Gender and Ethnic Differences in Smiling: A Yearbook Photographs Analysis from Kindergarten Through 12th Grade

Previous research has demonstrated that women smile more frequently and more broadly than men (Abel 2002; LaFrance et al. 2003). However, little research has focused specifically on the age at which this gender difference first emerges, and even less on the ethnic differences in smiling. This study attempts to identify the age when gender differences in smiling emerge among European American and African American children and teenagers. Additionally, we looked at the level of diversity within each school and its relation to smiling behavior. In total, 18,201 yearbook photographs ranging from kindergarten through 12th grade from 17 schools in the state of Michigan were evaluated for smile type: full smile, partial smile or no smile. Results suggest that a significant gender difference in smiling emerges around age 11. In contrast to other studies (e.g., LaFrance et al. 2003) and our own expectations, differences in smiling were found to be larger between African American boys and girls than between European American boys and girls. In addition, we found that African American girls’ smiling behavior did not differ as a function of school diversity while African American boys from predominantly African American schools displayed less smiling compared to those from mixed or predominantly European-American schools. This study provides insight into the emergence and progression of gender differences in smiling and indicates that gender as well as ethnicity and ethnic diversity are influential factors in smiling behavior.     

African American, White and Latino Fathers’ Activities with their Sons and Daughters in Early Childhood

We examined the activities that low-income, ethnically diverse fathers of sons versus daughters engage in with their children in the preschool years. African American, Latino, and White fathers (N?=?426) from research sites across the United States, were interviewed about their caregiving, play, literacy, and visiting activities when their children were 2?years, 3?years, and preschool age. Fathers of boys engaged more frequently in physical play than fathers of girls, whereas fathers of girls engaged more frequently in literacy activities. Moreover, gendered patterns of father engagement were already evident at the 2-year assessment, suggesting that fathers channel their children toward gender-typed activities well before their children have a clear understanding of gender roles. Ethnic differences were also found in fathers’ activities with children, and child gender moderated ethnic patterns of behavior. For example, Black fathers of sons reported the highest levels of engagement in caregiving, play and visiting activities, and both Latino and African American fathers of sons engaged in more visiting activities compared to White fathers of sons. Fathers’ education and marital status were also associated with fathers’ activities. Married fathers and those with a high school diploma more frequently engaged in literacy activities than unmarried fathers without a diploma; moreover, although Latino fathers engaged less in caregiving activities than African American and White fathers, this difference attenuated after controlling for differences in fathers’ education. The activities children share with their fathers vary by child gender, race/ethnicity, and family circumstances and offer insight into early gendered experiences in the family.     

Preschool Children’s Beliefs about Gender Differences in Academic Skills

Evidence from different Latin American countries shows a gap in the academic achievement of girls and boys. Chilean children’s achievement is a case in point, with the gender gap being especially large for mathematics achievement. These differences can be explained partly from the viewpoint of beliefs and implicit theories. Research in this field has focused mainly on elementary and secondary students, and there is no relevant data on preschool children. This study examines Chilean kindergarten children’s beliefs about differences in the academicals skills of girls and boys. Eighty-one preschool children (34 girls, mean age 5 years and 11 months) were recruited from schools serving a middle SES population from downtown Santiago. An instrument to test children’s implicit beliefs about gender differences in academic ability was adapted from previous research. Results support the hypothesis that boys and girls at the age of 5 already hold stereotypical expectations about boys’ and girls’ academic achievement. When asked about which school subject a character liked more, was better at, and found easier, participants showed no preference between math and language when reasoning about a male character, but they indicated that a female character would find math harder, perform worse at it, and like it less than language. These responses did not differ according to the gender of the participating children. Implications of these findings are addressed and limitations and future research are discussed.     

