Depressed and nondepressed students: differences in interpersonal perceptions

The purpose of this research was to study the patterns of interpersonal behavior of depressed students. Depressed participants rated themselves lower than non-depressed controls on assertiveness and initiation of interactions and significantly higher than controls on concern about what others think, introversion, and submissiveness. Depressed participants also scored significantly higher than controls on measures of dependency, self-criticism, and the need to please others. Ratings of depressed participants by their roommates were not correlated with depressed participants' self-reports. In contrast, most subscale self-ratings and roommate ratings for the nondepressed participants and their roommates were significantly correlated.     

Grade effects on teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms among primary school students

Several studies have reported that being younger for grade increases the risk of having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis and being on ADHD medication among students. The aim of this study was to investigate this association in a low‐middle income country setting. Sample included 2,627 children from first to fourth grades. We compared students who were older than the 75th and younger than the 25th percentiles in consecutive grades. Teachers completed SNAP‐4 scale. Results indicated that teacher rated ADHD symptoms were 2.5 to 3.6 times more common in students who were younger for their grade, after age, gender, and Fluid IQ scores were controlled. Teacher SNAP‐4 scores were also significantly associated with grade. Our results suggested that the phenomenon of higher rates of teacher rated ADHD symptoms among younger for grade students was not limited to Western countries and that the teacher reported symptom loads were higher in these children.     

Grade differences in reading motivation among Hong Kong primary and secondary students

Background Most previous studies in Western societies have demonstrated a general decline in school motivation. However, it is not clear whether motivational decline occurs uniformly for all students. The moderating effects of individual and cultural differences on students' motivational decline need to be further explored. Aims This study aimed to examine the grade differences in students' reading motivation, including self‐efficacy, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and social motivation, in a Chinese educational context. Grade by gender and grade by school‐average achievement interactions were also checked to explore the role of individual differences in students' motivational changes. Sample A total of 1,794 students (860 boys and 934 girls) volunteered to take part in this study, of whom 648 were Grade 4–6 students from 11 primary schools, 627 were Grade 7–9 students from 12 junior secondary schools, and 519 Grade 10–11 students from 6 senior secondary schools. Method A Chinese version of the Motivation for Reading Questionnaire (CRMQ) was administered to all participants during regular class periods by their teachers. Reliability analyses and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were first undertaken to assess the psychometric quality of the CRMQ. Then, multisample CFA was conducted to examine whether the factor structure of the CRMQ was equivalent across students at different grade levels. Grade differences in various reading motivation constructs as well as grade × gender and grade × school‐average achievement interactions were examined using multiple‐indicator‐multiple‐causes modelling. Results The findings of this study supported the reliability and the factor structure of the CRMQ in measuring the reading motivation of Chinese students at different grade levels. The factor pattern of the CRMQ was invariant across primary, junior secondary, and senior secondary students in multisample CFA. As far as the scores on the four reading motivation constructs were concerned, students scored most highly on intrinsic motivation, followed by self‐efficacy, extrinsic motivation, and social motivation. Significant grade differences were found in all reading motivation constructs whereas only a few grade by gender and grade by school‐average interactions were found. Conclusion Consistent with previous studies in Western countries, the findings suggest that motivational decline is also a common phenomenon among Chinese students in Hong Kong. In addition, the pattern of motivational differences is generally consistent among students with different genders and from schools with different achievement levels. The implications of these findings for understanding Chinese students' reading motivation and for planning effective reading instruction to enhance their motivation are discussed.     

The sex by race interaction in cognitive measures

Data consisting of 79 cognitive measures from Project TALENT for 100,000 white and black high school students have been analyzed for possible race by sex interactions. Control variables included geographical area, grade in high school, and socio-economic class. Race by sex interactions are largest when socioeconomic class is controlled and are highly related to the size of the main effect of sex as well. White boys and girls differ more than black boys and girls whether the overall sex difference favors males or females. Sex by grade and, to a lesser extent, sex by area interactions were also moderately large and consistent with the size of the main effect of sex. Since there are no consistent relationships with other main effects, and since the measures producing sex differences also tend to produce the interactions, it is concluded that sex differences and the interactions with sex share the same causes. Differences between these results and those of Jensen are also discussed.     

