Consistent Gender Difference Research Articles

The Impact of Gender in Learning With Games

There is an established gender gap in middle school math education, where female students report higher anxiety and lower engagement, which negatively impact their performance and even long-term career choices. This work investigates the role of digital learning games in addressing this issue by studying Decimal Point, a math game that teaches decimal numbers and operations to 5th and 6th graders. Through data from four published studies of Decimal Point, involving 624 students in total, the authors identified a consistent gender difference that was replicated across all studies – male students tended to do better at pretest, while female students tended to learn more from the game. In addition, female students were more careful in answering self-explanation questions, which significantly mediated the relationship between gender and learning gains in two out of four studies. These findings show that learning games can be an effective tool for bridging the gender gap in middle school math education, which in turn contributes to the development of more personalized and inclusive learning platforms.

Gender differences in walking (for leisure, transport and in total) across adult life: a systematic review

BackgroundThe aim of this systematic review was to examine gender differences in walking for leisure, transport and in total in adults living in high-income countries, and to assess whether gender differences in walking practices change across the life-course.MethodsA systematic literature search was conducted of publications dated 1995 to 2015. Papers providing quantitative data on participation in walking of both men and women aged at least 18 years in a high-income country were screened for the quality of the data on gender differences in walking. Data were extracted and results were synthesised using forest plots and narrative summary.ResultsThirty-six studies were included in the review: 18 reported on walking for leisure, 16 on walking for transport (in total, or for particular purposes), and 14 on total walking. Most (33) studies provided data comparing the proportion of men and women who walked (at all or for a minimum duration) over a defined period, usually one week. There was consistent evidence that more women than men walk for leisure, although effect sizes were small. However, this effect varies by age: more younger women than younger men walk for leisure, but the gender difference diminishes with age and appears to reverse in the oldest age groups. Taking all ages together, there was no consistent gender difference in walking for transport or in total walking, although the small number of studies reporting on walking to undertake errands suggested that more women than men walk for this purpose.ConclusionsWhile there is little evidence that levels of total walking consistently vary by gender, our findings suggest that there are consistent gender differences in participation in walking for some purposes, including for leisure, and that there are gender differences in the impact of age on walking. We conclude that more research is needed to improve our understanding of how walking fits into the lives of women and men across the life-course, especially in relation to gender differences in the impact of aging on walking.Prospero registrationPROSPERO registration number: CRD42015025961.

Why Women Avoid the Radical Right: Internalized Norms and Party Reputations

Radical Right Parties (RRPs) consistently attract more male than female voters. Puzzlingly, there is no equally consistent gender difference in policy preferences on the main issues of these parties – immigration and minority integration policies. Indeed, in some countries, for instance the UK, women have as restrictive immigration policy preferences as men, but are still less likely to vote for RRPs. This article proposes a novel answer to this gender gap puzzle that emphasizes the normative conflicts about prejudice and discrimination that surround RRPs across Europe. It uses representative survey data to show, for the first time, that women are more likely than men to be motivated to control prejudice, and that this difference in motivations has political consequences. More specifically, the study demonstrates that the higher prevalence of internal motivation to control prejudice among women accounts for the gender gap in voting for RRPs that become trapped in conflicts over discrimination and prejudice. Voting patterns for RPPs that have been able to defuse normative concerns about prejudice, such as the Progress Party currently in government in Norway, are different.

Gender Difference in Academic Performance in SSCE Economics Subject among Senior Secondary School Students in Maiduguri Metropolis, Borno State, Nigeria

The study determined the gender difference in academic performance in SSCE economics subject among senor secondary school students from 2006 to 2010 sessions in Maiduguri Metropolis, Borno State, Nigeria. Two objectives were stated, two research questions were answered and two hypotheses were tested. Ex-post factor research design was used. The population of the study consisted of all senior secondary school students who offered economics SSS 111 in Maiduguri metropolis from 2006 to 2010 sessions and all available students who took economics subject in SSCE, WAEC and NECO from 2006 to 2010 academic sessions. A purposive sampling technique was used to select sample from twenty-eight co-education secondary schools. The total number used for the study was 50715. A total of 8699 students’ results were used for academic performance, 5679 male students and 3020 female students, results in WASSCE. While in SCCE, NECO the total results used was 9074 males results was 5491 and females was 3583 in economics for 2006 to 2010 sessions. Descriptive statistics of percentages was used to answer the research questions while t-test statistics was used to test the hypotheses. The results of the analysis revealed that male students in senior secondary schools in Maiduguri metropolis have better grades than their female counterpart in economics for 2006-2010 sessions. The results further showed that there was no significant gender difference in the academic performance of students in SSCE, WAEC and NECO in economics, while SSCE, WAEC and NECO for 2006/2007 session in economics for 2008 to 2010 sessions showed consistent significant gender difference in the academic performance of students in favour of male students. Based on the findings it was recommended that there should be public enlightenment by the government and non- governmental organisations (NGOS) to address the issue on the need for gender equality in public schools in terms of enrolment to have equal chance for female students to do well as their male counterpart in economics.

