The Influence of Separation from the Mother on Children's Emotional Responses

This study concerns the relationship between alienation and the identity and role crisis in late adolescence. Two hundred and ninety adolescents (18-21 years) divided into age/sex and vocational role commitment groups were given the DJ Scale of Alienation: Self-Social Satisfaction (6). Two indexes were obtained: (a) Alienation (measured by Powerlessness and Self-Abasement) and (b) Self-Dissatisfaction (a measure of psychological disequilibrium). Powerlessness and Self-Abasement were not age/sex differentiated, whereas dissatisfaction-with-self for these attitudes was related to group differences. Young males were self-dissatisfied with their powerless status, and young females with their self-abasing attitudes. Findings were discussed in terms of the resolution of the psychological crisis and the end of the adolescent moratorium.     

Effects of body mass and body image on exercise motives in adolescence

Objective. The objective was to examine age and gender differences in the effects of body mass and body image on exercise motives in adolescents. It was specifically predicted that weight management motive would be explained by body mass index in males, and by body size discrepancy in females, but this pattern would be less pronounced in younger than in older adolescents.Design. The design was a cross-sectional comparative study.Method. Participants comprised younger (11–13 years) and older (17–19 years) males and females (N=180). They completed measures of exercise participation, exercise motives, and perceived and ideal body size. Height and weight were also measured. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted, separately for younger males, younger females, older males and older females. In each analysis, the dependent variable was an exercise motive, and the independent variables were, in order of entry, exercise level, body mass index, perceived body size, and ideal body size.Results. Weight management motive was positively predicted by body mass index in older males, and by perceived and ideal body size in older females. Other, more intrinsic, motives were negatively predicted by body mass index or perceived body size in older males or females. Such relationships were not significant in younger adolescents.Conclusion. Effects of body mass and body image on exercise motives emerge in adolescence, with gender differences. Such effects may influence exercise adherence and should be taken into account in exercise promotion programmes.     

Early adolescent age and gender differences in patterns of emotional self-disclosure to parents and friends

This study explored adolescent age and gender differences in patterns of emotional self-disclosure to parents and friends. The sample consisted of 174 junior high school students between the ages of 12 and 15. Results revealed that females exhibited greater emotional self-disclosure to parents and peers than did males, and that emotional self-disclosure to friends was greatest among older adolescents. In addition, while younger adolescents preferred to disclose information about their emotional state to parents, older adolescents chose friends. Exploratory hierarchical regression analyses revealed that emotional disclosure to parents was most strongly associated with adolescent perceptions of the openness of family communication, family cohesion, and satisfaction with family relationships. Emotional disclosure to friends was associated with adolescent self-esteem in the peer context and identity development. The results are discussed in terms of the complementary socializing processes that may operate within the contexts of family and friends.     

ADOLESCENTS'ATTITUDES TOWARD WOMEN'S ROLES

To examine Israeli Jewish and Arab adolescents'attitudes toward women's roles, 319 Jewish and 276 Arab adolescent males and females from private, highly prestigious high schools responded to an attitudes toward women's roles questionnaire. The hypotheses that Jews (modern), females, and older (12th grade) adolescents express more liberal attitudes toward women's roles than do Arabs (transition to modernity), males, and younger (9th grade) adolescents were generally supported by the findings. The greater liberalism expressed by older Arab females indicates that their transition to adulthood is marked by a widening gap between the attitudes toward roles held by Arab males and females. Thus, Arab females striving for personal advancement may experience less support from their male peers than do their Jewish female counterparts.     

Loneliness and alcoholism risk in late adolescence: a comparative study of adults and adolescents.

The Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (SMAST) was administered via phone survey to a random sample of subjects 18 years of age and older in a large metropolitan county. Among late adolescents (aged 18 to 20), lonely females had the highest mean score on the SMAST, indicating a higher degree of alcoholism risk than lonely males and nonlonely males and females. Among lonely females, late adolescents scored higher on the SMAST than any other age group. For males, loneliness did not appear to increase alcoholism risk in the late adolescent age group, but did appear to do so during the early and middle adulthood years. The implications of these findings for mental health professionals and adolescent substance abuse treatment personnel are discussed.     

Youths’ attributions for power-related gender differences: nature,nurture, or God?

