Male Advantage Research Articles

Applying a gender lens to social norms, couple communication and decision making to increase modern contraceptive use in Ethiopia, a mixed methods study

BackgroundEthiopia, sub-Saharan Africa’s second most populous country has seen improvements in women’s reproductive health. The study objectives are (1) using mixed methods research, to identify determinants of contraceptive use in four regions of Ethiopia, and (2) to explore the relationship between social norms, gender equitable norms, couple communication and contraceptive use.MethodsThe study includes both quantitative and qualitative methods. Researchers interviewed a total of 2770 women of reproductive age (15–49 years) in 2016 using a structured survey covering six health areas. Eligible households were identified using a multi-stage cluster-sampling technique. Using probability proportionate to size sampling, the researchers selected 10% of the proposed target woredas (24 of 240 woredas). The qualitative study included 8 rapid assessments, 16 in-depth interviews, 24 key informant interviews, and 16 focus group discussions. Qualitative data were analyzed using NVivo version 8.ResultsAdjusted odds ratios were estimated for current modern family planning use among married women with logistic regression. The primary influencing factors for contraceptive use are gender equitable norms, high self-efficacy, and weekly exposure to the radio. Qualitative data indicate that the timing of contraceptive use is linked to the social norm of the desired family size of 4–5 children. Gender inequity is evident in couple communication with men controlling decision making even if women initiated conversations on family planning. A key finding based on an inductive analysis of qualitative data indicates that the micro-processes of couple communication and decision making are often dictated by male advantage. The study identified six micro-processes that lead to gender inequity which need to be further examined and researched.ConclusionsBarriers to contraceptive use include unequal couple communication and compromised decision making. Inequitable gender norms are also barriers to modern contraceptive use. The study recommends using a gender lens to study couple communication and decision making, with the goal of making both processes more equitable to accelerate the adoption of modern family planning methods in Ethiopia.

Gender Differences in Diet Quality and Quantity in Rural Bangladesh. Are Men Still Favored?

ObjectivesStudies from Bangladesh have long documented pro-male biases in intrahousehold food allocation. However, many of these earlier studies were conducted against the backdrop of caloric scarcity and since then, food availability and affordability in the country have significantly improved. This study re-examines gender differences in diet quantity and quality in rural Bangladesh with 2012 data. MethodsThe study uses 24-hour dietary recall data collected in 2012 (12,970 individuals within 5,000 households, ages 15+) from ultra-poor rural Bangladeshi households and OLS regressions to test for gender differences in constructed diet measures. Measures include caloric intake, Caloric Adequacy Ratio (CAR: intake divided by estimated requirements based on sex, occupation, and life stage), Dietary Diversity Score (DDS; range 0–10), Global Dietary Quality Score (DGQS; range 0–49), food group intakes (intake per GDQS food group, grams), and ratios of food group intake to total intake. Between-household differences are accounted for by adjusting for demographic and geographic factors. ResultsPreliminary results show that men consume more calories than women (mean kcal: male = 2217.99, female = 2022.25, p < 0.001), but women consume more in reference to their caloric needs (CAR: m = 0.75, f = 0.90, p < 0.001). Men also score higher on diet quality measures (DDS: m = 3.43, f = 3.32, p < 0.001; GDQS: m = 8.27, f = 7.69, p < 0.001) and have greater mean intakes in 18 of the 25 GDQS food groups, but the absolute magnitude of male-female differences is small (e.g., < 10 gr. differences in all animal sourced foods). Moreover, compared to women, men did not consume significantly higher proportions of nutrient-dense foods groups. ConclusionsResults indicate that while men’s intake quantities and diet quality scores are marginally higher, the slight male advantage disappears when energy requirements and food group proportions are accounted for. Accordingly, the study results do not provide evidence of male favoritism in household food allocation. Funding SourcesNational Institutes of Health (award T32DK007158), German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, UK Department for International Development, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, UN Development Programme, World Food Programme.

The sexes do not differ in general intelligence, but they do in some specifics

Reliable and meaningful sex differences exist in specific cognitive abilities despite no reliable or meaningful sex difference in general intelligence. Here we use Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory to highlight research findings related to sex differences in intelligence, with a focus on studies of test scores from comprehensive intelligence measures that were obtained from large and representative samples of children and adolescents. Female advantages in latent processing speed and male advantages in latent visual processing are the most meaningful and consistently reported sex differences regarding CHC broad cognitive abilities. Differences have been reported in narrow and specific ability constructs such as mental rotation and object memory location. In academic achievement, the largest and most consistent findings are female advantages in writing, whereas male advantages at higher math ability levels are also found. Empirical descriptions of sex differences should consider the breadth of the construct under study and incorporate analysis beyond simple mean differences. Score analysis methods that utilize multiple-group confirmatory factor models and multiple-indicator multiple cause models are useful to address the former, and analysis methods such as quantile regression and male-female ratio calculations along score distributions are useful to address the latter. An understanding of why specific ability differences exist in combination and in the presence of similarities will improve researchers' understanding of human cognition and educational achievements.

