Explore Gender Differences Research Articles

Gender Gaps in Working Conditions

The evolution of the gender pay gap has received a great deal of attention from academia and public opinion alike, yet our understanding of the differences in non-monetary working conditions is much scarcer. Through the use of the European Working Conditions Survey and six composite indicators of job quality, this research aims to expand our knowledge on the gender gaps in job attributes across the European Union over the period 2005–2015 in three ways: firstly, we explore gender differences in working conditions, revealing the distinct patterns identified by the dimensions of job quality and country; secondly, we find that, on average, women’s relative position deteriorates in terms of the physical environment and working time quality; a result that again reflects considerable heterogeneity across the countries in the sample. Lastly, we find clear evidence of a catch-up process in job quality in all the non-monetary dimensions of working conditions across the European Union.

Maladaptive Schemas as An Explanation for Gender Differences in Eating Disorder Symptoms in Adolescents

The present study examined gender differences in early maladaptive schemas as an explanation for gender differences in the prevalence of eating disorder symptomatology. A total of 789 adolescents (406 boys and 383 girls) between 11 and 17 years of age (M = 14.51, SD = 1.59) completed both the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-8) to assess eating disorder symptomatology and the Brief Version of the Young Schema Questionnaire for Adolescents and Young Adults (YSQ-3-B) to assess early maladaptive schemas. The results showed that girls had higher early maladaptive schema scores compared to boys, particularly for the disconnection and rejection domain, the impaired autonomy and performance domain, and the other-directedness domain, partially explaining their higher eating disorder symptom scores. The findings of the study are discussed considering the social and patriarchal mandates that exist regarding gender.

Supplemental Material for Field-Specific Ability Beliefs as an Explanation for Gender Differences in Academics’ Career Trajectories: Evidence From Public Profiles on ORCID.org

Supplemental Material for Field-Specific Ability Beliefs as an Explanation for Gender Differences in Academics’ Career Trajectories: Evidence From Public Profiles on ORCID.org

Analysis of Gender Differences in Online Handwriting Signals for Enhancing e-Health and e-Security Applications

Handwriting is a complex perceptual–motor skill that is mastered around the age of 8. Although its computerized analysis has been utilized in many biometric and digital health applications, the possible effect of gender is frequently neglected. The aim of this paper is to analyze different online handwritten tasks performed by intact subjects and explore gender differences in commonly used temporal, kinematic, and dynamic features. The differences were explored in the BIOSECUR-ID database. We have identified a significant gender difference in on-surface/in-air time of genuine and skilled forgery signatures, on-surface time in cursive letters and numbers, and pressure, speed, and acceleration in text written in capital letters. Our findings accent the need to consider gender as an important confounding factor in studies dealing with online handwriting signal processing.

Exploring Gender Differences in Leadership Aspirations: A Four-Year Longitudinal Study of College Students From Adverse Backgrounds

The gender disparity in leadership positions is substantial and critical yet persists despite decades of focused study. Critical developmental periods, such as emerging adulthood, may be particularly relevant to attend to if we hope to find effective interventions to tackle this problem. The present study draws on longitudinal data covering four years of college among a socio-demographically and nationally diverse sample of college students with adverse backgrounds (N = 404) who enrolled at one of 182 four-year colleges or universities across the United States. Results indicate that female students enter college with significantly lower levels of leadership aspirations than their male counterparts. Once in college, despite greater likelihoods of participating in activities conceptualized as “leadership learning experiences,” female disadvantages persist. Overall, development experiences over four years of college had no discernable effect on gender disparities in leadership aspirations. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Self-presentation strategies in Jordanian students’ Instagram profile: does gender make a difference?

This study aims to investigate gender differences in the use of self-presentation strategies in the Instagram profile bios of young Jordanian university students. This study is guided by sociological and sociolinguistics theories. The data for this study were collected from the Instagram profile bios of five hundred young Jordanian university students (250 males & 250 females). The data were then analyzed using content analysis methods to explore gender differences in the students’ Instagram profile bios. The results indicate that the students used the strategies of ingratiation, competence, exemplification, intimidation, and supplication. The results also show that there are gender differences in the use of these strategies among the male and female students. The results reveal that face-to-face self-presentational strategies were transferred to the Instagram profile bio. The most commonly adopted self-presentation strategy in this study was that of ingratiation, followed by competence, exemplification, intimidation, and finally supplication. Furthermore, this study concludes that the males and females tend to differ in the use of self-presentation strategies. Specifically, the males used more competence, exemplification, and intimidation self-presentation strategies than the females did. The females, on the other hand, used more ingratiation and supplication self-presentation strategies than the males did. The findings corroborate previous findings on gender differences in self-presentation in face-to-face and in SNS communication.

