Psychometric Properties of the French Version of the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence for Young Children (PMSC)

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of a French version of the pictorial scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence for Young Children (PMSC), which is aligned with the third version of the Test of Gross Motor Development.MethodA sample of 219 French-speaking Canadian children (5 to 12 years old) participated in this study.ResultsResults supported the factor validity and reliability of a 13-item version of the PMSC encompassing two factors (i.e., ball skills and locomotor skills). Subsequent analyses supported the weak, partial strong, and partial strict invariance of responses to the PMSC as a function of sex. Additionally, analyses revealed that boys displayed significantly higher perceived ball skill competence than girls. Results also supported a lack of differential item functioning (DIF) and latent mean differences as a function of body mass index and physical activity/sport involvement, but revealed evidence of DIF and latent mean differences as a function of age. More precisely, these results show that older children displayed significantly: (a) higher scores on the sliding item and lower scores on the kicking item relative to younger children; and (b) lower scores on perceived locomotor skills competence than younger children.ConclusionOverall, results suggest that the French version of the PMSC has acceptable psychometric properties and can be confidently used in research or practice to assess children's perceived movement skill competence.     

Sulcal morphology and volume of Broca's area linked to handedness and sex

We investigated the effect of handedness and sex on: (i) sulcal contours defining PO and PTR and (ii) volume estimates of PO and PTR subfields in 40 left- and 42 right-handers. Results show an effect of handedness on discontinuity of the inferior frontal sulcus (IFS: P < 0.01). Discontinuity of IFS was observed in: 43% left- and 62% right hemispheres in right-handers and in 65% left- and 48% right-hemispheres in left-handers. PO volume asymmetry was rightward in left-handed males (P = 0.007) and females (P = 0.02), showed a leftward trend in right-handed males (P = 0.06), and was non-asymmetrical in right-handed females (P = 0.96, i.e. left- and right-hemisphere PO volumes did not differ significantly). PO volume asymmetry in males differed significantly between handedness groups (P = 0.001). Findings indicate a high degree of variability in the sulcal contours of PO and PTR and volume asymmetry of PO: the factors sex and handedness can explain some of this variability.     

Menstrual cycle-related changes of functional cerebral asymmetries in fine motor coordination

Fluctuating sex hormone levels during the menstrual cycle have been shown to affect functional cerebral asymmetries in cognitive domains. These effects seem to result from the neuromodulatory properties of sex hormones and their metabolites on interhemispheric processing. The present study was carried out to investigate whether functional cerebral asymmetries in fine motor coordination as reflected by manual asymmetries are also susceptible to natural sex hormonal variations during the menstrual cycle. Sixteen right-handed women with a regular menstrual cycle performed a finger tapping paradigm consisting of two conditions (simple, sequential) during the low hormone menstrual phase and the high estrogen and progesterone luteal phase. To validate the luteal phase, saliva levels of free progesterone (P) were analysed using chemiluminescence assays. As expected, normally cycling women showed a substantial decrease in manual asymmetries in a more demanding sequential tapping condition involving four fingers compared with simple (repetitive) finger tapping. This reduction in the degree of dominant (right) hand manual asymmetries was evident during the luteal phase. During the menstrual phase, however, manual asymmetries were even reversed in direction, indicating a slight advantage in favour of the non-dominant (left) hand. These findings suggest that functional cerebral asymmetries in fine motor coordination are affected by sex hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle, probably via hormonal modulations of interhemispheric interaction.     

Sex differences in the ability to recognise non-verbal displays of emotion: A meta-analysis

The present study aimed to quantify the magnitude of sex differences in humans' ability to accurately recognise non-verbal emotional displays. Studies of relevance were those that required explicit labelling of discrete emotions presented in the visual and/or auditory modality. A final set of 551 effect sizes from 215 samples was included in a multilevel meta-analysis. The results showed a small overall advantage in favour of females on emotion recognition tasks (d = 0.19). However, the magnitude of that sex difference was moderated by several factors, namely specific emotion, emotion type (negative, positive), sex of the actor, sensory modality (visual, audio, audio-visual) and age of the participants. Method of presentation (computer, slides, print, etc.), type of measurement (response time, accuracy) and year of publication did not significantly contribute to variance in effect sizes. These findings are discussed in the context of social and biological explanations of sex differences in emotion recognition.     

