Marital status and reproduction: Associations with childhood intelligence and adult social class in the Aberdeen children of the 1950s study

Childhood intelligence (age 11) and occupational social status at midlife (age 46 to 51) was associated with marital status and reproduction in a sample from the Aberdeen Children of the 1950s cohort study (N = 9614).Male and female divorcees had lower childhood intelligence test scores than their married counterparts, but no meaningful difference was found between ever- and never-married individuals. Lower occupational social status increased the odds of being never-married, divorced, separated or widowed compared to being married by 53% to 26% in men (N = 2716) but not in women (N = 2920). Higher intelligence scores were associated with being married rather than divorced at midlife with odds ratios (OR) of 0.86 (Confidence Interval of 95% of 0.76 to 0.99) in men, and 0.87 (0.77 to 0.98) in women.In men, lower intelligence predicted having offspring (0.69; 0.59 to 0.81), while in women, higher occupational status was associated with lower odds of having children (0.66; 0.55 to 0.76). An interaction term showed that high intelligence women remained childless in the top occupational classes but, in the lower social groups, mothers were more intelligent than their childless peers. Intelligence or occupational status were not associated with the number of offspring in both sexes.     

Season of birth and childhood intelligence: Findings from the Aberdeen Children of the 1950s cohort study

Background. In this study, 2 main hypotheses have been put forward to explain the variation in childhood intelligence or school performance by season of birth. In the first hypothesis, it is suggested that it is due to school policy concerning school entry, whereas the second suggests that a seasonally patterned exposure such as temperature, maternal nutrition, or infection during critical periods of brain development have a lasting effect on intelligence. Aims. To determine whether childhood performance on tests of different domains of intelligence is patterned by season of birth and to examine possible mechanisms for any associations. Sample. 12,150 individuals born in Aberdeen, Scotland between 1950 and 1956. Methods. Birth cohort study in which the variation in different domains of childhood intelligence measured at ages 7, 9, and 11 by season of birth were examined. Results. Reading ability at age 9 and arithmetic ability at age 11 varied by season of birth, with lowest scores among those born in autumn or early winter (September–December) and highest scores among those born in later winter or spring (February–April); p = .002 for joint sine‐cosine functions for reading ability at age 9 and p = .05 for sine‐cosine function for arithmetic ability at age 11. The child's perception and understanding of pictorial differences at age 7, verbal reasoning at 11, and English language ability at 11 did not vary by season of birth. Age at starting primary school and age relative to class peers were both associated with the different measurements of childhood intelligence and both attenuated the association between month of birth and reading ability at age 9 and arithmetic ability at age 11 towards the null. Both adjusted and unadjusted differences in reading ability at age 9 and arithmetic ability at age 11 between those born from September to December compared with other times of the year were less than 0.1 of a standard deviation of the test scores. Ambient temperature around the time of conception, during gestation, and around the time of birth did not affect intelligence. Conclusion. Any variation in mean childhood intelligence by season of birth is weak and largely explained by age at school entry and age relative to class peers.     

The association of childhood intelligence with mortality risk from adolescence to middle age: Findings from the Aberdeen Children of the 1950s cohort study

There is growing evidence that childhood IQ is inversely associated with mortality in later life. However, the specificity of this association in terms of causes of death, whether it is continuous over the whole range of IQ scores and whether it is the same according to age and sex is not clear. In a large cohort (N = 11,603) of a complete population of children born in one city in the UK in the early 1950s, IQ measured at age 7 years (using a routinely administered picture test) was found to be inversely associated with mortality between the ages of 15 and 57 years. For every 1 SD increase in IQ at 7, the all cause mortality hazard ratio was 0.79 (95% CI 0.73, 0.85). On adjustment for a range of perinatal factors, father's social class at birth, number of sibs in the household and childhood height and weight, this was attenuated slightly to 0.81 (0.74, 0.88). Almost identical associations of IQ with mortality were seen for men and women as well as at younger (15–39) and older (40+) ages. These associations were across the entire IQ range, although some of the high mortality in the lowest category of IQ (< 70) was accounted for by causes associated with congenital disorders. Overall, external causes of death showed the strongest association, with weaker associations being seen for cancer. Further work is required to understand the mechanisms whereby childhood IQ has such a robust association with mortality in later life.     