Differences in the Approach of Students of Various Sex to International Mobility Programs: European Research Results

The purpose of this paper is to explore gender differences in learning experiences among students participating in international study mobility programs. It was undertaken by university students from several institutions of higher learning around Europe in the context of internationalization and intercultural education, which has become a central tenet among European institutions. The research on gender differences in student approach to international study mobility was carried out among 440 university students from five European universities within the context of the Competent student: Experienced Graduate: International Labor Market Key Competency Workshops project, conducted within the framework of the International Partnership Project on Student Mobility financed by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange. Taking into account both potential competences that are developed during Short–Term Study Abroad (STSA) programs and the usefulness of specific modes of learning during international study tours, the findings suggest that female students have a higher predisposition towards intercultural experiences on STSA programs.

Autistic Traits, Arousal, and Gender Features in a Nonclinical Sample of Italian Adolescents

(1) Background: Subthreshold autism is a sub-clinical pattern of autism spectrum disorder-like (ASD-like) traits, including poor social skills, cognitive rigidity, anxiety, and aloofness. These ASD-like traits are significantly more prevalent among parents and relatives of participants with autism; however, evidence suggests that subclinical autistic traits are not restricted to the family members of individuals with autism but rather are continuously distributed in the general population. Though the autistic subclinical form is perhaps prevalent among adults, little attention has been paid to the association between autistic traits and global functioning in adolescence. The aim of the present study is to investigate the subthreshold autism phenotype in adolescence and its relationship with arousal correlates, exploring gender differences emerging in the sample. (2) Methods: A sample of 725 students (293 males and 432 females; mean age 17.19) were recruited from three high schools in Southern Italy. They were assessed by the following instruments: Autism Spectrum Quotient, Adult Autism Subthreshold Spectrum, Ritvo Autism and Asperger Diagnostic Scale 14, and Hyperarousal Scale. (3) Results: In males, significant direct correlations between all dimensions of arousal and all variables related to autistic traits emerged except for the correlations between the H-Scale "Introspection score", the AQ questionnaire "Total score" (p = 0.094), and the AdAS-Spectrum questionnaire "Empathy factor" (p = 0.210); in females, significant positive correlations between all dimensions of arousal and all variables related to autistic traits emerged. (4) Conclusions: In the sample of adolescents with subclinical profiles of autistic traits, the Empathy factor of the AdAS Spectrum questionnaire was significantly higher in the male group than in the female group, underscoring lower empathic abilities in the former group. In the male group, the empathy factor did not have a statistically significant correlation with the H-scale introspection factor or with the autistic traits measured by AQ. We suppose that in male adolescents, another hypothetical factor seems to intervene in the relationship between autistic traits and arousal. Otherwise, empathy is a preponderant factor closely related to hyper-arousal responses in female adolescents with autistic traits.

Academic burnout among Open Distance e-Learning students during the COVID-19 pandemic

The transition to online learning at a time of intensive efforts to ensure that the academic project continued under the trying conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic placed intense pressure on both staff and students, increasing their workload. The increased workload placed students at a risk of burnout. While most burnout research focuses on the workplace, there is growing recognition that study activities can have a similar impact on students. The study drew on the conceptualisation of various authors on burnout which is conceived as three subdomains, namely, emotional exhaustion, cynicism and feelings of low accomplishment or inefficacy. This study made use of a cross-sectional survey design. The sample for the study was drawn from students at an Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL) institution in South Africa using a census sampling approach. The findings of this study show relatively low levels of burnout and high levels of study engagement among respondents. This is despite most respondents reporting being employed while studying. Furthermore, the relationship between dropout intention and burnout was weak but significant. Further areas of research in this field could include students from contact institutions, or a focus on postgraduate students who are employed while studying or explore gender differences among students in different fields of study.

