Ethnicity and adolescent substance use

This study focuses on diverse ethnic differences among adolescent substance use, utilizing selected items from the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory-Adolescent version (SASSI-A). Data were gathered from a large-scale, cross-sequential study of adolescents during the 1993-1996 school years. Exploratory analyses were conducted for 3,711 students on the basis of their responses to a self-administered survey. Results indicated significant ethnic and gender differences for specific SASSI-A items and factor scores, with Hawaiian, "Other," and Caucasian students reporting higher scores than Japanese students and greater scores for female than male students. These findings suggest the need to develop culturally sensitive substance use prevention and treatment strategies that should also take gender differences into consideration for adolescents in Hawai'i.     

Gender Differences in Turkish Undergraduate Students’ Values

The objectives of the present study were to explore gender differences in Turkish students’ values. A total of 231 (125 female, 106 male) undergraduate students from various universities in Ankara (the capital city of Turkey) participated in the study. They were given the Portrait Values Questionnaire along items related to demography. It is predicted that firstly, females would have higher scores on universalism, benevolence and security than males; secondly, males would have higher score on power than females. The results showed that females reported higher levels of hedonism, universalism, benevolence and security than males. The findings were discussed in the light of the relevant literature. The present study can be considered as a contribution to the existing literature on gender-based differences on value priorities by examining a rarely investigated culture—that is, Turkish.     

EFFECTS OF WOMEN'S STUDIES COURSES ON GENDER-RELATED ATTITUDES OF WOMEN AND MEN

Attitudes about feminism, gender equality, and gender differences were assessed for male and female students enrolled in three women's studies courses and four control courses at the beginning and end of an academic semester. Compared to control students, women's studies students agreed more with feminist and equality items, and disagreed more with gender difference items, at the beginning of the term. Nonetheless, belief in gender differences decreased among men, but not women, enrolled in women's studies courses. Additionally, women's studies courses produced increased feminist attitudes among women, but decreased feminist attitudes among the small sample of men in the study.     

阅读理解情境下中学生提问能力发展特点研究

从北京市一所普通中学四个年级随机选取学生169名为被试,采用开放式问卷法研究了学生在阅读理解背景下提问能力的发展特点,结果发现:(1)学生提问的频次变化范围较广,随着提问频次的增加,人数呈现波浪式下降趋势;(2)学生所提问题被分为三种水平:事实性问题,推论性问题和评价性问题;(3)随着年级的上升,学生提问水平逐渐增高;(4)学生提问性别差异显著,尤其是在高水平问题上,女生提问数量多于男生。     

Differences in State-Trait Anxiety Inventory scores for ethnically diverse adolescents in Hawaii

This study examined the association between anxiety and 5 predictor variables: ethnicity (Caucasian, Native Hawaiian/part Hawaiian, Japanese, other), gender, grade level (9-12th), main wage earners' educational level, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; C. D. Spielberger, R. L. Gorsuch, & R. E. Lushene, 1970) factors for a diverse group of students. Hawaiian students were found to have significantly higher levels of anxiety than Japanese students; however, ethnicity was not a significant predictor when gender, grade level, and main wage earners' education were statistically held constant. An interaction between ethnicity and STAI factor scores indicated an atypical pattern for Caucasians. Female students scored significantly higher than male students, and main wage earners' education predicted amount of anxiety. In general, these 2 associations remained significant when ethnicity and grade level were held constant. An interaction between gender and STAI factor scores indicated that the difference between female and male students was relatively larger for positively (as opposed to negatively) worded State items and for negatively (as opposed to positively) worded Trait items. Overall, the findings suggested that apparent ethnic differences in anxiety levels may be due to causal variables related to other sociodemographic variables. Factor scores in the form of positively versus negatively worded items should be considered an important variable; using only a global STAI composite as a measure of anxiety will mask the differential effects of the STAI factor scores. Further research is needed to determine the generalizability of these findings to other groups and to provide knowledge on direct causal variables that may account for a greater percentage of variance.     