Impact of Exposure to Community Violence on Anxiety: A Longitudinal Study of Family Social Support as a Protective Factor for Urban Children

In a longitudinal study, we examined the relationship between exposure to community violence and anxiety, and the extent to which family social support moderated this relationship within a predominantly African American sample of 385 children in an urban public school system. Children reported notably lower anxiety levels compared to normative data for African American children. A high percentage reported witnessing a variety of violent acts. Cross-sectional results indicated that among girls exposure to violence was significantly correlated with total, physiological, and concentration anxiety. Among boys violence exposure was not associated with anxiety. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that after controlling for gender, exposure to violence at Time 1 did not significantly predict changes in anxiety. A significant interaction was found for gender and exposure to violence on concentration anxiety; girls who reported higher initial violence exposure reported greater increases in subsequent concentration anxiety than boys. Whereas findings from our study did not support a moderating relationship of family social support on children's exposure to violence and anxiety, a strong negative relationship was found between anxiety and family support. Among children with initially low worry anxiety, those with low family social support showed greater increases in subsequent worry anxiety.     

Gender Role Orientation and Anxiety Symptoms Among African American Adolescents

The present study evaluated gender role theory as an explanation for the observed gender differences in anxiety symptoms among adolescents. Specifically, the relation between gender, gender role orientation (i.e., masculinity and femininity), self-esteem, and anxiety symptoms was examined in a community sample of 114 African Americans aged 14 to 19 (mean age 15.77; 57 girls). Results revealed that masculinity was negatively associated with anxiety symptoms whereas femininity was positively associated with anxiety symptoms. Gender role orientation accounted for unique variance in anxiety scores above biological gender and self-esteem, and self-esteem moderated the relation between femininity (but not masculinity) and overall anxiety symptoms. Consistent with research on children and Caucasians, findings supported gender role theory as a partial explanation for the observed gender disparity in anxiety symptoms among African American adolescents.     

Bidirectional Influences of Violence Exposure and Adjustment in Early Adolescence: Externalizing Behaviors and School Connectedness

This study utilized cross-lagged longitudinal models to examine prospective, bidirectional relationships between witnessing violence and victimization and three adjustment variables—delinquency, conduct problems, and school connectedness. Participants included 603 early adolescent boys and girls (78% African American, 20% Caucasian). Witnessing violence was related to subsequent lower levels of school connectedness and more conduct problems. For Caucasian but not African American adolescents, witnessing violence also predicted later delinquency. Victimization was linked with lower school connectedness over time, and for boys but not girls also with more conduct problems. Only adolescent delinquency was associated with subsequent witnessing violence and victimization. This research was partially supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Grant No. R49–CCR418569.     

Exploring Associations Among African American Youths' Perceptions of Racial Fairness and School Engagement: Does Gender Matter?

In addition to experiencing race as a unique social milieu within school, gender may also provide an important context for African American students. The authors explored gender differences in associations between African American youths' perceptions of racial fairness and school engagement (behavioral, emotional, and cognitive). One hundred thirty-nine (72 girls, 67 boys) African American high schoolers were recruited from the southeastern region of the United States. Gender differences were found for neither perceptions of racial fairness nor emotional and cognitive engagement. Girls reported higher behavior engagement relative to boys. Also, racial fairness was positively associated with emotional engagement among girls. For boys, racial fairness related positively to the three engagement dimensions. Implications and resources relevant for school psychology practice are discussed.     

African American and Latina Adolescent Mothers’ and their Children’s Fathers’ Reports of Coparenting and Child Behavior Problems: Child Gender as a Moderator

Coparenting, the way that parents work together in their roles to parent children, has emerged as an important area for prevention and intervention. Though research indicates that low coparenting quality is associated with increased externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in children, the existing literature is not inclusive of families diverse in sociocultural identity and structure. We examined the link between coparenting and externalizing and internalizing behavior problems and tested the moderating effect of child gender on the relationship between coparenting and child behavior problems in two-year-old children of African American and Latina adolescent mothers. One hundred and thirty five parents (69 mothers and 66 fathers) completed self-report measures of coparenting and child behavior problems when their children were two years old. While we did not find support for a direct association between coparenting quality and child behavior problems, child gender did moderate the association between mother’s report of coparenting quality and both externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. High coparenting quality was associated with lower levels of externalizing behavior problems in girls and higher levels of externalizing behavior problems in boys. High quality coparenting was associated with lower levels of internalizing behavior problems in girls, but there was no difference for boys. Though the results for boys were mixed, our findings for girls suggest that high quality coparenting may be a protective factor for the development of both internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Antecedents of toddler gender segregation: Cognitive consonance,gender-typed toy preferences and behavioral compatibility