Eat, pray, love: disordered eating in religious and non-religious men and women

BackgroundDespite the lack of research examining the relation between religiosity and disordered eating, at various points during the year, religious practices requiring changes in eating habits are typical. Few studies have identified how aspects of religiosity are associated with disordered eating attitudes and behaviours. Thus, we explored the interconnectedness of religiosity and gender on disordered eating attitudes and behaviours.MethodsIn total, 749 religious and non-religious participants completed online questionnaires assessing components of disordered eating and associated appearance-related pressures and internalizations (pressure from family, peers, and media, and internalization of the thin and muscular ideals).ResultsAmong the 317 participants who identified as religious, 12.30% reported that their religious practice required a change in their eating habits, and 10.68% reported that they changed their eating habits for both religious purposes and as a method of weight loss/control. Overall, religious participants who indicated changing their eating habits for religious purposes experienced greater disordered eating and appearance-related pressures than theists who reported no change in their diet and non-religious respondents. Further, there was a significant interaction between gender and religiosity across the disordered eating variables. Results indicated that, compared to males who were not religious, those who were religious had higher scores on scales measuring disordered eating. Religious and non-religious women scored similarly on scales measuring other aspects of disordered eating (including Purging, Restricting, and Binge Eating). Further, compared to non-religious men, religious men, reported greater pressure from their family and peers; there was no difference in women.ConclusionsFuture research should further explore gender differences across types and specific aspects of religiosity such as motivation to practice.

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN CAREGIVING PRACTICES AND MARITAL RELATIONSHIPS OF SANDWICH GENERATION COUPLES IN MUMBAI

Abstract Over the next few decades, the most important demographic trend for the Asia Pacific region will be population aging. The increasing aging population in India and the fact that the economic dependence of the older adults is high and the cost of education and child care is on the rise pose serious challenges to generations of individuals and couples who are expected to take care of both their children and their parents. This study's primary objective is to comprehensively understand the effects of giving care to their children and their parents on various aspects of the life of sandwich generation couples. The study uses primary data of 300 multigenerational households and 100 two-generation/one-generation households in Mumbai. Specifically, the study attempts to understand the effect of giving care to two generations on the marital relationship of the caregiving couples. Additionally, the study also explores gender differences in caregiving practices. Results from bivariate and multivariate analyses show that providing simultaneous care to two generations significantly impacts the marital relationship of the sandwiched couples as opposed to couples staying in one/two-generation households. Results also show considerable gender differences in caregiving roles and time spent on caregiving. Women spend more time assisting in household activities, while men are more likely to provide monetary support. Thus, extensive research on the sandwich generation in India is necessary to ensure the socio-economic well-being of the couples, the welfare of their children and parents, and the physical and psychosocial health of these couples.

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION AND ITS IMPACT ON MENTAL HEALTH IN LATER LIFE

Abstract Although rural-to-urban migration has been well researched, how gender shapes processes and outcomes, including later life health outcomes, has not been thoroughly investigated. Guided by a life course perspective, this study explores gender differences in rural-urban migration patterns and its association with mental health in later life among Chinese older adults. Exploiting rich life history data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we employ sequence analysis to identify the typical migration trajectories of Chinese older adults. Moderated mediation analysis is then used to examine gender-specific health pathways linking migration trajectories and later-life mental health. The results indicate that: men and women follow different migration trajectories across the life course. Men are more likely to migrate between rural and urban areas, and to migrate multiple times. Rural migrants who settled in urban regions have better mental health in later life than return migrants or rural non-migrants; the gender gap in mental health is marginally smaller among early urban settlers than rural non-migrants. Household income and Hukou conversion mediate the relationship between migration trajectories and later-life mental health among older people of rural origin. Household income in later life has stronger mediation effects for migrant men than for migrant women. The study suggests that a life course perspective and awareness of gender dynamics should be incorporated in policymaking to reduce the rural-urban divide and gender-based inequality in mental health.

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN INTERACTIONS AND WELL-BEING AMONG HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS LIVING WITH DEMENTIA

Abstract While the incidence of dementia is generally higher in women compared to men, gender differences in interactions and well-being in dementia is still unclear. This study examined gender differences in interactions and well-being among hospitalized patients living with dementia. A total of 140 hospitalized patients (53% female and 47% male) were included in the analysis. On average, the participants were 81.43 years old (SD= 8.29), had positive interactions with staff based on higher scores on Quality of Interaction Schedule, QUIS (5.81, SD= 1.36), and fair emotional well-being based on lower scores on Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, CSDD (7.79, SD= 5.59). Although men seemed to have more positive interactions (male=6.07, SD=1.13; female=5.59, SD=1.51) and greater wellbeing (male=7.52, SD=4.77; female=8.03, SD=6.25) than women, there were no statistically significant gender differences observed in linear models with appropriate covariates. Future work should continue to explore gender differences in interactions and well-being.