Sex Differences in VO2max and the Impact on Endurance-Exercise Performance

It was not until 1984 that women were permitted to compete in the Olympic marathon. Today, more women than men participate in road racing in all distances except the marathon where participation is near equal. From the period of 1985 to 2004, the women’s marathon record improved at a rate three times greater than men’s. This has led many to question whether women are capable of surpassing men despite the fact that there remains a 10–12% performance gap in all distance events. The progressive developments in sports performance research and training, beginning with A.V. Hill’s establishment of the concept of VO2max, have allowed endurance athletes to continue performance feats previously thought to be impossible. However, even today women are significantly underrepresented in sports performance research. By focusing more research on the female physiology and sex differences between men and women, we can better define how women differ from men in adapting to training and potentially use this information to improve endurance-exercise performance in women. The male advantage in endurance-exercise performance has commonly been attributed to their higher VO2max, even when expressed as mL/kg/min. It is widely known that oxygen delivery is the primary limiting factor in elite athletes when it comes to improving VO2max, but little research has explored the sex differences in oxygen delivery. Thus, the purpose of this review is to highlight what is known about the sex differences in the physiological factors contributing to VO2max, more specifically oxygen delivery, and the impacts on performance.

The Contribution of Shape Features and Demographic Variables to Disembedding Abilities

Humans naturally perceive visual patterns in a global manner and are remarkably capable of extracting object shapes based on properties such as proximity, closure, symmetry, and good continuation. Notwithstanding the role of these properties in perceptual grouping, studies highlighted differences in disembedding performance across individuals, which are summarized by the field dependence dimension. Evidence suggests that age and educational attainment explain part of this variability, whereas the role of sex is still highly debated. Also, which stimulus features primarily influence inter-individual variations in perceptual grouping has still to be fully determined. Building upon these premises, we assessed the role of age, education level, and sex on performance at the Leuven Embedded Figure Test—a proxy of disembedding abilities—in 391 cisgender individuals. We also investigated to what extent shape symmetry, closure, complexity, and continuation relate to task accuracy. Overall, target asymmetry, closure, and good continuation with the embedding context increase task difficulty. Simpler shapes are more difficult to detect than those with more lines, yet context complexity impairs the recognition of complex targets (i.e., those with 6 lines or more) to a greater extent. Concerning demographic data, we confirm that age and educational attainment are significantly associated with disembedding abilities and reveal a perceptual advantage in males. In summary, our study further highlights the role of shape properties in disembedding performance and unveils sex differences not reported so far.

Sperm competition intensity affects sperm precedence patterns in a polyandrous gift-giving spider.

Sperm competition drives traits that enhance fertilization success. The amount of sperm transferred relative to competitors is key for attaining paternity. Female reproductive morphology and male mating order may also influence fertilization, however the outcome for sperm precedence under intense sperm competition remains poorly understood. In the polyandrous spider Pisaura mirabilis, males offer nuptial gifts which prolong copulation and increase sperm transfer, factors proposed to alter sperm precedence patterns under strong sperm competition. First, we assessed the degree of female polyandry by genotyping wild broods. A conservative analysis identified up to four sires, with a mean of two sires per brood, consistent with an optimal mating female rate. Then we asked whether intense sperm competition shifts sperm precedence patterns from first male priority, as expected from female morphology, to last male advantage. We varied sexual selection intensity experimentally and determined competitive fertilization outcome by genotyping broods. In double matings, one male monopolised paternity regardless of mating order. A mating order effect with first male priority was revealed when females were mated to four males, however this effect disappeared when females were mated to six males, probably due to increased sperm mixing. The proportion of males that successfully sired offspring drastically decreased with the number of competitors. Longer copulations translated into higher paternity shares independently of mating order, reinforcing the advantage of traits that prolong copulation duration under intense competition, such as the nuptial gift. Sperm competition intensity enhances the impact of competitive sexual traits and imposes multiple effects on paternity.

