Tales of Women's Suffering: Draupadi and other Amman Goddesses as Role Models for Women

Although Hinduism offers the greatest living resource for the veneration of the Goddess, there is an obvious discrepancy between the respect paid to these divine images and the daily realities of the lives of Hindu women. However, I believe that the ancient, indigenous south Indian Amman religion, dominated by female deities and brought to KwaZulu-Natal by the original Hindu immigrants, offers a unique and valuable form of Goddess veneration. It presents myths and rituals of women, both divine and human, violated, betrayed and exploited by men, but whose courage and purity brought them victory against males threatening to disrupt the social order. These powerful female figures, especially Draupadi, Mother Goddess and patron of firewalking, offer women empowering role models, encouraging them to challenge patriarchal structures and injustice perpetrated against women. Recovering knowledge of some of the Amman Goddess mythology could provide women (and men) with a potent feminist theodicy and a post-patriarchal spirituality with the possibility to bring about social transformation.     

What do men and women want in a partner? Are educated partners always more desirable?

Previous research has shown that males value a potential partner’s physical attractiveness more than females do, whereas females value a potential partner’s socioeconomic status (SES) more than males do. But are men really so unconcerned about a potential partner’s SES? Five studies revealed that men do integrate information about a woman’s SES into their decisions on whether to consider her as a romantic partner or not. Results consistently demonstrated that male participants preferred women with lower SES. Female participants, in contrast, preferred men with higher SES. These sex differences were more pronounced when a long-term romantic relationship rather than a one-night stand was being considered. In addition, men’s lower reported likelihood of romantic contact with a woman with high SES was due to her high educational level rather than her high income. Mediational analyses showed that men perceived a potential partner with high educational level as less likeable and less faithful, and thus reported less likelihood of romantic contact.     

Ego development, authoritarianism, and social status: an investigation of the incremental validity of Loevinger's sentence completion test (short form)

This study presents two sets of analyses designed to evaluate the relation between a 12-item form of the Washington University Sentence Completion Test of ego development (Short Form; SCT-S) and socioeconomic status (SES). The subjects were a large national random sample of adolescent and young adult men and women who were stratified into three artificial age cohorts. The first set of hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that SES accounted for 8% to 13% of the variance in SCT-S scores. Incremental validity of the SCT-S in predicting social attitudes, beyond that predicted by SES, was generally supported for authoritarian aggression and partially supported in predicting masculine sex role expectations. Findings suggest that research on ego development with subjects over age 18 might use level of education as a rough index of SES. For younger subjects, parental factors and education are both important. This study also provides revised age-specific national norms for the SCT-S.     

Disentangling Discrimination: Victim Characteristics as Determinants of the Perception of Behavior as Racist or Sexist

The present experiment examined the impact of victim characteristics on the judgment of behavior as being sexist or racist. Freshmen from the University of Amsterdam read eight scenarios describing instances of everyday discrimination. The race, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES) of the victims in the scenarios were varied systematically. Each scenario was followed by three consecutive questionnaires designed to assess the degree to which research participants perceived the behavior of the agent as racist, sexist, or otherwise. The asymmetry hypothesis for blacks of high and low SES was confirmed Blacks of low SES were more often considered to be victims of racism than blacks of high SES. However, contrary to the asymmetry hypothesis, we found that women of high rather than low SES were more likely to be considered victims of sexism. This finding is inconsistent with other results, and demonstrates that it is not always the less empowered group that is judged as being the most discriminated against. Further, this study demonstrates the relevancy of victim's SES in discrimination research. Finally, the importance of disentangling sexist and racist elements of discrimination is stressed, especially in research involving black women.     

