Links between family gender socialization experiences in childhood and gendered occupational attainment in young adulthood

Gendered occupational segregation remains prevalent across the world. Although research has examined factors contributing to the low number of women in male-typed occupations – namely science, technology, engineering, and math – little longitudinal research has examined the role of childhood experiences in both young women's and men's later gendered occupational attainment. This study addressed this gap in the literature by examining family gender socialization experiences in middle childhood – namely parents' attitudes and work and family life – as contributors to the gender typicality of occupational attainment in young adulthood. Using data collected from mothers, fathers, and children over approximately 15 years, the results revealed that the associations between childhood socialization experiences (~ 10 years old) and occupational attainment (~ 26 years old) depended on the sex of the child. For sons but not daughters, mothers' more traditional attitudes toward women's roles predicted attaining more gender-typed occupations. In addition, spending more time with fathers in childhood predicted daughters attaining less and sons acquiring more gender-typed occupations in young adulthood. Overall, evidence supports the idea that childhood socialization experiences help to shape individuals' career attainment and thus contribute to gender segregation in the labor market.     

Longitudinal links between career adaptability and academic achievement in adolescence

Contemporary youth spend increasingly longer time in the educational system, where their career pursuits become closely intertwined with their educational goals. As career development is a life-long process, adolescents start working on their careers long before they engage in actual work behaviors. Therefore, in order for school to adaptively prepare youth for their future work lives, career adaptability and academic achievement should be reciprocally and positively linked throughout adolescence. To date, more longitudinal proof for these relations is needed. To address this shortcoming, we investigated cross-lagged associations between these two constructs in a three-wave longitudinal study, testing the moderating role of adolescents' gender, school type, and age. Participants were 1151 adolescents (41.3% boys), who completed the same paper-and-pencil measure three times across an academic year. Results showed positive reciprocal associations between career concern and academic achievement (i.e., Grand Point Average). This indicates that adolescents with a strong future orientation, who were already invested in career planning activities tended to perform better in school and vice-versa, high academic achievement further strengthened adolescents' positive outlooks on their vocational future. We also detected positive unidirectional links from academic achievement to career control and career confidence across one academic year. Interestingly, we did not find significant longitudinal links between career curiosity and academic achievement. These patterns of longitudinal relations applied equally to boys and girls, to those attending university-preparatory and work-bound schools, and to early-to-middle and middle-to-late adolescents. Research and applied implications of these findings are detailed.     

Longitudinal associations between impulsivity and lie-telling in childhood and adolescence

Lie-telling and impulsivity levels peak during late childhood to early adolescence and have been suggested to be related. Heightened impulsivity may lead adolescents to lie in favor of short-term benefits without consideration for the potential consequences of deception. The present study assessed longitudinal relations between self-reported impulsivity and lie-telling frequency. Participants from a large-scale longitudinal study (N = 1148; M_age = 11.55, SD = 1.69, 9–15 years at Time 1) reported on their impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale) and their frequency of lie-telling to parents, to teachers, to friends, and about cheating across two time points 1 year apart. Cross-lagged path analysis revealed greater impulsivity was associated with more frequent lie-telling to parents, friends, and teachers, and about cheating over time. Our findings demonstrate the role of impulsivity in the development of lie-telling behaviors.

Research Highlights

• Impulsivity predicts lying across time in multiple contexts (to parents, friends, teachers, and about cheating).
• Previous research has demonstrated the role of top-down influences on lie-telling, but the current study suggests that bottom-up processes are also influential.

     

Pathways to adulthood and their precursors and outcomes

Norway has an extensive welfare system which may provide adolescents with many options and high levels of flexibility in terms of pathways to adulthood. This study aimed to describe Norwegian developmental pathways to adulthood, including changes in role statuses (such as living situations, education, work, marriage/cohabitation and parenthood) from 16 to 30 years of age, and their precursors and outcomes. Repeated measures latent class analysis of longitudinal data from 998 Norwegian individuals indicated three main pathways to adulthood among women and men. In both sexes, most individuals undertook a long period of education and postponed family formation. However, some individuals started working early, a group of women established families with partners and children early, and a group of men remained primarily single between 16 and 30 years of age. Furthermore, the results show that pathways to adulthood in Norway are surprisingly similar to pathways in other countries such as the US, UK and Finland. The results indicate that pathways to adulthood are influenced by social reproduction factors in a country with high levels of welfare benefits as well. In addition, the results suggest that pathways involving living with a partner and either higher education or work are associated with high life satisfaction at age 30.     