Size variation, allometry and mating success in Aotearoa|New Zealand kelp flies (Coelopidae)

The need to respond quickly to the presence of an ephemeral resource required for breeding is often a feature of scramble competition mating systems. Scramble competition mating systems can feature extreme levels of sexual conflict and coercive mating by males. As a result, sexual selection can act on various traits used by males to overcome female resistance behaviours. Selection on these traits may result in significant intra and intersexual size variation and sexual dimorphism. Additionally, traits that influence mating success in males often show positive static allometry. Kelp flies (Coelopidae) are a small family of Diptera which specialise on wrack (beach cast marine macroalgae), a highly ephemeral resource. The mating system of these flies involves high levels of sexual conflict, with females rejecting all male mating attempts. In this study we describe intra and intersexual size variation and static allometry of traits in two of Aotearoa|New Zealand’s species, Coelopella curvipes and Chaetocoelopa littoralis. In addition, we investigate the mating behaviour of C. littoralis under ecologically relevant mating conditions. We found high levels of variation in both species with significant evidence of sexual dimorphism across all traits measured in C. littoralis, and in mid tibia length in C. curvipes. Furthermore, mid tibia length in both species exhibits positive static allometry and is disproportionally larger in larger males, suggesting that this trait in particular may be under strong sexual selection. We found that larger male C. littoralis which attempt to mate are significantly more likely to mate successfully demonstrating a large-size advantage in this species similar to findings across the Coelopidae. However, we only found a non-significant trend towards a mating advantage for males with longer mid-tibiae. We discuss these findings with reference to the population dynamics and ecology of these species.

Sex ratio, floral traits, and genetic variation of androdioecious &lt;i&gt;Osmanthus fragrans&lt;/i&gt; L. (Oleaceae) and the implications for maintenance of high male frequency

Several examples of androdioecy appear to have evolved from dioecy and have low male frequency (&lt; 0.5). However, the evolutionary pathway to androdioecy in Oleaceae may come from hermaphroditism. <italic>Osmanthus fragrans</italic> L. has a 1:1 sex ratio in nature populations. Significant differences are observed not only in flowering phenology but also in some floral traits between males and hermaphrodites. The protandry in the same population and the protogyny in the same plant will promote the xenogamy between genders. The majority of flower traits that related with the pollen production are different between males and hermaphrodites. Males bear more flowering nodes, and more flowers per node, and larger anther in all three populations. This characteristic demonstrated that males have more male advantage than hermaphrodites. Population genetic structure of <italic>O. fragrans</italic> is genetically homogeneous at the species level, and most variations exist within population. The percentage of variation among populations (13%) and between males and hermaphrodites (0%) is low. Moreover, genetic differentiation was very low between genders not only among populations but also in the same population. This genetic variation could be attributed to the occurrence of high levels of xenogamy between genders. Therefore, high male frequency and more male fitness advantage in males are the essential conditions for this mating system, which plays an important role during population reproduction and regeneration. The 1:1 sex ratio could be the result of integrative effects of sexual system, mating system, and reproductive success.

Accelerating online learning: Machine learning insights into the importance of cumulative experience, independence, and country setting

Cumulative experience is important for developing expertise through in-person learning, along with country setting and gender, but evidence is limited the role of these features in online learning. Yet, COVID-19 has catalysed the centrality of online learning, such that the efficacy of online learning is now highly relevant. Although the Pandemic triggered a surge of self-report and literature review research on stakeholder perceptions of online learning, less educational research has used big data to understand online learning. Therefore, the present research mined online learning data to identify features that are important for developing expertise in online learning. Data mining of 54,842,787 initial data points from one online learning platform was conducted by partnering theory with data in model development. Following examination of a theory-led machine learning model, a data-led approach was taken to reach a final model. The linear regression model was regularised with the Lasso penalty to enable data-driven feature selection. Twenty-six features were selected to form an extreme gradient boosting model that underwent hyper-parameter tuning. All cross-validation adopted the grid search approach. The final model was used to derive Shapley values for feature importance. As expected, cumulative experience, country differences, low-and-middle-income country status, and COVID-19 were important features for developing expertise through online learning. The data-led model development resulted in additional insights not examined in the initial, theory-led model: namely, the importance of meta-cognition and independent learner behaviour. Surprisingly, no male advantage was found in the potential for expertise development through online learning. • Machine learning uncovered theoretically relevant insights into online learning. • Cumulative experience was central to developing expertise through online learning. • Independent rather than help-seeking learners made the most academic gains. • Countries differed in the potential for expertise development in online learning. • COVID-19 may have improved the efficacy of developing expertise via online learning.