This study examined beliefs about power-related gender traits among 73 early adolescents in middle school (M age=12.5), 84 late adolescents in high school (M age=16.1), and 111 young adults in college (M age=20.9). Males believed that men had more dominant traits than female participants, and females thought that women had more submissive traits than male participants. Older participants perceived more gender differentiation for these traits than younger participants. Youths believed most strongly in social explanations for differences, followed by biological and religious explanations, although there were age and sex differences in responses. Findings suggest that religious and biological attributions decrease between early adolescence and adulthood for both males and females, but that social attributions increase for females only. Religious attributions were linked to traditional attitudes towards women, social attributions were linked to egalitarian attitudes, while biological attributions were linked to traditional attitudes for males only.     

Obsessions and compulsions: normative data on the Padua Inventory from an Italian non-clinical adolescent sample.

In the present study the structure of obsessive-compulsive phenomena in non-clinical adolescents was investigated by 'The Padua Inventory' (PI). The PI is a self-report measure of obsessive and compulsive symptoms which is used in clinical and research settings. The use of PI in adolescents has been limited by the lack of normative data. Consequently, adolescent validation has both theoretical and practical implications. PI was administered to 566 normal Italian high school subjects, ranging in age from 15 to 18 years. The mean total score of PI and the mean score of 'mental activities', 'becoming contaminated' and 'urges and worries' sub-scales points to significant differences between males and females. Females reported more obsessions and cleaning rituals than males. Males show more urges and fears than females. Moreover, our data underline that younger subjects get higher mean scores than older subjects in all scales.     

Age- and sex-related differences in temporal judgments to visual stimuli: support for hemispheric equivalence

Light-emitting diodes in avisual half-field display were employed to examine hemispheric asymmetries in temporal resolution among young and older adults. Participants judged whether pairs of spatially separated diodes were illuminated simultaneously. No visual field threshold differences emerged for either age group, thus supporting hemispheric equivalence. Older adults had significantly higher thresholds than did younger adults, regardless of spatial location. The results further revealed that older females had significantly higher thresholds than did older males, younger males, and younger females. The results further revealed sex differences, favoring females, when interhemispheric transfer times (IHTTs) were examined for a central bilateral presentation. However, sex effects were not revealed when IHTTs were examined for a peripheral bilatepresentation, indicating a disadvantage forolder females.     

Identity formation of United States American and Asian Indian adolescents

The Extended Version of the Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status-II was completed by 434 high school students from the United States and India. Students were male and female between the ages of 13 and 18 years. Asian Indian adolescents were found to be more diffused, foreclosed, and in moratorium in identity formation than adolescents in the United States. Gender and age differences in identity status also were found. Adolescent males and females in India had higher moratorium scores than adolescent males and females in the United States. Younger adolescents had lower exploration scores than did older adolescents. Implications for research are discussed.     

The factor structure of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA): A survey of Italian adolescents

Despite the intensive use of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA), a measure of attachment which centres on individual differences in adolescents and their ability to evaluate their relationships with parents and peers, the factor structure of the inventory requires further investigation. This study of 1059 Italian adolescents compared the three models which are discussed in the literature: the one-factor model (attachment security), the two-factor model (trust-communication and alienation) and the three-factor model (trust, communication and alienation), and examined the influences of age and gender on the IPPA’s scores. Our findings provide support for the reliability of the latest and longer version of the IPPA (75-item). Factor analysis showed that the three-factor model had the best fit, although the three dimensions are strongly interrelated. Sixteen year olds had lower attachment security to their fathers than the results of the other adolescent age groups. Males reported lower alienation scores than females in the paternal form, while females had higher attachment security, trust and communication scores than males in the peers form.     

The contribution of significant others to adolescents' self-esteem

This research examined the developmental trends in the contribution of evaluations by significant others (mother, father, teacher, and friend) to the self-esteem of adolescents. The sample consisted of 399 adolescents divided into three age groups (mean age: 13.4, 15.5, and 17.5 years). Semantic-differential scales were used. An analysis of variance revealed that adolescents differed in their self-esteem with regard to sex and age: girls evaluated themselves more positively than did boys and younger adolescents more positively than the older ones. The hypothesis that the contribution of significant others becomes less important with increased age was not completely confirmed. The relative contribution of significant others' evaluations differed depending on age and sex of adolescent.     