Larger reported impact of stuttering in teenage females,compared to males – A comparison of teenagers’ result on Overall Assessment of the Speaker’s Experience of Stuttering (OASES)

PurposeThe aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore the impact and experience of stuttering, and attitude to communication for female and male teenagers who stutter (TWS) in comparison with teenagers with no stutter (TWNS).MethodsThe Swedish version of the Overall Assessment of the Speaker’s Experience of Stuttering (OASES-T-S), was administered to 56 TWS, 13–17 years old (26 females, 30 males). An adapted version of OASES, Attitude to Speech and Communication (ASC), was administered to 233 TWNS. The impact scores were analyzed in relation to sex in TWS and TWNS.ResultsFemale TWS reported that stuttering had a greater impact on their life than it did on male TWS (on average 0.5 higher impact scores; Hedges’ g = 0.87). The differences did not seem to be caused by differences in severity of overt stuttering symptoms. Female and male TWS particularly differed on items related to difficulties in day-to-day communication and affective/behavioral reactions to stuttering. Such sex differences were not as pronounced among TWNS, suggesting that teenage women may be more vulnerable to the negative impact of stuttering than men the same age.ConclusionFemale teenagers report more negative experiences and a greater tendency to use avoidance strategies than male teenagers.     

Gender Differences in Persuasive Communication and Attribution of Success and Failure

This study examined the impact of gender on persuasive communication, considering the gender of both speaker and listener, and comparing the self-expectations and evaluations of the speakers before and after their communicative exchanges. Findings revealed that females expressed less confidence than males concerning their ability to communicate their arguments persuasively, even though trained communication raters indicated that both genders performed equally well. Subjects varied in their expressed self-confidence, however, depending upon whether they were addressing their arguments to a male or a female. In addition, males rated their communicative “performances” more positively than did females. In attributing their perceived success to various factors, men were more likely to acknowledge their natural communication ability than were women, while women were more inclined than men to point to their effort as the cause of their success. Finally, male and female subjects differed from each other in the way they argued, with males being more inclined to present criterion-based arguments and women more likely to invent their own. Again, both genders tended to use different types of arguments, depending upon the gender of the listener. Several issues raised by the study, especially the gender differences in argument type and the apparent gender-based audience assumptions, warrant further study.     

Measuring Hong Kong Undergraduate Students’ Attitudes Towards Transpeople

Hill and Willoughby’s (Sex Roles, 53:531–544, 2005) Genderism and Transphobia Scale (GTS), originally developed in Canada, was examined with a Hong Kong sample. Undergraduate students, 82 female and 121 male (total n?=?203), completed a Chinese version of the instrument. Overall scores and factor structure of the Hong Kong sample were compared with Hill and Willoughby’s Canadian data. Gender differences in transphobia were investigated, both in terms of the participants’ gender as well as the gender of the gender variant persons to whom GTS items referred. Transphobia was higher in Hong Kong than in Canada. The factor structure for Hong Kong differed from Canada. Five factors were identified (with a gender effect on Factors II and V). They were: I, Anti Sissy Prejudice; II, Anti Trans Violence; III, Trans Unnaturalness; IV, Trans Immorality; and V, Background Genderism. Hong Kong men were more transphobic than women. Gender variance in men was viewed less favourably than in women.     

The role of mathematical skill in sex differences on Raven’s Matrices

This study replicated a previously reported male advantage on certain items of Raven’s Matrices and found no sex differences in performance on other items. We refer to the latter as analytic (1) items and the former as analytic (2) items. Reasons for the male advantage were investigated by correlating scores obtained by male and female high school students on analytic (1) and analytic (2) items with their scores on tests of spatial, verbal and mathematical ability. There were no sex differences in the magnitude of the correlations between scores on analytic (2) items and the two spatial and verbal tests. In contrast, males but not females showed a significantly higher correlation of maths with analytic (2) than with analytic (1). The results suggest the Raven’s Matrices may engage different, more specific cognitive processes in males and more general cognitive processes in females.     

Work Satisfaction as a Function of Gender and Job Status

Male lawyers, female lawyers, and female legal secretaries were interviewed concerning their work satisfaction, the nature of their employment-related gratifications and deprivations, and their work values. The data showed that the three samples' responses concerning work-related gratifications, deprivations, and values were largely similar. When they differed, the splits tended to be along the lines of job status (lawyer vs. secretary) rather than along the lines of gender (male vs. female). In addition, lawyers tended to be more satisfied with their work than were secretaries.     