Gender and Productivity Differentials in Smallholder Groundnut Farming in Malawi: Accounting for Technology Differences

The gender gap in agricultural productivity has been of ongoing interest to development policy and we revisit the subject in the context of groundnut, an important food and cash legume in Sub Saharan Africa. We address production technology differences between male and female managers of groundnut plots and examine the implications for the male–female difference in productivity. Using cross-sectional data, two recent stochastic meta-frontier (SMF) techniques are coupled with statistical matching to examine gender-related technology, managerial, single and total factor productivity (TFP) gaps. The results reveal different production technologies in use by male and female producers, and technology (6–7 per cent points) and managerial (3–5 per cent points) differentials, which translate into significant male advantages in land productivity (6.2 per cent) and TFP (15.3 per cent). A heterogeneity analysis provides valuable insights: Technology, managerial and TFP gaps, which favour male managers, decrease with age, years of schooling, exposure to extension, and use of hired labour and improved seeds; but increase with total cultivated area. Closing the productivity gap will require expanding female production possibilities through use of improved inputs and practices and enhancing managerial skill and know-how through extension.

Abstract 9105: Eliminated Male Advantages in Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing Performance after Fontan Operation Indicates a Central Mechanism of Decreased Exercise Performance in a Single Ventricle Physiology

Background: Fontan patients have significantly diminished exercise performance compared with healthy peers. Sex differences in exercise performance after Fontan operation have not been well characterized. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) of Fontan and age-matched control adolescents. Data were analyzed via one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and are shown as mean ± standard deviation. Results: We studied 36 Fontan patients (male 18/female 18) and 65 age-matched controls (male 32/female 33). When compared between Fontan and controls, peak values of heart rate (HR), oxygen consumption (VO2), and work rate (WR), ventilator anaerobic threshold (VAT), and oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES) were significantly lower in Fontan than in controls in both sexes. In controls, significant sex differences were noted in peak values of VO2, oxygen pulse (OP), WR, VAT, heart rate dependency (αHR/αWR), OUES, and ventilatory efficiency (αVE/αVCO2) whereas no such sex differences were detected in Fontan patients (Table). Significant sex differences noted in correlations between weight and peak VO2 and between αHR/αWR and peak VO2 in controls were not appreciated in Fontan patients (Figure), suggesting that single ventricle physiology abolished some key male advantages in exercise performance under biventricular physiology including body mass (skeletal muscle mass) effects and stroke volume reserve. Conclusion: Disappearance of male advantages in CPET performance in Fontan patients indicates a limitation of systemic ventricular filling due to the absence of sub-pulmonary ventricle as a central determinant of low exercise performance.

Educational Expectations of Left-behind Children in China: Determinants and Gender Differences

In response to the relatively low educational attainment of left-behind children in China, this article examines the determinants of educational expectations among left-behind children and how these differ by gender by analyzing data collected from 2215 left-behind children in southwestern China. Multinomial logistic regression models of educational expectations that incorporate family economic status, care arrangement under different parental migration patterns, and significant others are tested by gender and school level. The results prove that all of the above incorporated factors affect the educational expectations of left-behind children to a considerable extent. Comparisons of educational expectations are made between left-behind children in primary school and junior high school and between different genders. The results show that male advantages in educational expectations exist only during primary school, and female left-behind children surpass male children to have higher educational expectations during junior high school. This suggests a distinctive influence of care arrangements on educational expectations between genders. For female children, grandparental care and a higher frequency of parental contact during migration could be substituted for parental absence. However, for male children, grandparental care does not fully substitute for parental care, and parental migration seems to be more detrimental to them. The findings add to our understanding of the dynamic relationship among parental migration, gender inequality, and educational opportunity among left-behind children in general.

Does body size influence mating success? A morphometric study of two Anastrepha (Diptera: Tephritidae) fruit fly species.

Male mating success depends on various traits and factors, and correctly identifying these traits can be key in the context of pest management. For tephritid pests, controlled through the sterile insect technique (SIT) traits, such as male size, can be manipulated through mass-rearing procedures. Thus, it is particularly important to understand whether male size can favor mating success. Here, we evaluated mating success of males of different sizes in Anastrepha ludens and Anastrepha obliqua, two species controlled through SIT. For both species, a morphometric analysis was performed of mated and unmated mass-reared and wild males in field cages. In both A. ludens and A. obliqua, wild females did not discriminate their mates based on male size and mated more frequently with wild males regardless of size. For mass-reared males, we found no evidence of an advantage of the large males compared to small males in mating success. However, we did find differences between the morphometric traits of mass-reared and wild males. In A. ludens, traits associated to mating success were Face Width (FW), Head Width (HW), Thorax Length (TL) and Wing Length (WL), and for A. obliqua were FW, HW, WL and WW (Wing Width). Overall, FW and TL were more consistent predictors of mating success. In conclusion, female choice seems to suggest multivariate selection, confirming that overall body size (expressed as pupal diameter, which is highly correlated with weight) is not a decisive factor in male mating success in these two species. However, morphological traits such as FW, HW, TL, WL and WW may be relevant in mating preference of wild female.