Sexual behaviors and attitudes of high school students in the kingdom of Swaziland

The author examined the sex behaviors and attitudes of 111 high school students with a steady partner in the Kingdom of Swaziland. Data were collected through participant observation during 1987-88, discussions with key informants during 1987-88 and 1990-91, and in-depth structured interviews with the adolescents from rural and urban government high schools. 78 of the students were coitally active, with 57.5% of boys and 68.4% of girls reporting first coitus at 16 years of age or younger. 15.0% of males and no females reported beginning coitus after 18 years of age. 45.0% of the boys and 68.4% of the girls reported never using contraception; 50% of males said they used condoms. Swaziland is largely polygynous. There were, however, modest gender differences on attitudes about multiple partners and demonstrating affection. The young women mainly expected financial support from a sex partner. Since many adolescent men cannot provide such support, many of the adolescent women pursue sexual relations with older, more financially capable men. The author notes that the parents of young Swazi women do not condone such relationships, especially if the man does not seem interested in marriage. No school policy exists on teaching family life education and both unplanned pregnancy and septic abortions are real problems. School policy demands the expulsion of pregnant girls for the duration of their pregnancy. Once delivered, the young mothers may attend a another school. Finally, although parental guidance is less influential than in the past, traditional values attached to gender roles remain intact among the adolescents interviewed for this study.     

Adolescents' self-efficacy to communicate about sex: its role in condom attitudes, commitment, and use

This study examined whether and how self-efficacy to communicate with parents and peers about sex relate to sexually experienced adolescent males' and females' (N= 144, 112) condom attitudes, intentions, and use. Results showed that males who reported greater self-efficacy to communicate with parents used condoms more frequently; and both males and females who can communicate with peers used condoms more frequently. Self-efficacy to communicate with peers was related to more positive condom attitudes, which in turn were associated with greater condom commitment and use. Greater ability to communicate with parents was also related to greater condom commitment and use among males. These results suggest the importance of designing interventions that give adolescents the skills they need to feel efficacious in their ability to communicate about sex and contraception.     

Predictors of Entry into Age-Discordant Relationships Among Adolescent Girls

Teenage girls in age-discordant relationships remain of concern for healthy development and well-being. We examine whether factors from several sociological frameworks—self-esteem, deviance, social ecology, family cohesion, and religious involvement—predict entry into such relationships. With longitudinal data on 1,537 adolescent girls, we use structural equation modeling to assess risk and protective factors by age group. Results indicate that few social factors predict entry to such relationships; only religious involvement for the youngest adolescents and self-esteem for middle adolescents predict entry. While adolescent girls who date older males are largely like their peers, any impact of social factors may vary by the developmental stage that adolescent girls occupy.     

Parent-Adolescent Relationship and Adolescent Psychological Functioning among African-American Female Adolescents: Self-Esteem as a Mediator

African-American female adolescents living in urban areas are at increased risk for adverse adjustment outcomes. The present study accomplished two goals. First, the quality of the parent-adolescent relationship across age groups was examined for differences among younger (i.e., 12'14) versus mid-range (i.e., 15'16) versus older (i.e., 17'18) adolescents. Second, self-esteem was examined as a possible mediator of the relationship between the quality of the parent-adolescent relationship and adolescent psychological functioning in a sample of 608 African-American urban adolescent females. With regard to developmental shifts in the quality of the parent-adolescent relationship, midrange adolescents reported a significantly poorer relationship with their mother than older adolescents. Results also indicated that self-esteem partially mediated the relationship between parent-child relationship and adolescent psychological functioning. Mental health professionals can broaden their interventions that aim to improve adolescent psychological functioning by either focusing on the quality of the parent-adolescent relationship or adolescent self-esteem.     

Males Prefer Younger Females: Age Preference Among Online Daters in the Dominican Republic

Previous research has found that online daters show a trend in age preference, with males seeking females younger than themselves and females seeking males older than themselves. These studies covered a wide geographic area but not in the Caribbean. To contribute to the literature, we examine online daters’ age preferences in the Dominican Republic. Our statistical analyses show that similar gendered age preferences exist among Dominican online daters even after controlling for their ages. On average, Dominican males prefer younger partners and the reverse is true for females. While there might be cultural differences in different countries affecting the extent and degree of age preferences, the consistent difference by sex underscores the challenges faced by older females in the online dating market.     