Gender differences in adolescent concerns and emotional well-being: perceptions of Singaporean adolescent students

Although much has been written about adolescent adjustment and coping in Western countries, relatively little is known about similar issues in Asia. The authors examined the emotional adjustment of young adolescents in Singapore. They report adolescent concerns and how they influence adaptive functioning and emotional well-being. Data were obtained from three self-report measures: the Adolescent Concerns Measure (R. P Ang, W. H. Chong, V. S. Huan, & L. S. Yeo, in press), selected scales of the Behavioral Assessment System for Children Personality Self-Report (C. R. Reynolds & R. W. Kamphaus, 1998), and the Emotional Distress Scale of the Reynolds Adolescent Adjustment Screening Inventory (W. M. Reynolds, 2001). Emotional well-being emerged as a dominant concern for Singaporean youths with significant gender differences. Girls reported a more positive attitude toward school, better friendship skills, and stronger relationships with parents than did boys. However, girls registered significantly greater worries about self and emotional distress compared to boys. The authors discuss implications for teachers and mental health professionals.     

The effect of race,sex, and career goal differences on sex role attitudes at home and at work

Male and female blacks and whites whose career goals differed as to sex role stereotypy were administered two sex role inventories. One measured attitudes toward women's expanding sex roles in the home/personal environment, while the other measured sex role attitudes in the working environment. The major finding of the present study is that black women had more traditional sex role attitudes in the home environment than white women but the same sex role attitudes about working, whereas both black and white women were more liberal in their sex role attitudes in both environments than black and white men.     

Including or excluding religion and worldviews in schools? Finnish teachers’ and teacher students’ perceptions

ABSTRACT

How schools navigate between the demands presented by secularisation, and the increasing plurality of religious traditions has become a very topical issue in many European countries, including Finland, in recent decades. The question is both practical and philosophical by nature because the ways in which various beliefs and values are represented in school practices and teaching content profoundly concern the educational mission of the schools. However, despite the topicality of the issue, little attention has been given to teachers’ perceptions on whether public schools should, or should not, provide space for various religions and worldviews to become visible within the school life, and how schools should respond in practice to the perceived needs. In order to gain new knowledge on the topic, this study investigated Finnish teachers’ and university students’ (N = 181) perceptions of the representations of religions and worldviews, based on the perspectives of inclusion and exclusion. The statistical analysis revealed three factors titled as ‘Religiously responsive approach’, ‘Secularist approach’ and ‘Equal visibility approach’. According to the main findings, current and future educators show various degrees of inter-religious sensitivity but principally supported the equal visibility of various traditions, rather than favouring strongly inclusivist or exclusivist practices.     

Role perceptions: Variations by sex and roles

A Role Perception Scale utilizing a combined projective-objective methodology was developed to assess female and male perceptions of each of three single roles — work, marriage, and parent — and two combined roles — work-marriage and work-parent. Research participants were 134 college students, 88 females and 46 males. Factor analysis of the objective scale, the only part to be scored, resulted in two major orthogonal factors labeled role engagement and competition factors. Sex and role differences for each factor were analyzed using 2×5 split block analysis of variance design with repeated measures. On three out of the five single and combined roles women perceived more engagement than men. In general males perceived roles as more competitive. These sex differences and patterns identified in within-sex analyses across roles are discussed.Parts of this paper were presented at the American Psychological Association Convention, Washington, D.C., September 1976. Research was supported in part by the Dean's Development Fund, New York University, School of Education, Health, Nursing, and Arts Professions. Both authors are senior authors. The order of names is randomly determined. The authors wish to thank Philip Merrifield and Barbara Hummel-Rossi for their statistical assistance in data analysis.     

MCMI differences between alcoholics and cocaine abusers: effect of age, sex, and race.

Samples of alcohol-dependent-only subjects (n = 164), cocaine-dependent-only subjects (n = 63), and subjects dependent on multiple substances, including alcohol and cocaine (n = 103), were administered the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) as part of a routine clinical evaluation. The alcohol-only group was older (M = 38.7 years) and had a higher percentage of White subjects than other groups. The multiple-use (60%) group also had a higher percentage of White subjects than the cocaine only group (38%) and a higher percentage of male subjects (81%) than the alcohol-only group (67%). Although the MCMI characteristics of each diagnostic group paralleled previous findings, few MCMI differences were found after controlling for age, sex, and race effects. The implications of these results for treatment development are discussed.     