Video game preferences and their relation to career interests

The current study used an mTURK sample to determine if there is a relation between video game preferences and career interests. Previous research has found that individual (e.g., personality) differences influence gaming preferences (Zammitto, 2001) and we sought to extend these findings to the domain of career interests. In addition, we examined the potential moderating role of gender. Since researchers have found that gender disparities in spatial attention can be reduced by playing certain types of video games (Feng, Spence, & Pratt, 2007), and it has been demonstrated that spatial ability is an important predictor of success in careers where women are typically underrepresented (Blickenstaff, 2005), we predicted that women with a preference for these types of games (versus a general preference) may have more interest in these careers. We found that gaming motivations were differentially associated with career interests. In addition, gender was found to significantly moderate a number of these relations, such that the association between gaming tendencies and career interests was stronger for women than for men. Findings from the current study should help guide future research that aims to increase the representation of women in STEM careers.     

Relation of occupational knowledge to career interests and competence perceptions in Italian children

The relations of differential occupational knowledge with interests and competence perceptions in children as well as how these relations were moderated by gender and grade were examined in this study using an Italian sample. Data were collected from samples of elementary school and middle school children (N = 539). The Inventory of Children's Activities—Revised (ICA-R; Tracey & Ward, 1998) was used to assess children's interest and competency perceptions in various activities associated with the Holland's RIASEC types. The Occupational Knowledge Scale (OKS) was created for this study, and consisted of a representative sampling of occupational titles to which children indicated their knowledge. Hierarchical regression results indicated a relationship between knowledge, interests, and competence perceptions in children. With regard to overall knowledge, no relationship was found between general knowledge and either grade or gender. More specific examination of the type of knowledge as it varied across the dimensions of People–Things, and Data–Ideas demonstrated that there appeared to be a specific pattern relating interest, gender, and grade to knowledge of occupations. For knowledge of people relative to things occupations, higher interest, higher grade level, and being female predicts stronger knowledge of people occupations. It was also found that interest in ideas predicts stronger knowledge of ideas occupations, and being male predicts stronger knowledge of high prestige occupations. Generally, competence perceptions did not have a unique relation with one's knowledge of People–Things, Ideas–Data, or Prestige; however, girls who reported higher competence had greater knowledge of ideas occupations.     

The associations between autistic and communication traits in parents and developmental outcomes in children at familial risk of autism at 6 and 24 months of age

BackgroundSeveral studies have explored relationships between parent broader autism phenotype and offspring communication, and have reported that autistic-like traits in parents are related to offspring communication difficulties and autism severity. However, past research has focused on studying such associations in childhood and we know very little about them in infancy. With accumulating evidence that interventions administered during infancy may be most effective in reducing ASD symptoms, it is imperative to examine whether relationships between parent autistic-like traits and child communication appear even earlier during this critical period of life.MethodThis longitudinal study collected data from infant siblings of autistic children (N = 32) and infants with no family history of autism (N = 45) to explore how autistic-like traits in parents related to child developmental outcomes during infancy.ResultsParental communication difficulties and autistic-like traits were found to be associated with a range of child behaviours in the first two years of life, including social-emotional difficulties at 6 and 24 months, lower communication and emerging cognition at 24 months, and increased autistic behaviours at 24 months.ConclusionsBased on the results, it appears that some of the difficulties seen in parents are relayed to children genetically. These findings contribute to ASD research concerning early communication development in children and heritability of ASD traits and may have important implications in monitoring child development. Furthermore, since the current study found a significant association between autistic traits in parents and child social-emotional behaviour as early as 6 months of age, it provides evidence of the value of assessing interventions that target infancy.     

