Implicit and Self-Attributed Dependency Needs in Homeless Men and Women

Recent metaanalyses indicate that women consistently obtain higher scores than men do on self-report dependency measures, but not on projective dependency tests (R. F. Bornstein, 1995, 1996). To explore this issue in a heretofore unexamined population, we analyzed archival data from 85 homeless participants (40 women and 45 men) enrolled in a vocational rehabilitation program, using the MMPI Dependency (Dy) Scale (L. Navran, 1954) and the Rorschach Oral Dependency (ROD) Scale (J. M. Masling, L. Rabie, & S. H. Blondheim, 1967). Consistent with earlier results, there were no gender differences in projective dependency scores, but contrary to earlier results, there were also no gender differences in self-reports of dependency. These findings suggest that stressful conditions like homelessness may mitigate the impact of gender on self-reported dependency.     

Interpersonal Dependency Among Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse in Therapy

ABSTRACT

This study investigated dependency in survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). The Interpersonal Dependency Inventory (IDI) was administered at intake to 24 men and 85 women seen in therapy at a university-based community mental health clinic. In contrast to findings from earlier studies, no significant gender differences were obtained for IDI whole-scale or subscale scores. Analyses comparing CSA IDI scores with the IDI scores of previously studied groups indicated that among women, CSA survivors obtained higher dependency scores than non-CSA psychiatric patients, community adults, and college students. Findings for men were less consistent. Follow-up analyses revealed that commonly investigated CSA characteristics were unrelated to survivors' dependency scores. Implications of these findings for future research and clinical practice are explored.     

Gambling as a function of gender and Sensation Seeking

This study examined the relation of gender and Sensation Seeking (SS) Scale scores to undergraduates' ratings of their past/present and expected future participation in four leisure activities that usually involve betting money. Subjects completed McKeachnie's (1975) Leisure Activities Blank (LAB), which included the gambling items, and Zuckerman's (1979) SS Scale. Men reported significantly more past/present leisure gambling than women; gender differences were insignificant in ratings of expected future gambling. No significant differences in reported past/present gambling related to any SS scale score. However, expected future gambling ratings were associated with scores on two SS subscales: Disinhibition (DIS) and Boredom Susceptibility (BS). Both male and female subjects with high DIS scores rated the frequency of expected future gambling higher than did subjects with low DIS scores. High BS scores were associated with high ratings of expected future gambling in the data for women subjects only. These results suggest that personality factors, among them SS, are more influential than early experience or sex-role socialization in determining a young adult's interest in gambling.     

Assessing Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men: The Modern Homophobia Scale

The authors developed the Modern Homophobia Scale (MHS), a scale that includes measures of attitudes toward lesbians (MHS-L) and attitudes toward gay men (MHS-G). An initial pool of 97 items was generated by the authors based on a review of the literature on homophobia and feedback from several focus groups. Responses to the initial pool of items were factor analyzed. The final versions of the MHS-L and the MHS-G included items reflecting the following factors: Personal Discomfort with lesbians/gay men, Institutional Homophobia toward lesbians/gay men, and the Deviance/Changeability of female/male homosexuality. Although the Personal Discomfort, Institutional, and Deviance/Changeability factors were separable, they were highly correlated and showed little evidence of divergent validity. Reactions to gay, lesbian, and heterosexual characters in written vignettes provided initial support for the validity of the MHS. Both the MHS-L and MHS-G were significantly correlated with the Index of Homophobia and the Attitudes Toward Women Scale. A greater degree of homophobia on the MHS-L and MHS-G was associated with a greater degree of socially desirable responding as measured by the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding. Lower levels of homophobia on the MHS-L and MHS-G were associated with having lesbian and gay acquaintances and friends. On the MHS-L, men and women did not differ in their overall level of homophobia toward lesbians, but significant gender differences on MHS-L factor scores were present. Compared to men, women were more supportive of gay men on all three factors of the MHS-G.     

