Contextualizing Health Outcomes: Do Effects of Network Structure Differ for Women and Men?

Although previous research demonstrated that networks matter for health-related outcomes, few studies have investigated the possibility that network effects may differ between women and men. In a multivariate regression analysis of a US sample of 548 hurricane victims, we ask whether effects of network composition, density, and size affect perceived adequacy of social support and depressive symptoms more strongly among women than among men. We find evidence for these moderating effects, for direct effects of density on support adequacy and size on depressive symptoms. Our examination of indirect effects of network structure on depressive symptoms, in the pathway through perceived adequacy of social support, suggests that gender may exert more substantial moderating effects than previous health studies suggest.     

In Search of Looks, Status, or Something Else? Partner Preferences Among Butch and Femme Lesbians and Heterosexual Men and Women

Previous research posited that butch lesbians are physiologically similar to heterosexual men, and by implication, femme lesbians physiologically resemble heterosexual women. The current study sought to compare partner preferences among butch and femme lesbians, as well as heterosexual women and men. More than 600 personal advertisements from newspapers and websites across the United States were examined. Forty-seven percent of advertisers indicated their race; of those, 60% were White and 29% Black. Testing competing hypotheses, support was found for a unique constellation of partner preferences for lesbians that is not fully explained by social exchange theory or evolutionary psychology theories.     

The Relation Between Childhood Gender Nonconformity and Adult Masculinity–Femininity and Anxiety in Heterosexual and Homosexual Men and Women

Recalled childhood gender nonconformity (CGN) and adult traits—e.g., masculinity–femininity of occupational preferences (MF-Occ), self-ascribed masculinity–femininity (Self-MF), self-reported anxiety—were assessed in an ethnically diverse US convenience sample of California college students and gay pride attendees, including 238 heterosexual men, 127 gay men, 343 heterosexual women, and 197 lesbian women. CGN showed large heterosexual–homosexual and gender differences, with homosexual individuals higher than heterosexual individuals and women higher than men. CGN was significantly associated with both men’s and women’s MF-Occ and Self-MF, both within and across sexual orientations. CGN was associated with self-reported anxiety for men but not for women, a finding true for both heterosexual and gay men, suggesting that CGN had a more negative impact on men than women.     

Black Women and White Women: Do Perceptions of Childhood Family Environment Differ?

INTRODUCTION: Few studies have examined racial differences in perceptions of childhood. Little is known about how Blacks perceive their own families, particularly the family environment that they experienced in childhood. METHODS: A community sample of 290 women (55% White, 45% Black) from two-parent families, heterogeneous in age and social class, was examined using a self-administered questionnaire, including the Family Environment Scale (FES), followed by a focused interview. Siblings were used as collateral informants. RESULTS: The psychometric properties of the FES showed remarkably little variation by race: The internal scale reliability, correlations between scales, and factor structures were quite similar. Although both White and Black women reported good childhood family environments, Black women when compared with White women rated their families of origin as more cohesive, organized, and expressive, and lower in conflict. Sibling responses corroborated these findings. DISCUSSION: This study addresses a gap in the research literature and provides important evidence of strengths in Black family relationships as reported by a community sample of women. The psychometric properties of the FES, found to be strong for families of both races, lends support to our findings and those of other researchers who have used this measure.     

Do Positive and Negative Stereotypes of Gay and Heterosexual Men Affect Job-Related Impressions?

Sex Roles - Traditional gender stereotypes encompass (typically masculine) agency, comprising task-related competence, and (typically feminine) communion or warmth. Both agency and communion are...     

How Do Mothers in Prison Differ From Non-Mothers?

Adjustment patterns and criminal characteristics of 350 incarcerated mothers of children under 21 years of age were contrasted to those of 166 women from the same institution that had never had children. There were no observed differences between mothers and non-mothers in terms of self-reported mental illness symptoms, emotional distress, or conflict with other individuals at the prison. There were also no differences in terms of institutional infractions observed by prison officials. Consistent with previous research with the same sample, there were adjustment differences between mothers reporting high versus low levels of parenting stress, but neither group of mothers evidenced different adjustment patterns relative to non-mothers. However, there were differences in criminal characteristics. Mothers were more likely than non-mothers to be incarcerated for property or drug offenses, and were more likely to have at least one current or previous drug offense in their criminal history. Non-mothers were more likely than mothers to be incarcerated for violent offenses, including homicide. Results indicate that although there are differences between mothers and non-mothers in the contexts associated with criminal behavior, both groups show the same range of adjustment problems once in prison.     