Longitudinal associations between people's cessation-related experiences and their satisfaction with cessation

We sought to determine whether different social, psychological, emotional, and physiological experiences associated with quitting smoking related to people's satisfaction with cessation systematically, and whether the strength of the relations changes at different points during the cessation process and for different people (e.g., optimists). Using data from smokers enrolled in a cessation program, we used mixed models to assess the average longitudinal relation between people's experiences and satisfaction measured at seven time points and whether the relations were moderated by key variables. Eight of nine experiences were related to people's satisfaction (ps < 0.05) and the models accounted for 39–44% of the within-person variance in satisfaction. Current smoking behavior was more strongly related to people's satisfaction during their early efforts to quit, whereas some experiences (e.g., feedback from others) had a stronger relation with satisfaction during people's later efforts to quit or maintain abstinence (ps < 0.05). Individual differences in optimism and prior cessation experience moderated some of the relations (ps < 0.05). The findings mark the first evidence of factors that might influence how people determine their satisfaction with smoking cessation. The implications for tailoring interventions and potentially increasing the likelihood that people maintain abstinence are discussed.     

The mediating role of positive relations with others in associations between depressive symptoms, social skills, and perceived stress

This study was designed to examine the role of positive relations with others as a mediator of the association between poor social skills and depression and between depression and increased perceptions of stress. To test these two models, data were collected from 179 young adults assessed three times over the course of 4 months. Sobel’s product of coefficients test and lower-level mediation modeling were used to evaluate these predictions. The results showed that positive relations with others completely mediated the negative association between social skills and depression. Social skills also moderated the positive association between depression and perceptions of stress. These findings illustrate how positive relations with others function to promote psychological well-being.     

A longitudinal analysis of reciprocal relationships between actual and perceived motor competencies and physical self-concept in primary-school age children

Physical self-concept (PSC) and motor competencies are important factors in view of the development of a physically active lifestyle. There are research gaps regarding longitudinal studies of these relationships. This article presents findings of a longitudinal study (n = 200; 58% girls, M = 8.84 ± 0.63 years) at three primary schools. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between actual motor competencies (AMC) and perceived motor competencies (PMC) and PSC. Therefore, manifest path models in cross-lagged design were performed. Results show that correlations between PMC and AMC increased over time and were stronger in object control than in locomotor. Effects of AMC on PSC were more strongly mediated by PMC in object control than in locomotor. To promote physical activity, developing strategies should be aimed at the acquisition of AMC, particularly in object control, and PMC, especially in locomotor, during childhood.     

Longitudinal associations between relational and sexual well-being in couples transitioning to parenthood

There is limited understanding of the dynamic between relational and sexual well-being as couples adjust to new parenthood, despite this being a vulnerable period for couples' relationships. This study was aimed at examining the bidirectional links between relationship quality and sexual well-being (i.e., sexual satisfaction, sexual distress) across the transition to parenthood. We assessed new parent couples (N = 257) across four time points (two prenatal) from mid-pregnancy through 6 months postpartum. Parallel dyadic latent growth curve modeling was employed to examine the associations between trajectories of perceived relationship quality, sexual satisfaction, and sexual distress. New parents' declines in relationship quality were associated with declines in own and partners' sexual satisfaction and with increases in own sexual distress. Mothers' prenatal relationship quality and sexual distress predicted subsequent changes in own sexual distress and fathers' relationship quality, respectively. Results indicate that changes to new parents' relational and sexual well-being mutually influence each other over time. Current results indicate that the impact of the transition on couples' relationships is partly determined by own and partners' prenatal factors, to which clinicians and researchers can attend to early on. Cross-domain links between relational and sexual well-being should be considered in research and clinical practice.     

Sex and age group differences in the associations between sleep duration and BMI from adolescence to young adulthood

Objective: We examine concurrent and longitudinal associations between sleep duration (SD) and body mass index (BMI) from adolescence to young adulthood, controlling for physical activity and internalising symptoms. Sex and age group differences (early adolescent group ages 12–15 years and late adolescent group ages 16–18 years) are examined.

Design: A randomly selected community-based sample of youth (N = 662; 48.3% males) were surveyed biannually from 2003 (T1) to 2014 (T6).

Results: We found sex and age group differences for the concurrent and longitudinal associations between SD and BMI. For males, shorter SD at baseline was concurrently related to higher BMI. For females, shorter SD at baseline was associated with longitudinal increases in BMI, for the late adolescent group only.