The Relationships of Family Socioeconomic Status, Parent–Adolescent Conflict, and Filial Piety to Adolescents’ Family Functioning in Mainland China

This study used structural equation modeling to examine the relationships of family socioeconomic status (SES), parent–adolescent conflict, and filial piety to family functioning among middle school and high school students in mainland China. A total of 2,341 students (1,218 girls and 1,096 boys; mean age = 15.42) completed the Chinese Family Assessment Instrument, Family Status Survey, Parent–adolescent Conflict Scale, and Filial Piety Scale. The main results showed that: (a) family SES, parent–adolescent conflict, and filial piety were significantly linked to family functioning; (b) parent–adolescent conflict and filial piety contributed more to family functioning than family SES; (c) parent–adolescent conflict mediated the relationship between reciprocal filial piety and family functioning. The results promote understanding of family processes that influence the relationships between family SES, parent–adolescent conflict, filial piety, and family functioning among middle school and high school adolescents in mainland China.     

低家庭社会经济地位与青少年社会适应的关系:感恩的补偿和调节效应

该研究采用家庭社会经济地位问卷、青少年外化问题行为调查表、焦虑抑郁量表、学业成就问卷和感恩问卷对1518名中学生进行调查,考察了低家庭社会经济地位(低家庭SES)与青少年社会适应的关系,以及感恩在其中的补偿和调节效应。结果发现:1)低家庭SES与外化问题行为和内化问题行为(以焦虑抑郁为指标)显著正相关,与学业成就显著负相关;2)感恩在低家庭SES与青少年社会适应各指标关系间的补偿效应均显著;3)感恩在低家庭SES与青少年社会适应各指标关系间的调节效应均不显著。这表明低家庭SES对青少年发展具有跨领域的不利影响,而感恩在其中具有显著"滞后的"补偿作用,但"同步的"风险缓冲作用有限。     

What Predicts Adolescent Violence in Better-Off Neighborhoods?

Predictors of repeated violent delinquency across ages 13–19 were investigated in a longitudinal sample of 420 urban adolescent males living in high- compared to low-socioeconomic status (SES) neighborhoods. Adolescents in high-SES neighborhoods were significantly less likely than their counterparts in low-SES neighborhoods to engage in serious and violent delinquency. Results indicated that risk factors for later repeated violence among adolescents in high-SES neighborhoods, such as physical aggression, may be biologically based, whereas risk factors for later violence among adolescents in low-SES neighborhoods, such as poor parent–adolescent communication and early intercourse, appeared to be context-dependent. Having positive attitudes toward problem behavior and delinquent peers increased risk for later violence regardless of neighborhood SES type. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Investment in body image for self-definition results in greater vulnerability to the thin media than does investment in appearance management

This study investigated the effect of thin images according to two dimensions of body-image (BI) investment. Ninety-five females were classified as high or low investors based on the Appearance Schemas Inventory-Revised Self-Evaluative Salience (SES) and Motivational Salience (MS) subscales. Participants viewed advertisements portraying either the thin ideal or products. Results indicated that both women high in SES and MS reported lowered appearance self-esteem but greater BI importance following thin exposures. However, only the high SES group reported greater BI dissatisfaction and importance of current-ideal discrepancies after seeing thin images. Although highly invested women (regardless of their motivation for investment) are more responsive to thin media images than are women low in investment, those invested for self-definition are affected on more dimensions than are those invested for appearance management.     

Eating disorders in a nonclinical adolescent population: implications for treatment

The present study investigates the prevalence of adolescent eating disorders across gender, cultural groupings, and socioeconomic status. The Eating Attitudes Test, the Binge-Eating Questionnaire, and a demographic questionnaire were administered to students at two high schools. The results indicate a high rate of eating disorders in a nonclinical adolescent population. The rates for binge eating are comparable to those found in studies of college students--found at a younger age. With regard to SES, cross-cultural and gender findings, it is clear that eating disorders cross socioeconomic class and ethnic groups, and have a higher rate of occurrence in males than previously reported. Given such high rates of eating problems in a nonclinical population, the issue of prevention and early detection must be addressed. Additionally, more specific information on male eating disorders is needed.     