Working conditions, social support, and the well-being of female and male factory workers

Previous research on the effects of working conditions on well-being typically has focused on men; the few studies including women have compared men and women in different work settings. We analyze the effects of four kinds of working conditions--job demands, job deprivations and rewards, physical environment, and work-related social support--on the well-being of female and male factory workers in similar jobs. We also test for buffering (interaction) effects of social support (from co-workers, supervisors, and company programs) on relations between working conditions and well-being. All types of working conditions affect well-being, but there are almost no gender differences in the effects of working conditions on well-being. Although work-related social support promotes well-being among both women and men, it does not (at least as measured here) buffer effects of other stressful working conditions. In general, the results indicate considerable gender similarity in the processes through which the job affects well-being.     

Framing effects and gender differences in voluntary public goods provision experiments

We examine whether there are any systematic gender differences in voluntary public goods provision experiments under the two different framing conditions—the positive-frame and the negative-frame. We find that: (1) there are significant framing effects in their contribution rates for both men and women; (2) there is no significant gender difference in their contribution rates under the positive-frame and (3) there is a significant gender difference in their contribution rates under the negative-frame. In fact, women are more generous in their contribution than men under the negative-frame.     

Gender-based expectancies and observer judgments of smiling

Beliefs about gender differences in smiling were measured by asking college students to rate how much they believed hypothetical women and men smile. Women were believed to smile more than men. Individual differences in this belief did not affect subsequent scoring of smiles, whether scored by counting the number of smiles exhibited by videotaped male and female targets or by rating the amount of smiling exhibited. An expectation about gender differences in smiling was experimentally induced, either that women smile more than men or that there is no gender difference in smiling. This expectation did not affect subsequent scoring of smiles, regardless of scoring method and regardless of whether the expectation was induced as a casual aside or in more formal instructions. In all conditions female targets were observed to smile more than male targets. Rating produced larger target gender effects than counting, but this could have been due to the nature of the rating process rather than observer bias.The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Thomas Leahy and Joe Pieri in data collection, and of Cliff Brown and an anonymous reviewer for their comments on an earlier version of this paper. Miles Patterson served as Action Editor for this article.     

Modernization and the gender gap in religiosity: Evidence from cross-national European surveys

The tendency of women to be more religious than men has been widely observed. Many theories have been offered to account for this difference, with explanations ranging from the biological to the sociological; no consensus on the explanation has been reached. Using data from the European Social Survey, the European Values Study and the International Social Survey Programme, in conjunction with a new method for measuring the gender gap, we compare different countries, generations and periods in Europe to address three key questions: (1) How much do the differences between men and women depend on what indicator of religiosity (e.g. affiliation, attendance, prayer, belief) is being considered? (2) Is there an association at the national level between the size of the gender gap and the degree of secularization or gender equality? (3) Is there a convergence in the religiosity of men and women across generations or over time? There is some evidence for such a narrowing of the gap in Europe—most noticeably in southern and Eastern Europe—but substantial differences persist. Even in countries that are comparatively secular and where gender inequality has been much reduced, women are considerably more likely than men to identify with a religion, to call themselves religious, and to participate in public and private religious activities.     

Gender Differences for Specific Body Regions When Looking at Men and Women

The goal of the present study was to provide first evidence for gender differences in gaze patterns while looking at the body of men and women. For this purpose participants were exposed to 30 pictures of 15 male and 15 female models in casual clothing. The individual scan paths were recorded using an eye-tracker. The results show that both male and female observers primarily gaze at people’s face. Only after this initial face-scan, men look significantly earlier and longer at women’s breasts, while women look earlier at men’s legs. These observations uncover important aspects of the pattern of the human gaze at others and particularly reveal important gender differences.     

Examining the Absence of a Gender Effect on Abortion Attitudes: Is There Really No Difference?

Earlier research on attitudes toward abortion has found little or no difference between men and women. To the limited extent that there is any gender effect, men are slightly more inclined than women to be prochoice (e.g., Cook, Jelen, and Wilcox 1992). Women, however, have been found to regard the issue as more important (Scott and Schuman 1988). The present study uses General Social Survey data from 1972 through 1994 to further explore gender and attitudes toward abortion. We find that within three marital statuses–single, married, widowed–men are somewhat more supportive of abortion rights but that women consider the issue to be more important and have clearer but not necessarily stronger attitudes than men. When differences in workforce participation are controlled, the sex effect is reversed, with women being more prochoice than men. Although significantly related to abortion attitudes, race, marital status, and religious identity are not relevant to this reversal in the sex effect.     