Social status,cognitive ability,and educational attainment as predictors of liberal social attitudes and political trust

We examined the prospective associations between family socio-economic background, childhood intelligence (g) at age 11, educational and occupational attainment, and social attitudes at age 33 in a large (N = 8804), representative sample of the British population born in 1958. Structural equation Modeling identified a latent trait of ‘liberal social attitudes’ underlying attitude factors that are antiracist, socially liberal, and in support of gender equality. Another attitude factor—‘political trust’—was relatively independent from the latent attitude trait and has somewhat different pathways in relation to the other variables included in the analysis. There was a direct association between higher g at age 11 and more liberal social attitudes and political trust at age 33. For both men and women the association between g and liberal social attitudes was partly mediated via educational qualifications, and to a much lesser extent via adult occupational attainment. For women the association between g and political trust was partly mediated through both educational qualification and occupational attainment, and for men it was mediated mainly via occupational attainment. Men and women who had higher educational qualifications and higher occupational status tend to be more socially liberal and more trusting of the democratic political system. In terms of socio-economic background, people from less privileged families showed less political trust, but did not differ much in liberal social attitudes from those born into relatively more privileged circumstances. This study shows that social background, cognitive ability, education, and own social status influence perceptions of society.     

Gender, social class, and the subjective experience of aging: self-perceived personality change from early adulthood to late midlife

This study explored the applicability of previous research (obtained with groups of college-educated women) about the subjective experience of aging in midlife to men and less-educated people. Two-hundred fifty-nine men and women who graduated from a public high school in 1955-1957 retrospectively assessed their feelings of identity certainty, confident power, generativity, and concern about aging for their 60s, 40s, and 20s. Participants reported higher levels of identity certainty, confident power, and concern about aging at each age, and a leveling off of generativity in their 60s. There were some gender and social class differences. Although men and women recalled the same trajectory of these feelings, men reported higher levels of identity certainty and confident power across age. Non-college-educated men recalled the highest levels of concern about aging across age. We discuss how these findings add to our understanding of the experience of aging in these domains.     

Women's career patterns: A study of Swedish women born in the 1950s

Patterns of career development have been found to be an important factor for long‐term career rewards and well‐being. However, existing career models excessively focus on men or elite women and upon paid work, typically without considering other roles. Based on a life course perspective, this study aimed to identify women's career development patterns by examining the dynamic interactions between individuals' involvement in working life and other career‐related domains of life. Career biographies, from the ages of 16 to 43, were recorded through retrospective reports from a representative sample of Swedish women (N = 549) participating in a longitudinal programme on individual development. Seven career‐related activities were coded and combined into career sequences covering the entire period. Data were analysed using optimal matching, and nine distinct career patterns ‐ disparate in terms of the timing, ordering and duration of activities ‐ were identified. There were significant differences between the career patterns in early educational aspirations and early sexual experiences, as well as in life‐role values and socio‐economic status in middle age. With respect to the consequences of career patterns for well‐being, there were significant differences in self‐rated health but not in job satisfaction or life satisfaction. The diversity of patterns is discussed from a perspective that takes account of both life course theory and the choices made by individual women in a society that provides childcare facilities, parental leave and other types of support to working parents.     

Gender displaying television commercials: A comparative study of television commercials in the 1950s and 1980s

Recent researchers have argued both that there has been change in the way gender is portrayed in television commercials and that gender images have remained stereotypical. Comparing television commercials from the 1950s/early 1960s to commercials from the 1980s, this study explores the issue of how much, if any, change has occurred in gender images. Additionally, the study focuses on the gender display of main characters and the circumstances under which it varies. Results indicate that there has been change in the images of women but not men. The activity that women are pictured in significantly changed from the 1950s to the 1980s, and a change in activity has the strongest effect on the display of gender.Partial funding for this research was provided by the Academic Senate of the University of California, Riverside. Statistical assistance was provided by Masako Ishii-Kuntz. Research assistance was provided by Kathryn Bigelow, Saralyn Caloff, and Eloy Zarate. We gratefully acknowledge the use of films housed at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Our thanks to the anonymous reviewers atSex Roles for their helpful comments.     