Differences in African American and White Women’s Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men

The aim of the present study was to examine racial differences in women’s attitudes toward lesbians and gay men and to offer an understanding of these differences. Participants were 224 18–30 year old heterosexual African American (64%) and White (36%) female undergraduates from a large urban university in the southeastern United States. Participants completed measures of social demographics, sexual orientation, and sexual prejudice. Results showed that African American, relative to White, women endorsed more negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. Also, unlike White women, African American women reported more negative attitudes toward gay men than lesbians. Implications are discussed regarding differences in cultural contexts that exist between African American and White women.     

What Can We Learn From Longitudinal Studies of Adult Development?

This article distinguishes between normal and pathological aging, provides an interdisciplinary context, and then considers a sample case of cognitive aging. Developmental influences on cognition include the physiological infrastructure, genetic predispositions, and environmental influences. Different types of longitudinal studies are distinguished, and contrasting findings of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies are examined in the sample case of the Seattle Longitudinal Study. Also considered is the longitudinal context for intervention studies and the role of longitudinal family studies in assessing rate of aging and generational differences in rates of aging. Finally, attention is given to the role of longitudinal studies in the early detection of risk for dementia in advanced age.     

What Can We Learn From Longitudinal Studies of Adult Development?

This article distinguishes between normal and pathological aging, provides an interdisciplinary context, and then considers a sample case of cognitive aging. Developmental influences on cognition include the physiological infrastructure, genetic predispositions, and environmental influences. Different types of longitudinal studies are distinguished, and contrasting findings of cross-sectional and longitudinal are examined in the sample case of the Seattle Longitudinal Study. Also considered is the longitudinal context for intervention studies and the role of longitudinal family studies in assessing rate of aging and generational differences in rates of aging. Finally, attention is given to the role of longitudinal studies in the early detection of risk for dementia in advanced age.     

Disruptive Behavior Disorders in Children and Adolescents: How Do Girls Differ From Boys?

Disruptive behavior disorders in children and adolescents can lead to a lifetime of problems. The 2 disruptive behavior disorders identified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM‐IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) are oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder. Although much research has been conducted to learn more about these 2 disorders, little is known about gender differences in the disorders. There is a dearth of specific information regarding girls with disruptive behavior disorders. This article discusses the diagnosis, risk factors, and treatment of oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder while incorporating information specific to girls to investigate how disruptive behavior disorders differ for girls.     

Do Middle-Class Students Perceive Poor Women and Poor Men Differently?

In this study, we examined attitudes toward poor women, stereotypes about them, attributions for their poverty, and whether these thoughts and feelings differ from those about poor men. In our Midwestern college students sample (n = 206), attitudes toward poor women were significantly more positive than attitudes toward poor men. In addition, stereotypes of poor women were both more positive and more consistent with gender stereotypes than were those of poor men. Participants endorsed internal attributions for the poverty of both women and men more strongly than external or cultural attributions. However, the content of these attributions was different for the two target groups. Poor women were held responsible for nontraditional familial and reproductive patterns, whereas poor men were held responsible for lack of initiative and self-improvement. For poor men, all types of attributions included references to ability or willingness to work. The three types of attributions were more conceptually distinct for poor women.     

Do Women in the Newsroom Make a Difference? Coverage Sentiment toward Women and Men as a Function of Newsroom Composition

Sex Roles - Positive or negative media coverage may have important consequences for individuals’ lives and ability to succeed. One potential factor that may affect the tone of coverage, in...     

Religious Consolation Among Men and Women: Do HealthProblems Spur Seeking?

While most religions provide a meaning system that helps people cope with personal problems, there has been relatively little research on how and why men and women seek religious consolation and comfort. Data from a national longitudinal survey, Americans' Changing Lives, Waves I and II ,were used to examine whether physical and mental health problems precipitate seeking religious consolation. The findings indicate that seeking religious consolation is most likely among those who identify with and practice a religion suggesting that religious consolation intensifies among religious persons. Chronic (non-serious)conditions were associated with increased religious seeking over time, and cancer was associated with higher religious seeking, especially among women. Depression was associated with greater seeking of religious consolation among both men and women. The results reveal clearly that women are more likely than men to seek religious consolation, but men seek religious consolation for a wider range of health and situational problems (e.g.,unemployment).The findings also demonstrate the importance of considering the role of religious consolation in studies of religion and health.     