Gender aspects in postoperative pain.

Gender differences are well known in clinical pain and pain-related diseases. However, studies analyzing gender differences in postoperative pain yielded inconsistent finding. The aim of this review was to summarize recent findings on this matter. We found 58 recently published studies (September 2013-March 2015) assessing gender differences on patients undergoing various surgical procedures. Studies focusing on one type or one category of surgical procedures suggest that women report higher postoperative pain scores after thoracic, cardiac and neurosurgical procedures. However, gender differences after abdominal and orthopedic surgeries were inconsistent and after oral surgery inexistent. Studies including various surgical procedures indicate a more consistent gender difference, presumably because of the greater number of patients included. However, the net difference in almost every study was small. Women seem to be at higher risk to develop severe postoperative pain but gender differences seem to be small and of low clinical relevance. We argue that major confounders may explain discrepancies between studies. Large prospective studies and registry data assessing gender aspects including confounders need to be done in the future.

Intake of water and beverages of children and adolescents in 13 countries.

PurposeTo describe the intake of water and all other beverages in children and adolescents in 13 countries of three continents. MethodsData of 3611 children (4–9 years) and 8109 adolescents (10–17 years) were retrieved from 13 cross-sectional surveys (47 % males). In three countries, stratified cluster sampling design was applied to randomly recruit schools classes. A quota method was applied in the other countries to randomly recruit participants. Details on the intake of all fluid types were obtained with a fluid-specific record over 7 consecutive days. ResultsIn the total sample, the highest mean intakes were observed for water (738 ± 567 mL/day), followed by milk (212 ± 209 mL/day), regular soft beverages (RSB) (168 ± 290 mL/day) and juices (128 ± 228 mL/day). Patterns characterized by a high contribution of water, RSB or hot beverages to total fluid intake were identified among the countries with close geographical location. Adolescents had a significantly lower milk intake and higher intake of RSB and hot beverages than children in most countries. The most consistent gender difference observed was that in both age groups males reported a significantly higher RSB consumption than females.ConclusionOn average, water was the fluid consumed in the largest volume by children and adolescents, but the intake of the different fluid types varied substantially between countries. Since the RSB intake was as large, or even larger, than water intake in some countries, undertaking actions to improve fluid intake habits of children and adolescents are warranted.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00394-015-0955-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The Abortion Attitudes Paradox: Model Specification and Gender Differences

Rather unexpectedly, prior work has failed to find consistent gender differences in public support for legal abortion. Given that gender differences in public opinion emerge for a wide range of other issue areas, it seems paradoxical that there is no consistent gender difference on the issue of abortion. I propose that this failure to find a consistent gender difference is due to how abortion attitudes are modeled. Controlling for religiosity, which research has shown women to score higher on, results in a small and consistent gender gap in support for legal abortion with women more likely than men to support.

Empathic Concern and Perspective Taking: Linear and Quadratic Effects of Age Across the Adult Life Span

We investigated linear and quadratic effects of age on self-reported empathy in three large cross-sectional samples of American adults aged 18-90 years. Participants completed subscales of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1983), allowing us to independently assess an emotional component of empathy ("empathic concern") and a cognitive component of empathy ("perspective taking") across the adult life span. For both measures and in all three samples, we found evidence for an inverse-U-shaped pattern across age: Middle-aged adults reported higher empathy than both young adults and older adults. We also found a consistent gender difference: Women reported more empathy than men. We did not find systematic differences by ethnicity. However, neither gender nor ethnicity interacted with age effects. We discuss the inverse-U-shaped age pattern, in terms of aging versus cohort influences, and how it complements and extends the existing literature on empathy and age.