The Social Construction of Deviance,Conflict and the Criminalization of Midwives,New Orleans: 1940s and 1950s

Midwives in mid-twentieth-century New Orleans went from practicing unhindered to being demonized in the media and targeted by the criminal justice system, thanks to the actions of three concerned groups. After the prosecution of female midwives began and their practice was suppressed, male medical doctors gained control over the provision of abortions in the city as well as the supervision of midwifery. Employing content analysis, we find that the historic record largely supports an interpretation of these events from a conflict theory, a radical feminist, and a social constructionist perspective.     

The Big Five,self-esteem,and narcissism as predictors of the topics people write about in Facebook status updates

Status updates are one of the most popular features of Facebook, but few studies have examined the traits and motives that influence the topics that people choose to update about. In this study, 555 Facebook users completed measures of the Big Five, self-esteem, narcissism, motives for using Facebook, and frequency of updating about a range of topics. Results revealed that extraverts more frequently updated about their social activities and everyday life, which was motivated by their use of Facebook to communicate and connect with others. People high in openness were more likely to update about intellectual topics, consistent with their use of Facebook for sharing information. Participants who were low in self-esteem were more likely to update about romantic partners, whereas those who were high in conscientiousness were more likely to update about their children. Narcissists’ use of Facebook for attention-seeking and validation explained their greater likelihood of updating about their accomplishments and their diet and exercise routine. Furthermore, narcissists’ tendency to update about their accomplishments explained the greater number of likes and comments that they reported receiving to their updates.     

An examination of emotion regulation,temperament, and parenting style as potential predictors of adolescent depression risk status: A correlational study

Given that depression is a debilitating disorder, it is critical that we advance our understanding about the aetiology of this disorder. This study investigated both traditional (temperament and parenting) and novel (emotion regulation strategy) risk factors associated with adolescent depression. Forty‐four adolescents (12–16 years; 64% females) with high scores on a self‐report depressive symptomatology questionnaire were compared to a similar group of 44 adolescents with low scores, matched for age, gender, and ethnicity. Significant group differences were present on all assessed risk factors. The presence of high depressive symptomatology was found to be associated with (1) low levels of temperamentally based positive mood, flexibility, and approach behaviours, (2) a parenting style characterized by low nurturance and high overprotection, and (3) emotion regulation characterized by higher levels of expressive suppression and lower levels of cognitive reappraisal. It was concluded that, in addition to specific temperament characteristics and parenting style, use of particular emotion regulation strategies is associated with varying levels of depressive symptomatology. These findings reinforce the importance of incorporating emotion regulation into explanatory models of depression symptomatology. Further research that tests the direction of effects for these cross‐sectional findings is warranted.     

The silence of the library: environment,situational norm,and social behavior

On the basis of the idea that situational norms are mentally represented as associations between environments and normative behavior, it was proposed that an environment can automatically direct normative behavior. More specifically, when situational norms are well-established (e.g., when entering the library, one should be silent), an environment is capable of automatically activating mental representations of normative behavior and the behavior itself. In these experiments, participants were exposed to pictures of environments, and effects on accessibility of representations of normative behavior and on actual behavior were assessed. Results indicated that representations of behavior and actual behavior itself are activated automatically when (a) goals to visit the environment are active and (b) strong associations between environment and normative behavior are established.     

The correlations of psychological status,quality of life,self-esteem,social support and body image disturbance in Chinese patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

This study aimed (i) to complement existing research by focusing on body image disturbance issues in Chinese Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) patients; (ii) to investigate how Chinese patients make sense of disease diagnosis and perceived cultural influences within the context of their SLE. A total of 118 SLE patients underwent standardized laboratory examinations and completed several questionnaires. Independent sample t-test, Mann–Whitney U-test, Chi-square test, and multivariate analysis using backward stepwise logistic regression model were used to analyze these data. We found 18.3% SLE patients had BID, which were significantly higher than the control group (.8%). SLE patients are more concerned about their physical changes caused by disease. There were significant correlations among personal health insurance, complication of diabetes, appearance of new rash, depression, anxiety, self-esteem and BID in patients with SLE. Meanwhile, logistic regression analysis revealed that appearance of new rash and high anxiety were significantly associated with BID in SLE patients. In conclusion, it is beneficial to pay attention to the physical and mental health of patients with rheumatic disease from the perspective of body image, to understand their needs and to provide effective and effective service for them.     