Conclusion: Findings show that the association between SD and BMI, previously shown in childhood, continues to be significant in adolescence and young adulthood. Developmentally appropriate and sex-specific strategies for motivating and supporting healthy sleep habits in adolescence that may help to prevent weight gain into young adulthood are discussed.     

Towards a better understanding of the association between motor skills and executive functions in 5- to 6-year-olds: The impact of motor task difficulty

Different lines of evidence suggest an association between motor skills and executive functions (EFs) in kindergarten children. Comparatively little is known about the specific nature of this relationship. In the present study, using a within-subjects design, a sample of 124 five- to six-year-old children completed 12 fine and gross motor tasks of varying nominal difficulty and three EFs tasks. We assumed that difficult motor tasks are less automated than easy motor tasks. Therefore, EFs should be involved more strongly in difficult compared to easy motor tasks. Firstly, results replicated the association between motor skills and EFs. Secondly, results provided a new and differentiated perspective on the evidence of this link. Performance on both easy and difficult fine motor tasks was significantly related to EFs. However, only performance on the difficult, but not on the easy gross motor tasks was significantly correlated with EFs. The findings demonstrate that the challenges and demands inherent in any motor task influence the magnitude of the motor–EFs link. That is, difficult (i.e., less automated) motor tasks require EFs more substantially than easy (i.e., more automated) motor tasks. Results will be discussed with regard to further candidate processes underlying the motor–EFs link.     

The role of centrality to self-concept in moderating the associations between injury perceptions and outcomes

Abstract

Objectives: To test the centrality of injury to self-concept as a moderator of the associations between injury perceptions and outcomes.

Methods: Two concurrent studies on samples of injured individuals.

Measures: The centrality of injury to one’s self concept was measured by the degree of self-injury separation (PRISM); injury perceptions were measured by the injury perception questionnaire; and outcomes by standard scales of self-assessed health, physical, emotional and social functioning, vitality, depression, anxiety and somatisation. Regression analyses examined the significance of adding the interactions between injury centrality and injury perceptions to explained outcome variance, beyond their separate contributions.

Results: Both injury centrality and injury perceptions significantly explained variance in patients’ functioning and well-being. Injury centrality moderated the associations between various injury perceptions and outcomes, especially pronounced for emotional representations of the injury. As hypothesised, the effects of injury perceptions on outcomes were stronger among patients for whom the injury was central to their self-concept compared to patients who perceived the injury as peripheral to their self-concept.

Conclusions: ‘Centrality to the self’ is a moderator of the impact of perceptions on outcomes of injuries. The findings suggest ways to tailor interventions to sub-groups of injured patients based on injury centrality to their self-concept.     

Relations between enabling skills and reading comprehension: a follow-up study of Latvian students from first to second grade

In order to examine the relationships among various phonological skills and reading comprehension, Latvian children were followed from grade 1 to grade 2 and were tested with a battery of phonological, word reading, and reading comprehension tasks. A principal component analysis of the phonological tasks revealed three salient factors: a phonemic awareness factor, a rapid naming factor, and a short-term memory factor. In order to analyze the relationship between various phonological skills and reading comprehension, a structural modeling analysis was performed. Phonemic awareness and rapid naming explained approximately the same amount of unique variance in reading comprehension, but phonemic awareness had most predictive power indirectly via word decoding. Only rapid naming had a significant direct impact on reading comprehension.     

Old dog,new tricks: Age differences in dog personality traits,associations with human personality traits,and links to important outcomes

Work examining dog personality is relatively new, so the degree to which dog personality differs by age, predicts important dog outcomes, and is correlated with human personality is unclear. In a sample of 1681 dogs (M_age = 6.44 years, SD = 3.82; 46.2% Female; 50% purebred) and their owners, older dogs were less active/excitable compared to younger dogs. Aggression toward people, responsiveness to training, and aggression toward other animals were highest among 6–8 year old dogs. Dog personality was associated with important dog outcomes—chronic health conditions, biting history, and human-dog relationships. We build on previous research by examining demographic differences in dog personality and associations between dog personality and outcomes for both dogs and humans.