The relative contribution of profile body shape and weight to judgements of women's physical attractiveness in Britain and Malaysia

Ninety-six Malaysian and British men rated for physical attractiveness a set of photographs of real women in profile, with known body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Results showed that BMI accounted for the greater amount of variance in all settings. There were also significant differences in preferences for body weight, with low resource, low socioeconomic status (SES) raters preferring a significantly heavier partner than high resource, high SES raters. The disparity with previous findings using line drawings of women in profile was discussed in terms of the weaknesses of line-drawn stimuli.     

The relationship between role concerns,preferences for slimness,and symptoms of eating problems among college women

Eating problems and body dissatisfaction among women have been associated in the literature with both slim standards of female bodily attractiveness and concerns about success and failure. This study demonstrates that among college women the desire for slim, noncurvaceous bodies associated with dieting and binging is correlated with an emphasis on physical attractiveness, and thus may be related to the desire to match the currently fashionable slim standard of female bodily attractiveness. A similar desire for slim, noncurvaceous bodies associated with purging and underweight is correlated with an emphasis on intelligence or professional success, and thus may be related to a desire to avoid the curvaceous figures that have been found associated in the minds of males and females with a perceived lack of intelligence.     

Bilingual enhancements have no socioeconomic boundaries

To understand how socioeconomic status (SES) and bilingualism simultaneously operate on cognitive and sensory function, we examined executive control, language skills, and neural processing of sound in adolescents who differed in language experience (i.e. English monolingual or Spanish‐English bilingual) and level of maternal education (a proxy for SES). We hypothesized that experience communicating in two languages provides an enriched linguistic environment that can bolster neural precision in subcortical auditory processing which, in turn, enhances cognitive and linguistic function, regardless of the adolescent's socioeconomic standing. Consistent with this, we report that adolescent bilinguals of both low and high SES demonstrate more stable neural responses, stronger phonemic decoding skills, and heightened executive control, relative to their monolingual peers. These results support the argument that bilingualism can bolster cognitive and neural function in low‐SES children and suggest that strengthened neural response consistency provides a biological mechanism through which these enhancements occur.     

父母和班主任自主支持对青少年幸福感和孤独感的影响：个体为中心的视角

为探讨不同来源自主支持对青少年幸福感和孤独感的影响,采用问卷调查的方法,测量了2941名青少年感知到的父母和班主任自主支持、生活满意度、积极情感、消极情感和孤独感。结果发现：（1）存在四个自主支持潜在剖面：父母低-班主任较高自主支持组（5.88%）、父母中等-班主任低自主支持组（5.00%）、较高自主支持组（56.21%）以及高自主支持组（32.91%）。（2）男生、年龄大的青少年更可能归为父母中等-班主任低自主支持组。（3）高自主支持组幸福感较高、孤独感较低,较高自主支持组其次,父母低-班主任较高自主支持组幸福感最低、孤独感最高。（4）对青少年幸福感和孤独感而言,父母自主支持更重要。     

Sex, ethnic, and social differences in test anxiety among Israeli adolescents

The effects of sex, ethnicity, and social class on levels of test anxiety were examined among a sample of 416 adolescent students in Israel. Significant sex differences in mean levels of test anxiety were found, with girls scoring consistently higher than boys across ethnic, social, and grade categories. Pupils of low socioeconomic status (SES) also scored consistently higher than pupils of high SES across grades. Nevertheless, this study provides little support for the commonly held view that sociocultural or sex group differences in school achievement are due, in any meaningful way, to differences in test anxiety. The group differences, though significant for SES and sex, were of negligible magnitude, and the correlation between test anxiety scores and grade point average was minimal for the group as a whole and nonsignificant for students of Eastern background, who have been purported to be particularly affected by high levels of test anxiety. The findings do support other cross-cultural studies, which have found only a modicum of shared variance between test anxiety and grades. It is concluded that test anxiety is not a particularly valid predictor of achievement or ability.     