Is There True Gender Difference of Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Asia?: Author's Reply

TO THE EDITOR: We appreciate sincerely the interest of Dr. Jung on our paper on the Prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome: a community based study from Northern India.1 We do agree with the points raised by Dr. Jung. We limited the age group of participants between 18-64 years in this study. In elderly, the clinical features of colonic malignancy may mimic that of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and before making a diagnosis of IBS, one needs to do thorough investigations to exclude organic diseases including colon cancer especially once the symptoms are of recent origin. IBS is more common in women than in men in many Western countries. No consistent gender difference however has been observed in the community based studies from Asia.2 A clear male predominance is observed in patients with IBS in hospital based studies. In male dominant society, health seeking behavior of males is probably the best explanation for a difference in the prevalence of IBS in the studies conducted in hospital setting and those done in the community. We agree with Dr. Jung that more information should be drawn in any epidemiological study. Since we had piggy bagged this study with our main objective of finding out the community prevalence of celiac disease, we purposely kept the questionnaire related with IBS to the basic minimum.3 We thank again Dr. Jung for bringing some of her thoughts on our paper.

Risks and benefits of nanotechnology: How young adults perceive possible advances in nanomedicine compared with conventional treatments

Attitudes to nanotechnology are widely studied and are changing fast. An experiment comparing young peoples' attitudes to nanomedicine and conventional treatment was conducted on 434 undergraduate students. They answered a number of questions about a hypothetical arthritis sufferer who was to be treated with a drug or a newly invented nanomedical technique, and requiring either one treatment or several. They were more influenced by the difference between one-shot and repeated treatments than by any difference between drug- and nanodelivery. Furthermore the two treatments that seemed most negative to participants were a drug that had to be administered repeatedly, or a nanosystem that was needed only once. Participants preferred the thought of a drug that only had to be taken once, or else a nanosystem so gentle and progressive that it only took its full effect after several administrations. There was a consistent gender difference, with male participants taking a more positive view of the risks, benefits and achievements involved in the various treatments than the female participants.

Factor structure of the 12-item aggression questionnaire: Further evidence from Asian adolescent samples

Bryant and Smith [(2001). Refining the architecture of aggression: A measurement model for the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire. Journal of Research in Personality, 35, 138–167] refined the 29-item Aggression Questionnaire and obtained a 12-item short form of the AQ that has yet to be validated with samples outside of North America and England. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with two Asian adolescent samples revealed that while the hierarchical AQ model had an acceptable fit to the data, the multidimensional AQ model demonstrated a superior fit. The unidimensional AQ model was shown to be an unacceptable measurement model in both samples. Results obtained replicated previous findings using the original 29-item measure and supported the AQ's multidimensionality. Multigroup CFA analyses revealed partial measurement invariance for the 12-item fourfactor AQ model for both samples with respect to gender. Supplementary t-tests revealed a consistent gender difference on physical aggression in the male direction for both samples and a gender difference on verbal aggression in the male direction only for one sample. No other gender differences were found. These results are consistent with recent meta-analytic research.

Gender Differences in Perfomance of 4-6 Years Old Slow and Average Learner Children on Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale

A study was conducted on 160. 4-6 years old urban children of Hisar district for assessing gender differences in performance of slow and average learners on Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. There were equal number of males and females in the category of slow and average learners. Slow learner girls were found to be significantly better in language component of the intelligence scale than slow learner boys. There was difference in performance of average learner boys and girls on this scale but this dif-ference was found to be non-significant On the whole, there was no consistent gender difference on the measure of overall IQ.

THE INFLUENCE OF FEMINIST SELF-DEFINITION ON THE DEMOCRATIC ATTITUDES OF MANAGERS

The only consistent gender difference in management style reported in the literature is the more democratic style of women. Democratic leadership is a cornerstone of the feminist approach. The current exploratory study attempted to differentiate between the effect of feminist self-definition and gender in explaining differences in democratic attitudes of managers. Israeli male (43) and female (28) managers were questioned about their managerial attitudes and whether they are feminist or non-feminist. Results suggest that a surprisingly high number of both male and female managers defined themselves as feminist. Furthermore, feminist selfdefinition was found to explain several democratic managerial attitudes better than gender.

Gender, Environmentalism, and Interest in Forest Certification: Mohai's Paradox Revisited

This research corroborates work by Mohai (1992) and others showing a consistent gender difference in environmental concern favoring women. It also helps resolve a paradox that women show more environmental concern than men, but they are less environmentally active. Using data from a survey of U.S. homeowners completed in 1994, we again find women more environmentally concerned than men. However, when green consumerism, rather than membership in environmental organizations, is used as an indicator of environmentalism (the dependent variable), women tend to be more environmentally active than men.

