin plays a fundamental role in resolution of blood clots and clearance of extravascular deposited fibrin in damaged tissues. These vital functions of plasmin are exploited by malignant cells to accelerate tumor growth and facilitate metastases. Mice lacking functional plasmin thus display decreased tumor growth in a variety of cancer models. Interestingly, this role of plasmin has, in regard to skin cancer, been shown to be restricted to male mice. It remains to be clarified whether gender also affects other phenotypic characteristics of plasmin deficiency or if this gender effect is restricted to skin cancer. To investigate this, we tested the effect of gender on plasmin dependent immune cell migration, accumulation of hepatic fibrin depositions, skin composition, and skin wound healing. Gender did not affect immune cell migration or hepatic fibrin accumulation in neither wildtype nor plasmin deficient mice, and the existing differences in skin composition between males and females were unaffected by plasmin deficiency. In contrast, gender had a marked effect on the ability of plasmin deficient mice to heal skin wounds, which was seen as an accelerated wound closure in female versus male plasmin deficient mice. Further studies showed that this gender effect could not be reversed by ovariectomy, suggesting that female sex-hormones did not mediate the accelerated skin wound healing in plasmin deficient female mice. Histological examination of healed wounds revealed larger amounts of fibrotic scars in the provisional matrix of plasmin deficient male mice compared to female mice. These fibrotic scars correlated to an obstruction of cell infiltration of the granulation tissue, which is a prerequisite for wound healing. In conclusion, the presented data show that the gender dependent effect of plasmin deficiency is tissue specific and may be secondary to already established differences between genders, such as skin thickness and composition. PMID:23527289

Gender Differences of Brain Activity in the Conflicts Based on Implicit Self-Esteem

PubMed Central

Miyamoto, Reiko; Kikuchi, Yoshiaki

2012-01-01

There are gender differences in global and domain-specific self-esteem and the incidence of some psychiatric disorders related to self-esteem, suggesting that there are gender differences in the neural basis underlying one's own self-esteem. We investigated gender differences in the brain activity while subjects (14 males and 12 females) performed an implicit self-esteem task, using fMRI. While ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) was significantly activated in females, medial and dorsomedial PFC (dmPFC) were activated in males in the incongruent condition (self = negative) compared with the congruent condition (self = positive). Additionally, scores on the explicit self-esteem test were negatively correlated with vmPFC activity in females and positively correlated with dmPFC activity in males. Furthermore, the functional relationships among the regions found by direct gender comparisons were discussed based on the somatic-marker model. These showed that, compared to males, females more firmly store even the incongruent associations as part of their schematic self-knowledge, and such associations automatically activate the neural networks for emotional response and control, in which vmPFC plays a central role. This may explain female cognitive/behavioral traits; females have more tendency to ruminate more often than males, which sometimes results in a prolonged negative affect. PMID:22666409