The impact of information about the prevalence of AIDS-Preventive behavior among men and women: The mediating role of social norms

Abstract

The present study was designed to examine the effect of information about the high prevalence of safe sex on condom use intention, and to investigate the possible mediating role of the perceived social norm of friends, and the perceived social norm of future. sexual partners. Participants were provided with gender specific prevalence information, that is with the information that most men have exclusively safe sex, or with the information that most women exclusively engage in safe sexual behavior. The results show some gender differences. Information about the high prevalence of safe sex among men tends to increase women's condom use intention, and this effect seems to be mediated by the paceived social norm of future sexual partners. Men's intention, on the other hand, seems to be unaffected by high prevalence information of safe sex. Implications for research and prevention are discussed     

Relationships of children's grade in school,sex, and social class to teachers' ratings on the behavior problem checklist

The present study investigated the relationships of children's grade in school, sex, and social class to teachers' ratings on the Behavior Problem Checklist (BPCL). The sample consisted of 1,999 white children from kindergarten through fifth grade who were in regular classes. Three conclusions may be drawn from the study. The first is that grade and the interactions of grade with sex and social class are determinants of scores on the BPCL, but that no particular trends are characteristic of the relationships between these and the dependent variables. The second is that sex and social class are also determinants of scores on the BPCL, with boys and children from the lower social classes having more problems and girls and children from the higher social classes having fewer problems. The third is that the differences between schools and between teachers are responsible for more of the variance on the BPCL than grade, sex, and social class.For permission and assistance in obtaining the sample, the authors gratefully acknowledge John Bowser, superintendent of the Alief Independent School District, Alief, Texas. The authors thank Dorothy Schreiner, secretary-to-the-superintendent, and the following school principals and their teachers for their valuable cooperation: Betty A. Bennett, Jane E. Hunt, Bertha Jamison, James Keel, and James R. Woodfin. Appreciation is also expressed to Richard M. Patterson and James J. Wilmoth who generously offered their advice concerning the data analysis.     

The social status of aggressive students across contexts: the role of classroom status hierarchy, academic achievement, and grade

This study tested the effects of 5 classroom contextual features on the social status (perceived popularity and social preference) that peers accord to aggressive students in late elementary school, including classroom peer status hierarchy (whether within-classroom differences in popularity are large or small), classroom academic level, and grade level as the main predictors of interest as well as classroom aggression and ethnic composition as controls. Multilevel analyses were conducted on an ethnically diverse sample of 968 fourth- and fifth-graders from 46 classrooms in 9 schools. Associations between aggression and status varied greatly from one classroom to another. Aggressive students were more popular and better liked in classrooms with higher levels of peer status hierarchy. Aggressive students had higher social status in Grade 5 than in Grade 4 and lower social preference in classrooms of higher academic level. Classroom aggression and ethnic composition did not moderate aggression-status associations. Limitations and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Employment status and the attitudes and behavior of higher status women volunteers, 1975 and 1992: A case study

This study examines the relationships between employment status and women's attitudes toward and participation in a higher status voluntary service organization. Data were gathered in 1975 and 1992 from a sample of chapters of the International Association of Women (a pseudonym). The 1992 sample included three percent who reported a racial or ethnic identification other than white. Drawing on several theoretical perspectives, we expected to find differences in the attitudes and level of participation of employed versus non-employed members that would have important effects on organizational functioning. However, few differences in the attitudes of members employed full time, part time, and not in the labor force were found in either 1975 or 1992. There were, however, differences in behavior. Employed members reported spending much less time on organizational activities and were less likely to assume leadership roles, but these differences diminished between 1975 and 1992 as employed women became numerically dominant in the organization, suggesting that the growing presence of employed women in IAW led to the development of informal norms and new policies about the amount of time members should devote to the organization and a corresponding loss in the total number of volunteer hours devoted to it.