Adolescent fertility and high school completion in Chile: Exploring gender differences

This study has two objectives: first, to estimate the effect of adolescent fertility on high school completion for Chilean adolescents, considering selectivity due to socioeconomic background and prior academic achievement, and, second, to explore the gend

Gender differences in the professional experiences of Iran specialists in American academia.

The work on gender differences in academic life spans a wide array of colleges and universities, scholarly disciplines, and countries. Using a survey conducted in 2016 to capture "the state of the field" in Iranian Studies as US-Iran relations were in a brief thaw, this paper draws on some of these perspectives and explores gender differences in the professional experiences of Iranian Studies scholars working in the USA. Iranian Studies has grown and diversified in the USA since the 1960s. This expansion occurred despite disruptions in Iran itself and in US-Iranian relations since 1979, with many US-based Iran specialists having heritage connections to Iran. The survey, which is the first of its kind conducted among this particular academic community, covered a range of topics related to respondents' academic and professional experiences, career outlook, and political activities. The results spotlight some notable differences-statistically significant differences in several cases-in the professional experiences of men and women in this academic field. Women respondents were more likely to be of junior rank or graduate students and were more likely than men to feel that gender identity influenced their professional milestones. Women were more likely to list the desire for social impact as a professional motivation than men. Women tended to feel less sanguine about the state of their careers, their professional environment, their career prospects, and the state of the Iranian Studies field as a whole. Some of these attitudes varied depending on their self-identification as Iranian, Iranian-American or American, while some held true across self-identification. These results mostlyconfirmed expectations based on similar research discussed in our literature review.

Clinical Feature, Lifestyle Behavior and Non-Communicable Diseases Comorbidities Among Psoriasis Patients in Shanghai: Gender Disparity Analysis Based on a Cross-Sectional Study.

Gender difference is prevalent in clinical feature, disease severity for noncommunicable diseases (NCD), but studies on gender disparity in clinical feature, disease severity and NCD comorbidity among psoriasis patients are limited. This cross-sectional study explores gender differences in clinical feature, lifestyle behavior and NCD comorbidity among psoriasis patients. Psoriasis patients were recruited through cluster survey method in two hospitals, and questionnaire interviews were applied to collect the demographic feature, lifestyle habits, clinical feature and NCD among patients. A total of 2102 psoriasis patients included 1332 males (63.4%), 70% were over 35 years old and approximately 50% of them were overweight or obesity. The median value for psoriasis initiation age and disease duration was 33 years old (34 for male and 32 for female) and 9 years (10 for male and 7 for female), respectively. The psoriasis recurrence was mainly in winter (73.4%) and autumn (34.2%) both for patients. The prevalence of tobacco smoking and alcohol drinking was 31.2% and 12.6%. Male patients had higher prevalence of tobacco smoking (odds ratio (OR) = 13.26, 95% confidence interval (CI): 9.54-18.44) and alcohol drinking (OR = 14.44, 95% CI: 7.90-26.40). The prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and metabolic syndrome were 13.2%, 28.5%, 23.4% and 21.5%, respectively. Male patients had higher prevalence of diabetes (OR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.16-2.02), hypertension (OR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.52-2.30), hyperlipidemia (OR = 2.34, 95% CI: 1.85-2.95) and metabolic syndrome (OR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.63-2.62) than female patients. The proportions for 4 types of NCDs diagnosed after psoriasis onset were over 58%, which were also higher in males than females. Female patients had shorter disease duration and with less NCD, and male patients had more body weight issue, with fewer sleep time and higher prevalence of tobacco smoking and alcohol drinking and NCDs. We recommend that dermatologist should notice the gender disparity in psoriasis patients, which is helpful for the disease diagnosis and treatment.

Mental Distress, Perceived Stress, and Resilience among Special Students During Covid-19 Pandemic

Background: Almost everyone in society has been affected by the Covid epidemic.However, it has a different impact on individuals who have disabilities or special needs. Aim: To explore the relationship between mental distress, perceived stress, and resilience among special students during the Covid pandemic. Method:Cross-sectional correlational research design was used to investigate the relationship between study variables. The total sample of n=250 special students consisted of 100(40%) females and 150(60%) with having age range from 15 to 30 years. The purposive sampling technique was employed to collect the data by using different research instruments (e.g.,Patient Health Questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale, and Final Resilience Scale). Results: Results were drawn using correlation and multiple regression analyses. To explore gender differences, an independent t-test was computed. It was concluded that mental distress is negatively correlated with resilience and positively correlated with perceived stress. Pracctical Implication: This research would be helpfulfor the teachers of the special education centers, they train their how they develop resilience hence they may become emotionally stable and deal effectively with any worrisome circumstance well. It will help school administration of the special students’to conduct workshops on the resilience so that students could deal with their mental distress and perceived stress effectively. Conclusion: There was little published research on the variables examined in this study, particularly in Pakistan. To increase the body of knowledge, research on this subject must be done in Pakistan. Keywords: Mental distress, Resilience, Perceived stress, Special students, CovidPendemic.