Early Women,Late Men: Timing Attitudes and Gender Differences in Marriage

Around the world, women marry earlier than men, but it is not well understood why this gender gap exists. Using panel data collected in Nepal, the authors investigate whether attitudes about marital timing held by unmarried youth and their parents account for women marrying earlier than men. They also examine whether the influence of timing attitudes differs by gender. On average, unmarried youth and their parents viewed 20 to 25 as acceptable ages for women to marry, whereas ages 23 to 30 were appropriate for men. In turn, women entering the acceptable marriage age range earlier than men accounted for a third of the gender gap in marital timing. The influence of youth and parents' timing attitudes did differ by gender, but only at the extreme. When they were much too young for marriage, both genders were less likely to marry, but this dampening effect was substantially larger for women.     

Role Conflict and Self‐Efficacy Among Employed Parents: Examining Complex Statistical Interactions

In response to growing concerns with explaining how work and family interfere with each other and with statistical approaches that do not capture the way in which predictors interact, this study tested statistical interactions involving personal and social resources of 410 full‐time employed women and men. The results indicate that self‐efficacy is a strong predictor of family interfering with work (FIW) and work interfering with family (WIF). Gender moderates the relation between supervisor support and WIF moderates the impact of efficacy beliefs and instrumental support at home on FIW. Specifically, while supervisor support is negatively related to WIF in women and men, high levels of support more strongly affected men's perceptions of WIF. In low self‐efficacy men, high levels of support at home improved their perceptions of FIW but these perceptions worsened in women. These findings contrast with earlier research that focus predominantly on the predictive value of structural demands (for example, the number of hours worked per week and family size). This study shows that gender plays a critical yet intricate role as a predictor of the successful management of work and family roles: it is not gender per se but its interaction with personal and social variables that informs us about differences in the experience of employed parents.     

Beliefs About Others’ Perceptions—Gender Typicality: Scale Development and Relationships to Gender Nonconformity,Sexual Orientation,and Well-Being

The purpose of this study was to develop a measure of “other-perceived” gender typicality and test its relationship with gender nonconformity, sexual orientation, and psychological distress. Data on these variables were collected from 632 participants (142 heterosexual men, 77 gay men, 50 bisexual men, 174 heterosexual women, 85 lesbian women, and 104 bisexual women). We designed a Beliefs About Others’ Perceptions—Gender Typicality (BOP-GT) scale on which participants reported how masculine or feminine they thought other people perceived their gendered behavior, interests, appearance, and activities. Factor analysis identified five factors: appearance, emotional response, sporting interests, occupational interests, and interpersonal style. Recalled childhood gender nonconformity (CGN) was significantly associated with each BOP-GT subscale. Heterosexual men rated that other people perceived them to be more masculine scoring on the BOP-GT compared to heterosexual women. Gay men and lesbian women showed cross-sexed patterns on the BOP-GT total scale, appearance, emotional response, and sporting interests scores. Bisexual men and women were generally no different from the other male and female groups, respectively. Bisexual women had greater distress scores, and the BOP-GT emotional response subscale was associated with somewhat greater distress scores. The BOP-GT measure may have use in future research on understanding gendered self-concepts.     

Factors that Influence Body Dissatisfaction: Comparisons across Culture and Gender

This study examined the relationship between attachment style, differentiation of self, and body dissatisfaction across culture and gender. The sample consisted of 115 Caucasians (85 females, 29 males) with a mean age of 22.2 years (SD = 5.81) and 119 Chinese individuals (93 females, 26 males) with a mean age of 22.8 years (SD = 2.35). Participants completed online self-report measures of body satisfaction, attachment style, and differentiation of self. Results indicated that high attachment anxiety and less differentiation of self were associated with lower body satisfaction for women but not for men of either cultural group. There were no significant cultural or gender differences in terms of overall body satisfaction; however, there were differences with regard to preoccupation with weight and self-perceived weight. It was concluded that culture had little impact on body dissatisfaction in the present sample but that the factors that shape body dissatisfaction differed by gender.     