小学生对无性别事物的性别编码

采用拟人化配声和对形容词进行性别倾向评定的方法,对小学生对无性别事物的性别编码进行了研究。结果表明：（1）小学生对无性别事物存在着性别编码倾向,而且相当稳定。这种倾向一年级时已经基本形成,传统文化和生活经验会加强这种倾向。（2）小学生对无性别事物的性别编码总体趋势一致,但也存在一定的年级差异。随年级增长,将雌性倾向事物划分为女性的比率在增长,将雄性倾向事物划分为男性的比率也在增长。（3）小学生对无性别事物的性别编码也具有性别差异。男生和女生存在以自身性别为中心的倾向。男生更多地看到中性事物的男性特征,女生更多地注意到中性事物的女性特征。与男生相比,女生性别编码的倾向更强些。     

Effects of college students' learning styles and gender on their test preparation strategies

This study investigated the effects of approach to studying, gender and type of examination on test preparation strategies. Educational psychology students completed the Approaches to Studying Inventory (Entwistle and Ramsden, 1983) regarding their general learning characteristics, and thus were assigned to four approach groups. Students also answered questions about how they might study for either an essay or a multiple-choice examination. Factor analysis of those items yielded several study strategy subscales. When scores on the time-effort, integration, selection and cognitive monitoring subscales were used as dependent variables in a 4×2×2 (cluster × gender × type of test) MANCOVA, a significant three-way interaction suggested that male and female students using different approaches react differently to multiple-choice or essay tests, and the patterns differ by strategy.     

Gender Differences in U.S. College Students�� Fear for Others

This study examines U.S. college students?? fear of crime for others and uses the ??doing gender?? perspective to help explain gender differences. A sample of 931 college students (421 male students/510 female students and 605 White students/326 Black students) under the age of 30 from a Southeastern public university provided information on fear of crime, fear for others, and other variables often associated with fear of crime. When splitting the sample by gender, results suggest that both male and female college students fear for others, but do so in very different ways. While male students?? fear for others was associated with their personal characteristics (race, age and parental status) and whether they lived with an intimate, female students?? fear for others was most influenced by constrained behaviors and personal fear of crime. Additionally, when testing race specific models, there were not enough minority men to split the sample for men. However, when separating the sample by race for women only, the model generally did not work for non-White women, while the model worked well for White women. Overall, the results suggest that younger individuals?? fear of crime for others is gendered, associated with living status for men and personal fear for women and that racial differences among men and women should be examined in the future.     

Gender Bias in the Evaluation of Female Faculty at The Citadel: A Qualitative Analysis

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of gender bias in student ratings of female faculty at The Citadel. Four (Caucasian) female faculty members, one at each level of academic rank, and four (Caucasian) male cadets were interviewed to determine their views on bias in the instructional process, especially with regard to ratings of faculty by students. From the data we concluded that there is a contradiction between beliefs about gender bias and the actual presence of bias for both faculty and students. Women are subjected to a double standard, and in the military setting of The Citadel, nontenure track female faculty are doubly penalized. Faculty women believe gender bias is part of the institutional culture, and contrapower harassment in ratings of female faculty by male students is likely.     

The Effect of Information Frame and Informant Gender on Judgements of Merit versus Gender-Based Employment Selection

This study investigated the effect of information frame and informant gender on people's views on merit versus gender-based selection. Results showed that people in general support merit selection and oppose preferential selection. However, the negative reaction to gender-based selection could be attenuated when (1) female informants described the advantages of gender-based selection to female respondents, and (2) male informants argued the same case to male respondents. In addition, the provision of justification further exacerbated perceptions of unfairness of gender-based selection.     

Focusing on gender similarities increases female students’ motivation to participate in STEM

Recent analyses highlight women's opting out of STEM fields as an important contributing factor to the gender gap in science. Therefore, it is important to identify the factors influencing women's motivation to participate in STEM. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that the focus on differences between male and female students in STEM, even when those differences are irrelevant to the competence dimension, would decrease the motivation of women to engage in STEM. On the other hand, a belief in gender similarities would increase their motivation to get involved in STEM. We conducted three experiments among female students in STEM majors, in which we manipulated the focus on gender differences versus similarities. The results, which replicated across three studies, showed that when female students focused on similarities between men and women, they were more motivated to engage in STEM‐related activities than when they focused on gender differences. Additionally, we tested whether the gender stereotypes and a perception of gender discrimination mediated that effect but the results of these analyses were inconsistent across studies. Overall, the findings suggest that messaging directed at women in STEM, which highlights similarities between men and women could encourage them to engage in STEM but deactivation of gender stereotypes does not necessarily account for these effects.     