Sex differences in scanning faces: Does attention to the eyes explain female superiority in facial expression recognition?

Previous meta-analyses support a female advantage in decoding non-verbal emotion (Hall, 1978, 1984), yet the mechanisms underlying this advantage are not understood. The present study examined whether the female advantage is related to greater female attention to the eyes. Eye-tracking techniques were used to measure attention to the eyes in 19 males and 20 females during a facial expression recognition task. Women were faster and more accurate in their expression recognition compared with men, and women looked more at the eyes than men. Positive relationships were observed between dwell time and number of fixations to the eyes and both accuracy of facial expression recognition and speed of facial expression recognition. These results support the hypothesis that the female advantage in facial expression recognition is related to greater female attention to the eyes.     

Sex differences in cognition in healthy elderly individuals

ABSTRACT

Sex differences in patterns of cognitive test performance have been attributed to factors, such as sex hormones or sexual dimorphisms in brain structure, that change with normal aging. The current study examined sex differences in patterns of cognitive test performance in healthy elderly individuals. Cognitive test scores of 957 men and women (age 67–89), matched for overall level of cognitive test performance, age, education, and depression scale score, were compared. Men and women were indistinguishable on tests of auditory divided attention, category fluency, and executive functioning. In contrast, women performed better than men on tests of psychomotor speed and verbal learning and memory, whereas men outperformed women on tests of visuoconstruction and visual perception. Our finding that the pattern of sex differences in cognition observed in young adults is observed in old age has implications for future studies of both healthy elderly individuals and of those with cognitive disorders.     

A sociocultural framework for understanding partner preferences of women and men: Integration of concepts and evidence

In the current sociocultural framework for understanding mating preferences, we propose that gender roles affect sex differences and similarities in mate preferences. Gender roles, in turn, are shaped by the unequal division of labour between women and men. As a consequence, mating preferences and choices should converge across the sexes as the weakening of this division puts the sexes in more similar social roles in their societies. To evaluate these assumptions, we review relevant findings from three domains that show variability in gender roles: (a) cross-cultural variability related to differences in societies’ division of labour, (b) historical variability related to temporal changes in the division of labour, and (c) individual variability in gender attitudes that reflects the gradual and uneven spread of shifts toward gender equality throughout each society. The bringing together of multiple lines of evidence puts the sociocultural framework on a new and more secure foundation.     

Relationships between non-pathological dream-enactment and mirror behaviors

Dream-enacting behaviors (DEBs) are behavioral expressions of forceful dream images often occurring during sleep-to-wakefulness transitions. We propose that DEBs reflect brain activity underlying social cognition, in particular, motor-affective resonance generated by the mirror neuron system. We developed a Mirror Behavior Questionnaire (MBQ) to assess some dimensions of mirror behaviors and investigated relationships between MBQ scores and DEBs in a large of university undergraduate cohort. MBQ scores were normally distributed and described by a four-factor structure (Empathy/Emotional Contagion, BehavioralImitation, Sleepiness/Anger Contagion, Motor Skill Imitation). DEB scores correlated positively with MBQ total and factor scores even with social desirability, somnambulism and somniloquy controlled. Emotion-specific DEB items correlated with corresponding emotion-specific MBQ items, especially crying and smiling. Results provide preliminary evidence for cross-state relationships between propensities for dream-enacting and mirror behaviors—especially behaviors involving motor-affective resonance—and our suggestion that motor-affective resonance mediates dream-enactment imagery during sleep and emotional empathy during waking.     

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.     

A Systems Approach to Sex Therapy with Gay Male Couples

SUMMARY

Sex therapy with gay male couples is difficult for many family and relationship therapists. Family therapists lack knowledge of the nature of sex therapy, gay male culture and sexuality, the dynamics of gay male couples, and the sexual issues gay male couples are likely to bring to sex therapy. Countertransference also makes sex therapy with gay male couples difficult for some family and relationship therapists. This paper addresses those issues and then explains a systems approach to sex therapy with gay male couples.