This study examined 3 possible antecedents of toddler gender segregation: segregating children were hypothesized to exhibit more gender awareness, gender-typed toy preferences, and gender-typed compatible play styles than their non-segregating peers. Fifty-seven, primarily White, toddlers (28 males, 29 females) with a mean age of 35 months were observed in free play to determine their degree of same-gender peer preferences and gender-typed toy preferences. Teacher ratings of the children's play styles, and the children's knowledge of gender identity, and gender role awareness were also examined. Forty-two (21% of males and 62% of females) children played with same-gender peers at above chance levels during free play, with more girls segregating than boys. There were no differences between gender segregating and non-segregating children regarding gender-typed toy preferences or gender awareness. There were differences in teachers' ratings such that the gender segregating girls were seen as the most socially sensitive, and gender segregating boys were seen as more active and disruptive then the other children. These findings are interpreted as providing support for the compatible play style explanation of gender segregation, but the gender awareness and gender-typed toy preference hypotheses were not supported.This research was partially supported by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Counsel of Canada and the Fonds Pour la Formation de Chercheures et L'aide a la Recherche of the Ministry of Education of Quebec.The authors would like to thank the staff, students and parents of the Rainbow Preschool and the St. Andrews Preschool for their cooperation, and also, Judi Gulko, Wendy Seifert, Lisa Bedard, Sharon McKeown, Ina Grey, Lorrie Sippola, and Ivan Fernandez for their help in collecting and coding the data. Kim Powlishta also provided helpful insights regarding statistical analyses. Also, we would like to thank the anonymous reviewer for helpful comments.     

It's about timing and change: pubertal transition effects on symptoms of major depression among African American youths

Effects of early physical maturation and accelerated pubertal changes on symptoms of major depression were examined in 639 African American children. Three rival hypotheses, early timing, off-time, and stressful change, were tested using 2 waves of data (mean ages = 11 and 13 years). The pubertal effect operates differently according to children's gender and age. For girls, early maturation was consistently associated with elevated levels of depressive symptoms. For boys, early maturers manifested elevated levels of depression only at age 11, but these symptoms subsided by age 13. Boys who experienced accelerated pubertal growth over time displayed elevated symptom levels. Results support the early timing hypothesis for girls and the stressful change hypothesis for boys. Time at assessment is critical when examining boys' pubertal transition.     

Girls Not Boys Show Gender-Connotation Encoding from Print

The present study examines gender differences in children's encoding of gender-connotation from words. The release from proactive interference method was used to measure gender-connotation encoding. Forty-eight third-grade children attending a public elementary school serving a predominantly White middle-socioeconomic-status community participated and were presented with stimulus words in print. The design of the study can be characterized as a two (gender) by two (condition: control vs. experimental) by four (trials) factorial. Results revealed reliable proactive interference buildup and release for gender-connotation for girls, but not for boys. This new finding, taken together with extant research, demonstrates that while both boys and girls have the ability to encode gender-connotation from aurally presented words, the spontaneous activation of gender-connotation attributes with print is not guaranteed for boys.     

Physical fitness of South African primary school children, 6 to 13 years of age: discovery vitality health of the nation study

Basic physical fitness was measured using 8 different measures for 10,295 South African children and youths (5,611 boys, 4,684 girls) ages 6 to 13 years. These measurements included height, weight, Body Mass Index, standing long jump, shuttle run, sit-and-reach, sit-up (EUROFIT testing battery), and cricket ball throw scores. Due to the effects of earlier apartheid laws on separating communities, it was hypothesized that scores for different ethnic groups may differ. Therefore, in addition to the calculation of basic norms and sex differences, ethnic differences were also tested. Height and weight, relative to age, were different between the various ethnic groups (Black, White, and Mixed ancestry) for boys, with Black boys being shorter and lighter than White boys. There were no differences in sit-and-reach flexibility scores between the groups. With the exception of the cricket ball throw for girls, White children had higher scores in most tests. Although not significantly different from the White children, in the majority of cases, the children of mixed ancestral origin had scores that ranged between the other two ethnic groups. These results suggest a need for encouraging fitness in school children, and the reintroduction of formal physical education into the South African school curriculum, especially into schools in which Black children predominate.     