Differential item functioning by sex and race in the Hogan Personality Inventory

The authors examined measurement bias in the Hogan Personality Inventory by investigating differential item functioning (DIF) across sex and two racial groups (Caucasian and Black). The sample consisted of 1,579 Caucasians (1,023 men, 556 women) and 523 Blacks (321 men, 202 women) who were applying for entry-level, unskilled jobs in factories. Although the group mean differences were trivial, more than a third of the items showed DIF by sex (38.4%) and by race (37.3%). A content analysis of potentially biased items indicated that the themes of items displaying DIF were slightly more cohesive for sex than for race. The authors discuss possible explanations for differing clustering tendencies of items displaying DIF and some practical and theoretical implications of DIF in the development and interpretation of personality inventories.     

Acceptance patterns of retaliatory aggression among adjudicated youth by sex and race

This study investigates sex and race differences in normative beliefs about the acceptability of aggression across dimensions of severity of provocation (weak versus strong) and sex of provoker (male versus female). Students in the sample of 311 included those required to attend three Department of Youth Services schools after placement by the juvenile court system from across the state of Alabama (N=392). Results show that males were significantly more likely than females to approve of retaliation to weak provocation and against females. There were no significant differences between males and females for retaliation with strong provocation and against males. Results also show the Black group was significantly more likely than the White group to approve of retaliation to weak provocation, strong provocation, and against females.     

Ethnic differences and the closing of the sex gap in alcohol use among college-bound students.

In this study, the authors used Web-based surveys to examine differences in alcohol use by sex and ethnicity and factors associated with these group differences among 2,241 college-bound students. A Sex x Ethnicity interaction indicated that the sex gap was much larger for Latino than for Caucasian students. Although peer influence was important for both Caucasian and Latino students, family influences were significant only for Latino youths. The sex differences in drinking among Latino youths were largely explained by the combination of same-sex family member and same-sex peer drinking through values about the acceptability of drinking behavior. Among Caucasians, perceptions of peer behavior exerted a stronger influence on drinking behavior than among Latinos. These results suggest that interventions targeting peer influence are likely to be most effective for Caucasian students. In contrast, for Latinos, particularly Latina women, family characteristics may be an important target for prevention.     

Gender differences in perceptions of leadership

A study was conducted to examine gender differences in perceptions of leadership. Subjects (N=320) were assigned to same-sex groups of four to six members. The groups participated in a leaderless group discussion and then assessed characteristics of their own and their peers' leadership. The subjects also completed a self-esteem inventory. Correlational analyses revealed that when evaluating their peers, both men and women associated being a leader and having leadership skills with an authoritarian leadership style. In self-perceptions, however, women associated having positive leadership skills with an authoritarian style, but men associated their own leadership skills with a democratic style. The self-esteem of both genders was differentially related to their perceptions of leadership style. These results suggest that men and women hold a leadership stereotype which equates the leadership skills of their peers with an authoritarian style of leadership. However, women but not men base their assessments of their own leadership skills on this leadership stereotype.     

Adults' perceptions of infant sex and cuteness

Five experiments were conducted to investigate the relationship between infant sex and adults' perceptions of infant physical attractiveness. College students rated the cuteness and/or sex of male and female infants at each of six age levels: 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 months. The results indicated that (a) subjects had little difficulty assigning a sex label to infants, although in some instances the assigned label was incorrect; (b) older infants received higher cuteness ratings than younger infants; (c) cuter infants were more likely to be perceived as female than male; (d) Labeled Males received higher cuteness ratings than Labeled Females, although this effect was stronger for Perceived Males than for Perceived Females; and (e) perceived cuteness influenced perceived sex. Results are interpreted as generally supporting the existence of a sex stereotype related to physical attractiveness.Preparation of this report was supported in part by an NIH 1 T32 MH 14622-01 Institutional National Research Service Award (KAH) and a Biomedical Sciences Research Support Grant (HEF & KAH).     

Individual and sex differences in reminiscence

Inverted alphabet printing, rotary pursuit, and mirror tracking tasks were administered to 84 subjects in order to ascertain (a) reproducibility of reminiscence scores within and between tasks and (b)sex differences in reminiscence. With prerest performance levels held constant by second-order partial correlation procedures, reproducibility of individual reminiscence differences within tasks was significant but quite low, while predictability of reminiscence from one task to another was negligible. The sexes reminisced essentially alike on inverted alphabet printing, but females reminisced more than males on the other tasks, presumably because they were relatively more depressed by massed practice on these tasks. Thus, individual and sex differences were essentially task specific. Implications of results for reminiscence theories and for the credibility of alleged relationships between reminiscence and other organismic variables were discussed.