The far interpupillary distance. A gender-specific variation with advancing age.

A knowledge of the magnitude of the far interpupillary distance (FIPD) in relation to a specific population is of clinical, practical and theoretical interest. A FIPD database is presented here, comprising material collated from the spectacle dispensing records of n = 1800 subjects seen in routine optometric practice. All measurements were taken by the author on healthy Caucasian (white, Northern European) males and females. The data were equi-partitioned either across three age bands (16-25, 26-40, 41-65 years: mixed refractive types, total n = 900) or between the three distance refractive types (emmetropia, hypermetropia, myopia: all subjects aged between 41-65 years, total n = 900). A consistent gender difference (male > female) was confirmed throughout this material, irrespective of age group; refractive type, however, had no influence on the magnitude of this facial parameter. Summary results of this anthropometric survey are presented in tabular form, facilitating reference by ophthalmic and dental clinicians and by the designers of binocular optical instruments. There was also revealed evidence of a gender-specific pattern of change in the FIPD variable with advancing age. An approximately 3% increase in the magnitude of the human FIPD from the mid-teens to later middle age was attained in males by early middle age, being little altered thereafter: in contrast females continued to record an increase in this facial parameter into later middle age. An explanation for this hitherto unremarked feature of human facial anthropometry might be sought in the gender-specific changes post-puberty of the cranial skeletal anatomy and in the soft tissues of the orbital region.

The far interpupillary distance. A gender-specific variation with advancing age

A knowledge of the magnitude of the far interpupillary distance (FIPD) in relation to a specific population is of clinical, practical and theoretical interest. A FIPD database is presented here, comprising material collated from the spectacle dispensing records of n=1800 subjects seen in routine optometric practice. All measurements were taken by the author on healthy Caucasian (white, Northern European) males and females. The data were equi-partitioned either across three age bands (16–25, 26–40, 41–65 years: mixed refractive types, total n=900) or between the three distance refractive types (emmetropia, hypermetropia, myopia: all subjects aged between 41–65 years, total n=900).A consistent gender difference (male>female) was confirmed throughout this material, irrespective of age group; refractive type, however, had no influence on the magnitude of this facial parameter. Summary results of this anthropometric survey are presented in tabular form, facilitating reference by ophthalmic and dental clinicians and by the designers of binocular optical instruments.There was also revealed evidence of a gender-specific pattern of change in the FIPD variable with advancing age. An approximately 3% increase in the magnitude of the human FIPD from the mid-teens to later middle age was attained in males by early middle age, being little altered thereafter: in contrast females continued to record an increase in this facial parameter into later middle age. An explanation for this hitherto unremarked feature of human facial anthropometry might be sought in the gender-specific changes post-puberty of the cranial skeletal anatomy and in the soft tissues of the orbital region.

Determinants of peak bone mass and mechanisms of bone loss.

Peak bone mass (PBM) is defined as the amount of bony tissue present at the end of skeletal maturation [1]. Bone strength is mainly determined by volumetric density, i.e., the amount of bony tissue per unit of volume, by outer bone dimensions, by intraosseous microarchitecture, and by intrinsic bone quality [2]. The contribution of bone size to strength is illustrated by the recent observation that for matched vertebral height and volumetric density, patients with vertebral fracture have smaller crosssectional vertebral body area than nonfractured subjects [3]. Before puberty, no consistent gender difference in bone mass of axial or appendicular skeleton has been reported [4–6]. Furthermore, there is no evidence for a gender difference in bone mass at birth. Likewise, the volumetric bone mineral density (BMD) appears to be similar among female and male newborns [7]. This absence of gender difference in bone mass is maintained until the onset of pubertal maturation [8–10]. During puberty, bone mineral mass more than doubles in skeletal sites such as the lumbar spine [6,11]. This increase occurs approximately 2 years later in males than females. Then, a gender difference in bone mass is expressed. In addition to a possible late prepubertal increased value due to the 2-year delay in the onset of pubertal maturation in males, this difference appears to result essentially from a more prolonged bone growth period in males than females, with a larger increase in bone size and in cortical thickness [12]. During puberty, the accumulation rate in areal BMD at both the lumbar spine and femoral neck levels increases over a 3or 4year period in females and males, respectively [11]. The change in bone mass accumulation rate is less marked in the long bone diaphyses. Puberty affects bone size much more than volumetric BMD (Fig. 1). There is no significant gender difference in the volumetric trabecular density at the end of pubertal maturation [8,9,13,14]. However, blacks have greater volumetric density than whites [10,14]: trabecular number is similar, but the trabeculae appear to be thicker [15]. In cortical peripheral bone, there is no gender difference in the cross-sectional area of midfemoral shaft after adjustment for height and weight [13]. However, it is greater in blacks than whites for an identical cortical thickness [14]. Thus, despite the same cortical thickness, larger bones result in a greater bone mineral content. Bony tissue situated more distantly from the bone’s central axis confers a greater resistance to bending [2,16]. There is an asynchrony between the gain in statural height and bone mass growth [6,11,17]. Indeed, the peak of statural growth velocity precedes the peak of maximal bone mineral gain. In males, the greatest difference occurs in the 13–14 year age group and is more pronounced for lumbar spine and femoral neck than for midfemoral shaft [11]. In females, the largest difference occurs in the 11–12 year age group, corresponding in both genders to pubertal stages P2– P3. This phenomenon may be responsible for the occurrence of a transient relative increase in bone fragility that may account for the pattern of fracture Osteoporos Int (1999) Suppl. 2:S17–S23 s 1999 International Osteoporosis Foundation and National Osteoporosis Foundation Osteoporosis International