Evaluating Gender Discrimination Claims: Is There a Gender Similarity Bias?

A rich literature exists that examines individuals' perceptions of affirmative action in organizations. However, little is known regarding the evaluation of reverse gender discrimination claims arising from gender-based preferential treatment. This study investigated the possible existence of a gender similarity bias in evaluations of gender discrimination allegations using a laboratory experiment in which the strength of evidence against the defendant company and the gender of the plaintiff were manipulated. Our sample consisted of 120 undergraduate students (60 men, 60 women) from diverse racial/ethnic groups (35% Asian, 6% African American, 18% Hispanic, and 41% Caucasian). Results suggested that female mock jurors favored female plaintiffs over male plaintiffs. In contrast, there were no gender-related differences in perceptions of male plaintiffs. Thus, although women did not disadvantage male plaintiffs, there was a tendency for them to be favorably biased in favor of female plaintiffs. As expected, this tendency was greatest under conditions of evidential uncertainty about the company's guilt.     

Self-report measurement of type A behavior: toward refinement and improved prediction

Self-report measures of Type A personality receive wide research usage despite mounting evidence that they are poor predictors of coronary heart disease. It was proposed that the limited prediction results in part from the failure to restrict measurement to only those Type A characteristics that are demonstrably related to excessive stress. The first study in this article reports a factor analysis of all items on the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS), the most popular Type A questionnaire, along with 25 stress symptoms. Self-ratings were obtained from both male and female college students. Only one stress-related factor emerged including 12 JAS items out of 44. These were relevant to (a) hard-driving and competitive, (b) time-urgent, and (c) hostile/irritated characteristics. Study 2 reports correlations of +.50 and +.43 between the stress-relevant JAS items and stress for new samples of female and male college students. Study 3 considers the broader personality correlates of scores on the stress-relevant Type A items and reports markedly different patterns for male and female college students. Predicted correlations were found on new samples between these personality correlates, considered as scales, and stress-relevant Type A scores and stress.     

GENDER COMPARISONS OF MATHEMATICS ATTITUDES AND AFFECT

This article reports the complex results of meta-analyses of gender differences in attitudes and affect specific to mathematics. Overall, effect sizes were small and were similar in size to gender differences in mathematics performance. When differences exist, the pattern is for females to hold more negative attitudes. Gender differences in self-confidence and general mathematics attitudes are larger among high school and college students than among younger students. Effect sizes for mathematics anxiety differ depending upon the sample (highly selected or general). One exception to the general pattern is in stereotyping mathematics as a male domain, where males hold much more stereotyped attitudes ( d = -.90). While affect and attitudes toward mathematics are not the only influences on the development of gender differences in mathematics performance, they are important, and both male and female affect and attitudes should be considered in conjunction with other social and political influences as explanations.     

A change will do us good: threats diminish typical preferences for male leaders

The current research explores role congruity processes from a new vantage point by investigating how the need for change might shift gender-based leadership preferences. According to role congruity theory, favorability toward leaders results from alignment between what is desired in a leadership role and the characteristics stereotypically ascribed to the leader. Generally speaking, these processes lead to baseline preferences for male over female leaders. In this research, the authors propose that a shift in gender-based leadership preferences will emerge under conditions of threat. Because the psychological experience of threat signals a need for change, individuals will favor candidates who represent new directions in leadership rather than consistency with past directions in leadership. Specifically, they find that threat evokes an implicit preference for change over stability (Experiment 1) and gender stereotypes align women with change but men with stability (Experiments 2a and 2b). Consequently, the typical preference for male leaders is diminished, or even reversed, under threat (Experiments 3 and 4). Moreover, the shift away from typical gender-based leadership preferences occurs especially among individuals who highly legitimize the sociopolitical system (Experiment 4), suggesting that these preference shifts might serve to protect the underlying system.