Body Size Beliefs and Weight Concerns Among Mothers and Their Adolescent Children

African American and White mother/adolescent pairs were examined for familial associations in body size and weight concerns. Mothers' and adolescents' estimates of adolescents' body mass index (BMI) were significantly correlated. Compared to boys, girls had greater body dissatisfaction, higher weight concerns, and perceived higher family/friend weight concerns. By race, White adolescents had more body dissatisfaction and greater concern about weight than African American adolescents. Four items explained 70.4% of the variance in adolescents' weight concern scores: adolescents' weight management practices, mothers' reports of adolescents' saying they were too fat, adolescents' perceptions of family/friends' weight concerns, and adolescents' body dissatisfaction. Our study suggests White girls are more concerned about their weight and perceive greater weight and dieting concerns among family/friends than African American girls.     

From Fathers to Sons: The Intergenerational Transmission of Parenting Behavior among African American Young Men

This study examined the intergenerational transmission of fathering among young, African American fathers in rural communities. A sample of 132 African American young men living in the rural South reported on the quality of their relationship with their biological and social fathers in the family of origin, their own involvement with their young children, and relational schemas of close, intimate relationships. Results of path analyses supported the hypothesized mediational model, such that a better relationship with one's biological (but not social) father predicted increased father involvement in the next generation, and this association was partially mediated through positive relational schema after controlling for a range of covariates. Tests of moderated mediation indicated that the link between relational schema and father involvement was significantly stronger among fathers of girls than fathers of boys. Findings highlight the unique influence of close, nurturing father–child relationships for downstream father involvement, and the role of relational schemas as a mechanism for intergenerational transmission among young, rural, African American fathers of girls.     

Racial Discrimination and African American Adolescents’ Adjustment: Gender Variation in Family and Community Social Support, Promotive and Protective Factors

The current investigation explores the promotive and protective role of family and community-specific social support on the association between perceived racial discrimination and African American adolescents’ adjustment (e.g., depressive symptoms, school suspensions, school engagement). One thousand nine-hundred forty-two African American adolescents (ages 12–18, M = 15.12; SD = 1.83; 59 % female) from a large Midwestern city participated in this investigation. Regression analyses revealed that perceived racial discrimination was associated with less positive adjustment outcomes for boys and girls. Additionally, there was partial support for gender variation in the promotive role of social support and adolescent adjustment. In particular, while only maternal support was associated with boys’ adjustment, both maternal and paternal support was associated with girls’ adjustment. Also, there was partial support for gender differentiation in the strength and directionality of protective factors. Though in an unpredicted direction, father support moderated the relationship between perceived racial discrimination and girls’ adjustment. Community supports (religious connection and mentor presence) emerged as protective factors for boys’. Findings highlight the role of gender in understanding potential promotive and protective factors for African American adolescents.     

Children's sleep and cognitive performance: a cross-domain analysis of change over time