Gender Differences in Burnout

While studies of gender differences in burnout using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) report contradictory results, those using the Burnout Measure (BM) indicate a consistent gender difference — women report higher levels of burnout in both their work and their marriages. The present study examined gender differences in burnout among Israelis due to the Palestinian intifada. Ninety seven women and 94 men from six political groups took part in the study. Participants responded to the BM as well as to questions about stresses that were related to their burnout and their ways of coping with it. A two-way analysis of variance (gender by group) indicated that while there was a significant difference among the six groups in levels of burnout, there was no gender difference. However, there were some differences in coping with burnout. The findings are interpreted as supporting an existential perspective on burnout.

Social representations of aggression: Crossing the sex barrier

Controversy over Moscovici's concept of social representations has focused upon the extent to which they can be viewed as enduring cognitive structures characterizing social groups and whether individual members are ‘prisoners’ of their social representations, unable to duplicate the social representations of other social groups. Previous research has established a consistent gender difference in orientation toward aggression with men viewing it as an instrumental act of coercion and women as a temporary loss of self-control. These two social representations, originally recovered from spontaneous conversation, have been measured with a psychometric instrument called Expagg. To examine the mutability of these representations, men and women in the present study were asked to complete the questionnaire either spontaneously or as they believed a member of the opposite sex might respond. Under conditions of same-sex responding the usual significant sex difference appeared. When asked to respond as a member of the opposite sex, men accurately mirrored women's higher expressive total score on the questionnaire but psychometric analysis revealed that there was no similarity in terms of item–total correlations. Women grossly overestimated the degree of men's instrumentality but item–total total correlations revealed a considerable degree of similarity with men's structure. The male representation whether natural or assumed showed higher internal consistency than did the female mode. The results are discussed in terms of differential modes of access to gender-linked representations and the cultural dominance of a masculine and instrumental representation of aggression.

Social representations of aggression: Crossing the sex barrier

Controversy over Moscovici's concept of social representations has focused upon the extent to which they can be viewed as enduring cognitive structures characterizing social groups and whether individual members are ‘prisoners’ of their social representations, unable to duplicate the social representations of other social groups. Previous research has established a consistent gender difference in orientation toward aggression with men viewing it as an instrumental act of coercion and women as a temporary loss of self-control. These two social representations, originally recovered from spontaneous conversation, have been measured with a psychometric instrument called Expagg. To examine the mutability of these representations, men and women in the present study were asked to complete the questionnaire either spontaneously or as they believed a member of the opposite sex might respond. Under conditions of same-sex responding the usual significant sex difference appeared. When asked to respond as a member of the opposite sex, men accurately mirrored women's higher expressive total score on the questionnaire but psychometric analysis revealed that there was no similarity in terms of item–total correlations. Women grossly overestimated the degree of men's instrumentality but item–total total correlations revealed a considerable degree of similarity with men's structure. The male representation whether natural or assumed showed higher internal consistency than did the female mode. The results are discussed in terms of differential modes of access to gender-linked representations and the cultural dominance of a masculine and instrumental representation of aggression.