Predictors of Support for Women in Military Roles: Military Status,Gender, and Political Ideology

The repeal of combat restrictions by gender raises the importance of understanding factors related to the acceptance of women serving in the full range of military jobs. Previous research shows military affiliated cadets, especially males, are substantially less approving of women serving in military jobs, especially those involving exposure to direct combat or command positions, than are other college students. The current study extends these findings by considering political ideology in addition to gender and military affiliation, as related to attitudes toward women’s roles in the military overall and in combat roles in particular. Survey data from Service Academy cadets (n = 3,116), Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadets (n = 1,367), and nonmilitary affiliated college students (n = 2,648), provided measures of whether a woman should or should not be allowed to serve in 9 different military job areas. In addition to overall approval, a scale for combat jobs was created from a subset of 4 of the jobs. Regression analysis indicated that once gender, political party, political position (left/right), and attitudes toward mothers in the workforce overall were controlled, type of college did not add to the prediction of acceptance of women in various military roles. In general, nonmilitary affiliated respondents, women, and those identifying as Democrat offered higher approval scores. Our findings suggest more aggressive programs, designed to educate and socialize these future leaders about women’s roles in the military, may require development.     

Gender Differences in Happiness: the Effects of Marriage,Social Roles,and Social Support in East Asia

Studies in Western countries and cross-national comparisons have shown that there are several important factors contributing to the level of happiness of individuals. Utilizing the East Asian Social Survey Health Module (2010), the present study examines this relationship in four East Asian countries: China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. East Asian countries are an interesting case for this inquiry, due to the cultural contexts such as traditional gender relations. Therefore, we focus on gender differences in predictors of happiness of individuals and attempt to answer four questions: (1) Do gender differences in happiness exist in East Asian countries? (2) Does marriage still serve as the norm and thus contribute to individual’s happiness? (3) Does conforming to traditional gender roles (i.e., employment and parenthood) contribute to individual’s happiness? (4) Is the availability of social support (i.e., emotional, financial, and instrumental) positively associated with individual’s happiness? We find that there are gender differences in the determinants of happiness in East Asian countries. The result also indicates that marital status is a strong indicator of happiness in East Asian countries, especially for men but not necessarily for women. In addition, full time employment is positively associated with men’s happiness in China but negatively associated with women’s in Japan. Finally, social support is positively associated with individual’s happiness, especially for women.     

Stepparents and Parenting Stress: The Roles of Gender,Marital Quality,and Views about Gender Roles

Previous research suggests that stepparenting can be stressful, although the mechanisms that contribute to the experience of parenting stress in stepfamilies are less clear. This study examines gender, marital quality, and views about gendered family roles as correlates of parenting stress among 310 stepmothers, stepfathers, and biological mothers and fathers. Findings suggest that stepparents, and especially stepmothers, experience higher levels of parenting stress than biological parents. Findings also suggest that less traditional views about gendered family roles and higher dyadic adjustment are associated with lower parenting stress for stepparents, particularly in combination. Stepparents reporting both of these protective factors were indistinguishable in terms of parenting stress from biological parents. These findings indicate potential pathways to mitigate the stress associated with stepparenting.     

Subjective Religiosity and Depression in the Transition to Adulthood

Does being more religious make one less susceptible to depression? We consider the association between subjective religiosity (religious self‐perception and coping) and depression in the context of social support (from family and friends) and stress exposure (recent negative life events, chronic stress, lifetime trauma, and discrimination). Data come from a sample of 1,803 Miami‐Dade County young adults interviewed between 1997 and 2000. We find higher levels of depression among the moderately religious than among either very religious or nonreligious respondents. Interestingly, when observations are made within gender, this relationship applies only to females. Controlling for socioeconomic status and social support largely accounts for the link between religiosity and depression. However, controlling for stress exposure reveals a suppressor effect wherein religiosity once again emerges as significant. Our interpretation is that, while established patterns of religious coping can routinely mitigate distress, heightened stress exposure may elicit increased prayer among the less religious.     

The Development of Gender Identity,Gender Roles,and Gender Relations in Gifted Students

This article describes the interaction of giftedness with gender identity, gender role, and gender relations. The authors explored ways in which many gifted educational practices are gendered, a model for the development of talent in the context of gender and gender relations, and ways of reducing gender inequities in the realization of potential for both male and female students. Issues that are unique to gifted individuals are aligned with suggestions for counseling interventions.     