Local erotic songs and chants among rural Nigerian adolescent males

This paper investigates local erotic songs and chants circulating among adolescent males in Nigeria. The purpose is to assess the critical themes which these erotic verses evoke and their potentials in the discursive construction of adolescent sexual identities and definition of the (erotic) spaces and meanings on the basis of which young Nigerian males constitute their sexual conducts. Data indicate high level of awareness and knowledge of local erotic songs and chants among adolescent males. The songs and chants were reportedly used to learn about gender and sex roles, the body, and sexuality, and for recreation. Themes in local boys’ erotic songs and chants are primarily male privileging and penis advantaging, and celebrate male sexual activity, desire, violence, ruthlessness, and risk-taking as well as male control and subordination of women and their body. The songs and chants depict feminity and female sexuality as inferior to masculinity and male sexuality and tend to objectify women’s body as a facility for male sexual pleasure. The paper argues that while erotic verses circulating among adolescent Nigerian males help relieve them of the difficulties caused by the cultural relegation of sex and sexuality to the realm of the unspoken, they contain very disturbing and potentially dangerous images that provide little space for male responsibility and respect for women. Local erotic verses circulating among adolescents present an under-explored resource in sexuality education and a critical entry point for current efforts to understand and help young people extricate themselves from the sea of half-truths, myths, and prejudices about sex and sexuality.     

ACCULTURATION, BODY IMAGE, SELF-ESTEEM, AND EATING-DISORDER SYMPTOMATOLOGY IN ADOLESCENT MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN

In this article the relationship among acculturation, body image, self-esteem, and eating disorder symptomatology in 120 Mexican American adolescent women was investigated. Surprisingly, acculturation levels were not related to anorexic or bulimic symptomatology, self-esteem, body dissatisfaction or thinness of ideal and attractive figures. Lower levels of self-esteem predicted higher levels of anorexic and bulimic symptomatology. Body mass was positively related to bulimic scores. In contrast to Lester and Petrie (1995), body dissatisfaction was significantly related to eating-disorder symptomatology. The high levels of disordered eating attitudes and behaviors found in this study suggest that rather than exclusively being an Anglo, middle-to upper-class phenomenon, eating-disordered behavior also exists within lower socioeconomic status Mexican American adolescent women.     

Digit ratios,but not facial width-to-height ratios,are associated with the priority placed on attending to faces versus bodies

Testosterone has been linked to a sexual preference for bodies rather than faces. Low digit ratio (2D:4D) and high facial width-to-height ratio (WHR) are associated with high prenatal testosterone. We tested whether low 2D:4D and high facial WHR were correlated with a preference for bodies over faces. Our sample consisted of 109 college students (64 males). A two-way analysis of variance demonstrated a significant main effect of digit ratio on the priority placed on paying attention to faces or bodies such that low 2D:4D was linked to a preference for bodies, but the effect of sex was not significant. There were no significant interaction effects. Another two-way analysis of variance revealed no significant effects for facial WHR and attentional priority but significant associations between sex and attentional priority. There were no significant interaction effects. Our findings indicate that individuals with low digit ratios tended to pay more attention to bodies than to faces compared with individuals with higher digit ratios, independently of sex. We also found that males tended to pay more attention to bodies than to faces compared with females, independently of facial WHR.     

Animalizing the disadvantaged,mechanizing the wealthy: The convergence of socio‐economic status and attribution of humanity

Differences between groups in socio‐economic status (SES) are becoming more salient nowadays. In this context, we examined the animalistic and mechanistic dehumanization that both low and high‐SES groups may experience respectively by conducting three studies. In study 1, we manipulated the SES of two fictitious groups (low vs. high‐SES) and measured the humanity ascribed to them. Results showed that the low‐SES group was animalized in comparison with the high‐SES group, which was mechanized. In study 2, we manipulated the humanity of two fictitious groups by describing them as animals or machines and measured the perceived SES of the groups. Participants tended to attribute lower SES to the group described as animals and higher SES to the group described as machines. Finally, in study 3, we used an Implicit Association Test to replicate the results of studies 1 and 2. Taken together, these studies show that low‐SES groups are considered as animal‐like whereas high‐SES groups are seen as robot‐like. We discuss the implications of these findings in relation to the justification of income inequality within our society.