Explaining the Gender Gap in British Public Opinion

The gender gap in British public opinion is explored using data from the 1983 British Election Study. Differences in opinions between men and women are examined in light of three explanations frequently offered to explain gender differences in political behavior: socialization, situational factors such as employment and marital status, and structural factors. Findings indicate that there appears to be no major gender gap on basic ideology, but that women are more liberal than men on issues relating to force, the environment, and women's issues and more conservative on morality issues.     

Gender and social conformity: Do men and women respond differently to social pressure to vote?

In this paper, we re-analyze data from a large-scale field experiment (N = 344,084) on voter turnout in order to determine whether men and women respond differently to social pressure aimed at voter mobilization. To date, there have been mixed results regarding the interaction between a person’s gender and receptivity to social influence. On the whole, our analyses confirm prior findings that social pressure increases voter turnout but uncover little to no evidence of gender differences in receptivity to social pressure cues in the context of political participation.     

Effects of social desirability on students' self-reporting of partner abuse perpetration and victimization

Little is still known about the degree to which social desirability affects reports of partner abuse. The current study builds on existing research exploring the relationship between social desirability and partner abuse reports by analyzing 49 male and 155 female students' responses to the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2) and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MCSDS). Sex differences were not associated with partner abuse rates, regardless of type, severity, and violence role. Women had significantly higher social desirability scores than men, and women's MCSDS scores were negatively correlated with partner abuse perpetration and victimization rates. Social desirability was a significant predictor of psychological abuse perpetration, whereas gender was a significant predictor of sexual coercion perpetration. In all partner abuse cases, however, social desirability and gender accounted for less than 10% of the variance in partner abuse reports.     

Are there differences in gender,race, and age regarding body dissatisfaction?

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine any differences that may exist among demographic variables such as gender, age, and race in regard to internalization of society and media messages leading to body dissatisfaction that may lead to disordered eating behaviors such as preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint. A total of 324 participants completed the demographic questionnaire, the Multidimensional Body Self Relations Questionnaire, the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire for women, the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-Revised-Male-Version for men, and Rotter’s Internal-External (I-E) Locus of Control Scale. The results of this study found, as predicted, that Caucasians reported higher internalization, higher body dissatisfaction, and higher preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint than African Americans. This study showed no differences regarding men’s and women’s internalization or body dissatisfaction but did reveal that women reported higher preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint than men. Regarding age, this study found that age did not predict internalization, body dissatisfaction, or preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint.     

The Effectiveness of the Strength‐Centered Career Adjustment Model for Dual‐Career Women in Taiwan

The authors investigated the effectiveness of a Strength‐Centered Career Adjustment Model for dual‐career women (N = 28). Fourteen women in the experimental group received strength‐centered career counseling for 6 to 8 sessions; the 14 women in the control group received test services in 1 to 2 sessions. All participants completed the Personal Growth Initiative Scale (PGIS), Job Satisfaction Inventory (JSI), and Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) before and after the counseling sessions or test services. Analysis of covariance indicated that there were significant differences between the scores of the experimental and the control group on the PGIS and SWLS but not on the JSI.     

Dispositional Affect and Career Barriers: The Moderating Roles of Gender and Coping

This study examined whether gender and coping efficacy for career barriers moderated the relationship between both positive and negative dispositional affect and perceptions of career barriers. The sample included 294 undergraduate students (195 women, 99 men) from a large, midwestern university. Gender and coping efficacy did not moderate the relationship between negative dispositional affect and perceptions of career barriers. Coping efficacy for career barriers did moderate the relationship between positive dispositional affect and perceptions of career barriers for both women and men in different directions. When investigating women separately, the results revealed a weakening of the negative beta weight between positive affect and perception of career barriers as coping scores increased. An opposite effect was found for men; there was a reduction of the positive beta weight between positive affect and perception of career barriers as coping scores increased. Interventions to address perceptions of career barriers based on gender and dispositional affect are discussed.