Adult Attachment and Heterosexual College Women’s Hookup Behaviors: Mediating Effects of Sexual Motives

We investigated sexual motives as mediators of the relationships between adult attachment orientations and women’s casual sexual behavior. Female heterosexual undergraduates (N = 221) provided self-report data on multiple attachment orientations underlying attachment styles, sexual motives, and hookup behavior. Proximity-seeking (i.e., turning toward others to share experiences and in times of need) and self-reliance (i.e., preferring not to ask for help or to depend on others) were both associated with number of hookup partners. Sexual motives mediated some of these relationships. Intimacy motives explained how proximity-seeking positively related to hookup behavior, whereas enhancement motives explained how self-reliance negatively related to hookup behavior. These results suggest that attachment orientations associated with both secure and insecure attachment styles predict women’s casual sexual behavior through different sexual motives. These results also suggest that women’s casual sexual encounters do not necessarily reflect insecurity, dysfunction, psychopathology, or maladaptation. To promote healthy hookup behaviors among women, both emotional as well as sexual needs associated with different attachment orientations should be considered.     

Are Gay Men in Worse Mental Health than Heterosexual Men? The Role of Age, Shame and Guilt, and Coming-Out

Previous studies reporting that gay individuals are in worse mental health than heterosexuals have typically employed young or mixed-age samples, ignoring the role of age. Mental health problems may show greater age-related improvement among gay than heterosexual men as indicated by the findings of the present study. In this study, the following indices of mental health are examined, and found to be comparable, among 86 heterosexual and 81 gay men aged 18–48: depression, suicidality, anger, anxiety, negative self-esteem, emotional instability, and lack of emotional responsiveness. Most indices show age-related effects among gay men, with less severe symptoms reported by older individuals. Among heterosexual men, effects of age are less widespread, although older men do report fewer symptoms of anger. Chronic shame and chronic guilt are related to mental health problems and a lessening in shame accounted, in part, for the age-related decline in depression among gay men. Different approaches to disclosing/concealing sexual identity are also linked with shame, guilt, and mental health among gay men.     

When Do Men and Women Make Attributions to Gender Discrimination? The Role of Discrimination Source

Two experiments examined the effects of discrimination source on men’s and women’s willingness to make attributions to a sexist experimenter or sexist rules. Students (161 male; 171 females) at a US university were exposed to a discriminatory person, discriminatory rule, or no discrimination. “Experiment 1” demonstrated individuals were less likely to make attributions to a sexist person than an unfair rule, and women were especially reluctant to indicate a person was responsible for their discrimination even when a person was the source. “Experiment 2” showed participants were less likely to indicate an experimenter, and even a rule, was sexist when there was a cost to the perpetrator (i.e., advisor would be notified of the perpetrator’s actions) for making such attributions.     

Do Women Prefer Dominant Men? The Case of the Missing Control Condition

Past research finds evidence that college women prefer a romantic partner who is dominant more than one who is not dominant. However, this research failed to include a control condition in which neither dominant nor nondominant behaviors are described. Study 1 and Study 2 included such a control condition and found that describing men as either dominant or nondominant decreased the desirability of hypothetical dating and romantic partners for undergraduate women. When asked to describe their ideal partner in Study 3, very few women identified dominant as a desirable trait. However, several traits associated with dominance, such as assertiveness and confidence, were selected. The findings suggest that a simple dominant–nondominant dimension may not be very useful when predicting women's mate preferences.     

Do We Need a Theory for the Religious Development of Women?

J. W. Fowler (1993) suggested that psychological theories of religious development need to be modified to take into account women's ways of knowing and acting. After recalling results of research on gender differences of religiousness and insights by Carol Gilligan (1982f1993) and Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, and Tarule (1986), that contention is examined. The parallelisms posited by Fowler between women's epistemological orientations and his developmental stages are analyzed, and a different interpretation is proposed. Whereas the insights under discussion may be helpful when interviewing women and scoring the results, the conclusion is that at present theories of religious development need not be modified on that account. As regards gender- sensitive research on the religiousness of adults, it may be more fruitful to use feminine and masculine "orientations" as variables rather than being female or male.