The Process of Occupational Decision Making: Patterns during the Transition to Adulthood

In this paper, we consider how recent social changes in the United States may be affecting vocational decision making. While adolescents often maintain high educational and occupational aspirations, the transition from school is characterized by few institutional supports, the prolongation of education, and a multitude of options with respect to the combination of school, work, and family. In such a context, what themes characterize decision making about schooling and occupational careers? We draw on qualitative interviews collected as part of the Youth Development Study (n=1000), a longitudinal study of work through adolescence and early adulthood. Multiple themes were identified including unfulfilled expectations, the postponement of decisions, turning points that crystallized decisions, and resources and obstacles including, among others, family, work, school counseling, and teachers. These themes characterize contemporary occupational decision making and thus would be appropriate focal points for future research. They also suggest that social policies may need to be modified to facilitate the young people's quest for vocational identity and work.     

Gender,Gender Roles,and Personality: Gender Differences in the Prediction of Coping and Psychological Symptoms

Path models of the effects of gender, gender roles, and personality variables (achievement and affiliation orientation, locus of control, empathy) on coping and symptoms were tested to explore the risk and protective effects of gender roles and personality on psychological symptoms, and to test whether or not gender roles or personality accounted for gender differences in coping and symptoms. In a sample of university undergraduates (35% Asian American, 59% European American or Caucasian, 6% other ethnic/racial background), masculinity predicted lower depression but higher antisocial and substance use problems, whereas femininity predicted lower antisocial and substance use problems. Personality variables did not account for the effects of gender or gender roles on coping or symptoms, but rather gender roles and personality each predicted unique variance in those variables. Significant gender differences in the relations among gender roles and personality emerged; however, there were no gender differences in the relations between coping and symptoms. Findings highlight the importance of studying gender differences in the effects of gender roles and personality on coping and symptoms, because it appears that gender roles and personality operate differently for males and females.     

The Identity Issues Inventory: Identity Stage Resolution in the Prolonged Transition to Adulthood

The Identity Issues Inventory (I₃) uses an Eriksonian framework to assess identity stage resolution among those experiencing a prolonged transition to adulthood in terms of the developmental tasks of self-identity formation (integration and differentiation) and societal-identity formation (work roles and worldview). For this first analysis of this new measure, data were collected from two samples: (1) 196 people between the ages of 18 and 48 and (2) 1,489 participants between the ages of 18 and 41. Overall, the I₃ yields good factorial validity and reliability, and scores increase with age toward the “ceiling” of each task subscale, which represent anchors of a stable adult identity. Structural equation modeling assessed the relationships between these prominent identity issues and psychological health, revealing a positive relationship between the two constructs, providing evidence for predictive validity. An analysis of the second sample of 1,498 people confirmed these findings. The I₃ promises to be a useful tool in future investigations of identity stage resolutions for those aged 18 and above experiencing a prolonged transition to adulthood.     

Adolescents in Transition to Adulthood: Parental Support, Relationship Satisfaction, and Post-transition Adjustment

The transition from high school is a pivotal period for intergenerational relations, as the asymmetry characterizing pre-transition relations with parents is reconfigured. Changes in adolescent–parent relations across this transition have potentially important implications for post-transition adjustment. A prospective study was conducted with an ethnically diverse sample that included adolescents who were not college-bound. Maternal, but not paternal, relations improved across the transition from high school to adult life. Changes in support from both mothers and fathers were associated with changes in relationship satisfaction and changes in satisfaction predicted post-transition adjustment. The results verify the importance of parental support to the quality of relational bonds between young adults and their parents. They also affirm the significance of these bonds for post-transition adjustment.     

The Transition to Young Adulthood: Generational Boundary Dissolution and Female Identity Development

This research explored links between differential qualities of family connectedness and young adult females' development of an independent identity. Identity development involves exploration of possible roles and choices in particular domains such as occupation, dating, and friendship, followed by commitment to a set of values and behaviors in one of these areas. In this study, women who reported that their parents encouraged autonomy while still maintaining closeness also reported more exploration in their friendship and dating relationships. In contrast, reports of parent-child boundary dissolution, characterized by role-reversal, enmeshment, and overinvolvement, were related to less exploration, particularly in dating relationships. Mother-daughter boundary dissolution, specifically, was linked to women'stendency to base their commitments to a career and relationships with others on parental values and expectations without ever exploring alternative choices. Father-daughter boundary dissolution was related to lower exploration as well as lower commitment to values and beliefs in any area. These findings lend support to theoretical and clinical impressions that inter-generational boundary violations hinder the development of an independent identity.     

Career,Marriage, and Family: Values in Adult Roles and Guidance

Use of occupational, marriage, and parenthood values may help young women to distinguish values that can be satisfied in major adult roles and assist in the earlier formation of a vocational identity.     