Mental Distress, Perceived Stress and Resilience among Special Students during Covid-19 Pandemic

Background: Almost everyone in society has been affected by the Covid epidemic.However, it has a different impact on individuals who have disabilities or special needs. People with special needs are more prone to this. Aim: To explore relationship between mental distress, perceived stress and resilience among special students during Covid-19 Method:Cross-sectional correlational research design was used to investigate the relationship between study variables. The total sample of n=250 special students consisted of 100(40%) females and 150(60%) with having age range from 15 to 30 years. The purposive sampling technique was employed to collect the data by using different research instruments Results:Results were drawn using correlation and multiple regression analyses. To explore gender differences, an independent t-test was computed. It was concluded that mental distress is negatively correlated with resilience and positively correlated with perceived stress. PraccticalImplication: This research would be helpfulfor the teachers of the special education centers, they train their how they develop resilience hence they may become emotionally stable and deal effectively with any worrisome circumstance well. It will help school administration of the special students’to conduct workshops on the resilience so that students could deal with their mental distress and perceived stress effectively. Conclusion: There was little published research on the variables examined in this study, particularly in Pakistan. To increase the body of knowledge, research on this subject must be done in Pakistan. Keywords: Mental distress, Resilience, Perceived stress, Special students, Covid Pendemic.

Colour‐emotion association and colour preference for elder care robot appearance

AbstractWith the population ageing in Taiwan, it is projected that elder care robots incorporating smart technologies will play an essential role in ambient assisted living. This research has two purposes: (1) to investigate whether older adults' colour‐emotion associations and colour preferences for robot appearance affect their perceptual judgements; and (2) to explore gender differences in their judgements. Phase I of this research uses a questionnaire to investigate 91 participants' preferences for robot style and their emotional trigger words for the role of robots. Phase II experiments were performed on another 60 older adults to identify whether their colour‐emotion associations and colour preferences affect their perceptual judgements. The research results show that, regardless of gender difference, participating older adults prefer a robot with non‐human–like features. The results also show that there is no significant difference between males and females in terms of the effect of colour‐emotion association on a robot's appearance. Older adults tend to associate warm colours with emotional semantics, such as friendly, comfortable, reassuring, gentle and lively. Preferred colours include red, white and yellow. Black and grey are almost never preferred by older adults. There are significant differences by gender in the preferences for the colours white and purple. Older females prefer purple more, while white is preferred by older males. For the other colours, there were no significant differences between males and females. Colour attributes do not have any effect on colour‐emotion association, whereas colour preference is highly positively correlated with b*.

Gender differences in major depressive disorders: A resting state fMRI study.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) has a high disability rate and brings a large disease burden to patients and the country. Significant sex differences exist in both the epidemiological and clinical features in MDD. The effect of sex on brain function in MDD is not clear now. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) and ALFF are widely used research method in the study of brain function. This research aimed to use ReHo and ALFF to explore gender differences in brain function images in MDD. Eighty first-episode drug-naive patients (47 women and 30 men) with MDD and 85 age, education matched healthy volunteers (47 women and 31 men) were recruited in our study and participated in resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. ReHo and ALFF were used to assess brain activity, two-way ANOVA and post hoc analysis was conducted to explore the sex difference in MDD. Correlation analysis was used to explore the relationship between abnormal brain functioning and clinical symptoms. We observed sex-specific patterns and diagnostic differences in MDD Patients, further post hoc comparisons indicated that women with MDD showed decreased ALFF value in the right superior occipital gyrus and decreased ReHo value in the left calcarine and left dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus compared with HC females and men with MDD. Men with MDD showed decreased ReHo value in the right median cingulate gyrus compared with HC males and increased ReHo value in the left dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus compared with HC males, we also found that HC males showed higher ReHo value in the right median cingulate gyrus than HC females. Men and women do have sex differences in brain function, the occipital lobe, calcarine, DLPFC, and DCG were the main different brain regions found between male and female in MDD, which may be the biomarker brain regions that can help diagnose and treat MDD in men and women.