Relations between changes in children's cognitive performance and changes in sleep problems were examined over a 3-year period, and family socioeconomic status, child race/ethnicity, and gender were assessed as moderators of these associations. Participants were 250 second- and third-grade (8-9 years old at Time 1) boys and girls. At each assessment, children's cognitive performance (Verbal Comprehension, Decision Speed) was measured using the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities, and sleep problems (Sleepiness, Sleep/Wake Problems) were collected via self-report. Individual growth models revealed that children who reported increases in Sleepiness exhibited little growth in Verbal Comprehension over time compared with their peers who reported decreases in Sleepiness, resulting in a nearly 11-point cognitive deficit by the end of the study. These associations were not found for Sleep/Wake Problems or Decision Speed. Child race/ethnicity and gender moderated these associations, with Sleepiness serving as a vulnerability factor for poor cognitive outcomes, especially among African American children and girls. Differences in cognitive performance for children with high and low Sleepiness trajectories ranged from 16 to 19 points for African American children and from 11 to 19 points for girls. Results build substantially on existing literature examining associations between sleep and cognitive functioning in children and are the first to demonstrate that children's sleep trajectories over 3 waves were associated with changes in their cognitive performance over time.     

Attitude towards women of gender schematic vs aschematic individuals

After the fourfold gender typology (1970s), a dual model--gender schematic versus aschematic individuals--emerged in the 1980s. In this research, the relationship between gender schemas and attitudes towards women's rights were tested. Two studies were carried out (2001 and 2009) with adolescents (boys and girls) from 12 to 14 years old, with 359 participants in 2001 and 224 in 2009, using two instruments: the Bem Sex Role Inventory and the Attitudes Towards Women Scale. Factor analysis and ANOVAs were carried out. The results of both studies supported the hypothesis that girls maintain more favourable attitudes about themselves than boys do. Both studies supported the hypothesis that feminine and androgynous individuals display similar attitudes towards women, but they differ from the other gender categories. Masculine boys and feminine girls did not show differences in attitudes towards women in comparison to aschematic or cross-gendered adolescents. Inconsistent results were found between studies regarding the hypothesized differences between typical and atypical schematics in attitudes towards women, as well as between undifferentiated and gender schematic individuals. The implications of these results for the instruments used, as well as for theories, are considered.     

The Role of Parents and Peers in Early Adolescent Substance Use: An Examination of Mediating and Moderating Effects

We examined several models representing the relations among parenting practices, family structure, peer pressure, and drug use in a sample of 443 seventh graders. The setting was an urban school system serving a high percentage of African American students from low-income families. Analyses using structural equation modeling supported a mediation model in which both peer pressure and parenting practices had direct effects on drug use, with peer pressure mediating the influence of parenting. Within this model, family structure had a significant direct effect on parenting, however, contrary to hypotheses, children from two-parent families were more likely to report that they received adequate parenting than were children from single-parent extended families. Several gender differences were also found. Peer pressure was more highly related to drug use for girls than for boys, and the relation between parenting and peer pressure was stronger for boys. Examination of a model that included moderator effects revealed that the relation between peer pressure and drug use increased as a function of poor parenting. Results of our study underscore the importance of drug prevention efforts focused on parenting practices.     

Body esteem and body fat in British school children from different ethnic groups

The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between body esteem and body fat in British school children. Two hundred and seventy seven, 11–14-year-old children from central England took part in the study. Body esteem was measured using the Body Esteem Scale for children and percent body fat was determined by skin-fold measures. Results indicate that body esteem and adiposity were negatively related for the whole sample, for boys and girls and for White children, Black children and Asian children. Factorial ANOVA also indicated differences in body esteem according to gender and ethnicity. Boys and Black children had significantly higher body esteem than girls and Asian children respectively. Differences in body fat were also evident according to gender with boys being leaner than girls. No differences in body esteem or body fat were evident across school years.     

ANGER AND DEPRESSION IN GIRLS AND BOYS A Study of Gender Differences

A growing body of literature supports the link between anger suppression and depression and females'greater likelihood than males of demonstrating both. Anger suppression was hypothesized to be involved in the development of gendered identity for girls, specifically by rendering girls more likely to experience depression. Employing an ethnically diverse sample of public school children, differences between fifth through ninth grade girls and boys in anger suppression and depression were investigated using self-report data. Results supported the hypothesis that girls suppress anger at higher rates than boys but not the related hypothesis that this suppression results in higher levels of depression. Age was not related to either anger suppression or depression, and no significant relationship was found between suppressed anger and depression for either sex. The impact of girls'anger suppression on their emotional and gender development is discussed.