Conceptions of the Transition to Adulthood: Perspectives From Adolescence Through Midlife

Conceptions of the transition to adulthood were examined among adolescents (age 13–19, N = 171), emerging adults (age 20–29, N = 179), and young-to-midlife adults (age 30–55, N = 165). The focus was on whether conceptions of the transition to adulthood would be different among young-to-midlife adults compared to the younger age groups. In all age groups, individualistic criteria were the most likely to be considered important markers of the transition to adulthood, specifically accepting responsibility for one's actions, deciding on one's beliefs and values, establishing an equal relationship with parents, and becoming financially independent. However, young-to-midlife adults were less likely than adolescents to consider biological transitions to be important, and more likely than adolescents or emerging adults to view norm compliance (such as avoiding drunk driving) as a necessary part of the transition to adulthood. In all three groups, role transitions (e.g., marriage) ranked lowest in importance.     

Gender,Marriage, and Suicide Acceptability: A Comparative Analysis

The previous work on suicide acceptability hasneglected gender specific analysis of the marriagesuicide acceptability linkage as well as cross-nationalanalysis. The present study fills these gaps in the literature through an analysis of 15nations. Controlling for alternative predictors ofsuicide acceptability, marriage lowers suicideacceptability for both males and females. Further,marriage lowers suicide acceptability more for men than forwomen. This gendered relationship has the same strengthin nations both high and low in economic genderequality. The results provide the first comparativeevidence on the subject. The findings support the notionthat men derive relatively more benefits from marriagethan women. However, the strongest correlates of suicideacceptability (e.g., religiosity, liberalism, French residence) affect men and womenequally.     

Sex Roles,Gender, and Fear

Male and female college students classified as masculine, feminine, androgynous, or undifferentiated on the Bern (1974) Sex Role Inventory (N = 199) were given the Wolpe (1969) Fear Inventory. Significant differences in average fear scores were seen between men and women and between the four sex-role categories, with sex role and gender contributing equally to the variability. The argument is raised here that excessive fearfulness or fearlessness might be as much a product of sex-role conditioning as a product of gender.     

Gender Schemas, Gender Roles, and Expressive Writing: Toward a Process-focused Model

Range and Jenkins (2010) timely and compelling review of Pennebaker’s (1989, 1993) Expressive Writing Paradigm (EWP) provides a valuable framework for conceptualizing the role of gender-related variables in EWP studies, and for examining these variables in the context of gender schema theory, social role theory, and gender socialization theory. This comment contributes to Range and Jenkins efforts by integrating their analysis with: 1) findings regarding multimodal assessment of individual differences and outcomes; and 2) process-focused studies of participants’ responses to different psychological assessment tools. When multimodal assessment procedures are coupled with experimental manipulations that differentially impact different measures, researchers’ understanding of the benefits of trauma writing will increase and the efficacy of disclosure interventions in applied settings will be enhanced.     

Public Attitudes about Transgender Participation in Sports: The Roles of Gender,Gender Identity Conformity,and Sports Fandom

Sex Roles - We examine the roles of gender, gender attitudes, and interest in sports on public attitudes about transgender people’s participation in athletics. Using a representative survey...     

Gender Roles in the Arab World: Development and Psychometric Properties of the Arab Adolescents Gender Roles Attitude Scale

Scant research has been conducted on gender in the Arab world; one explanation is due to a lack of Arabic measures on gender-related issues. To advance scientific work on gender in the Arab world, we developed the Arab Adolescents Gender Roles Attitude Scale (AAGRAS), the first known reliable and valid Arabic measure of gender-role attitudes. To develop this measure, we conducted two studies based on data collected from 776 high school students 15–19 years-old from the state of Qatar. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis produced 12 items divided equally into two subscales. One subscale assesses traditional gender-role attitudes, whereas the other measures egalitarian gender-role attitudes. Our findings indicate that young men are more likely to resist gender equality than young women are. Moreover, those who hold traditional attitudes are more likely to disapprove of women occupying positions of authority. The AAGRAS is a useful assessment tool that policymakers, researchers, practitioners, and educators can use to study gender-role attitudes in the Arab world and to develop educational and intervention programs that encourage adolescents to identify, confront, and avoid prejudice and discrimination against women and ultimately adopt more egalitarian gender roles.     

Physical Abuse Victimization and Violence in the Transition to Adulthood: The Mediating Role of Alcohol and Drug Use

In the present paper we examine the association between physical abuse victimization in childhood and violent criminal behavior in the transition from adolescence to adulthood (TAA). Of central interest is whether that association is indirect, through the impact of abuse victimization on alcohol and drug use. We employ a statistical test for indirect effects, using a design that also applies Savage and Wozniak’s (2016) “differential etiology of violence” standard. The data suggest that the effect of physical abuse on violence in the TAA is partially indirect, mediated by alcohol and drug use. A control for nonviolent offending is applied to build confidence that the dynamic between abuse victimization and substance use is a differential predictor of violence.