A study of the dynamics of sex differences in adulthood

Studies of gender differences using primarily young individuals show that males, on average, perform better than females in physical activities but worse than females on tests of verbal abilities. There is however a controversy about the existence of these sex differences in adulthood. Our study used 1271 participants from four cultural backgrounds (Chinese, multi‐generation Canadians, Indu‐Canadians, and European‐Canadians) divided in five age groups. We measured sex differences in the time required for participants to complete a lexical task experiment, and also assessed their verbal tempo and physical endurance using a validated temperament test (Structure of Temperament Questionnaire). We found a significant female advantage in time on the lexical task and on the temperament scale of social–verbal tempo, and a male advantage on the temperament scale of physical endurance. These sex differences, however, were more pronounced in young age groups (17–24), fading in older groups. This “middle age–middle sex” phenomenon suggests that sex differences in these two types of abilities observed in younger groups might be “a matter of age,” and should not be attributed to gender in general. A one‐dimensional approach to sex differences (common in meta‐analytic studies) therefore overlooks a possible interaction of sex differences with age.     

Types of Social Connectedness and Loneliness: the Joint Moderating Effects of Age and Gender

Drawing on Maslow’s Theory, this study aims to examine how the interaction between age and gender moderates the associations between types of social connectedness (i.e., parents, siblings, friends, and teachers) and loneliness. The results of multigroup analyses using a sample of 618 school-going adolescents showed that the effect of social connectedness on loneliness varies across different subgroups of age and gender. Specifically, parent connectedness predicts lower loneliness for older males. For older females, parent connectedness showed the same pattern of reduced loneliness. Furthermore, younger males and younger females were getting less lonely with having sibling connectedness. On the other hand, the findings have failed to find significant relationship between friend and teacher connectedness and loneliness across four subgroups. Overall, the results provide further evidence of the protective effect of family connectedness on loneliness, and for informing under what conditions the effect is strengthened or weakened.     

Gender differences in the structure and support characteristics of black adolescents' social networks

This study explores gender differences in the social network characteristics of 390 Black American adolescents with a mean age of 14.8 Each adolescent completed the Social Network Record (SNR), which yields scores representing the organizational/demographic structure and the quality of emotional support in the network. It was hypothesized that males and females would construct different network profiles. Gender differences in both structural and support characteristics were found. Females indicated that they had more frequent contact with network members, that their network was on average slightly older, and that they tended to see network members in more private settings. Females also estimated that they know more people than males, although there were no differences between males and females in the actual number of network members listed and described. Males were much more likely to report having larger groups of intimate friends than did females. While females tended to nominate family members as role models and were more likely to indicate feeling close to both male and female peers, males indicated overwhelmingly that they felt close to male peers. The differences indicate that male and female adolescents experience very differently structured forms of social support. These results are discussed as they relate to gender differences found in achievement and other indices of competence during adolescence.     

Sex-related developmental differences in the lateralized activation of the prefrontal cortex and amygdala during perception of facial affect

The lateralization of cognitive abilities is influenced by a number of factors, including handedness, sex, and developmental maturation. To date, a small number of studies have examined sex differences in the lateralization of cognitive and affective functions, and in only few of these have the developmental trajectories of these lateralized differences been mapped from childhood through early adulthood. In the present study, a cross-sectional design was used with healthy children (n=7), adolescents (n= 12), and adults (n= 10) who underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a task that required perceiving fearful faces. Males and females differed in the asymmetry of activation of the amygdala and prefrontal cortex across the three age groups. For males, activation within the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was bilateral in children, right lateralized in adolescents, and bilateral in adults, whereas females showed a monotonic relationship with age, with older females showing more bilateral activation than younger ones. In contrast, amygdala activation was similar for both sexes, with bilateral activation in children, right-lateralized activation in adolescents, and bilateral activation in adults. These results suggest that males and females show different patterns of lateralized cortical and subcortical brain activation across the period of development from childhood through early adulthood.