Does recent experience affect large male advantage in a sequentially-mating fish?

Abstract In many mating systems, large male body size is associated with dominance in direct contests with rivals and females may exhibit preference for larger males. As such, body size is often positively associated with mating success. However, mating experience can influence the potential advantage of large body size through alterations in behaviour and depletion of sperm reserves. In Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes), males mate with many females each day, and larger males mate more frequently than smaller males. In an observational experiment, we tested the following alternate predictions: (1) recent mating experience may enhance mating success through a carry-over effect of prior mating, whereby small experienced males gain an advantage over large inexperienced rivals in mating contests; or (2) recent mating experience decreases mating success through a reduction in fertilization due to sperm limitation, effectively dampening the large-male advantage against a small inexperienced rival. We examined the interactive effect of size and recent experience on mating behaviour and success. While mating contests were monopolized by large males, recent experience enhanced mating success, especially in small male winners. Experienced males courted more readily than those without recent experience, suggesting that recent prior mating enhances this behaviour. Furthermore, males who had copulated recently did not exhibit sperm depletion when in the presence of a competitor, nor did female behaviour indicate a preference for inexperienced males. This suggests that males can use sexual experience to increase their reproductive success in future mating situations, which may influence the action of sexual selection and alternative tactics in shaping mating systems.

An update on the clerical sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church in the United States and its impact on education

The November 10, 2020 publication of the 461-page Report On The Holy See’s Institutional Knowledge And Decision-Making Related To Former Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick (1930–2017), commonly known as the McCarrick Report, painted an unflattering, if not criminal, picture of the dearth of leadership in the hierarchy of the American Catholic Church. This Report, which describes ‘another tragic chapter in the Church’s long struggle to confront the crimes of sexual abuse by clergy,’ examined the role of the disgraced, laicised, former Cardinal-Archbishop Theodore McCarrick of Washington, D.C. The Report chronicles McCarrick’s egregious abuse of power as he took advantage of adult males, rather than children, as another dimension of the ongoing scandal that has rocked the American Catholic Church for more than the past quarter of a century.

Energetic underpinnings of yellow dung fly mating success in the field

Foraging provides the basis for animal reproduction, but requires energy and time to be sustained, entailing a trade-off. Whereas females should maximize their time foraging for resources, males should minimize their foraging time by optimizing time budgets to maximize their access to mating partners. Mark-resight field studies are difficult and hence uncommon for small insects. Yellow dung flies (Scathophaga stercoraria L.) abound on pastures in cold-temperate regions across the northern hemisphere. Adult flies lick nectar from flowers for energy, but require small insect prey to produce eggs and sperm. Males wait for females around fresh cow dung, but at one point also need to replenish their energy and/or sperm reserves in the surrounding vegetation. Their foraging time budgets should depend on their body size, nutritional energy reserves, availability of sperm, competitor and female density. Marked male dung flies whose nutritional status was experimentally manipulated – water only (null control); water + sugar (energy replenishment); or water, sugar + Drosophila prey (energy and sperm replenishment) – were repeatedly observed on an experimental pasture for an entire day. Both nutrient types were expected to increase the mating success of especially large males. The total number of resighted males seen copulating was lowest for water-treated flies. Mating success was positively related to body size. The distance travelled between dung pats was greater for males fed sugar or prey and also increased with body size, while pat residence times decreased with size. No differences were found between the sugar- and prey-fed groups. Crucially however, there was no evidence in the field for a time budget or mating advantage of small males when nutrients were limited.

Gender imbalance in the genetic counseling profession: An Australasian perspective.

Gender imbalance exists in the genetic counseling profession, with approximately 95% of genetic counselors identifying as female. Genetic counseling programs in Australia have increased the proportion of male student enrolments in recent years, although this is yet to have an impact on gender balance in the profession more broadly. While significant resources have been allocated to improving female representation in traditionally male professions, there has not been a reciprocal movement of men into traditionally female professions. The lower status awarded to traditionally female roles creates a disincentive for men to choose non-traditional career paths. Although genetic counselors have expertise in both genetics and counseling, the profession is viewed as a predominantly helping profession and therefore 'women's work'. Men who work in traditionally female roles report role strain and stereotyping, which affect experiences at work and challenge personal identities. Male advantage is also documented, especially with respect to salary. There remains a lack of understanding of the effect of gender imbalance on aspects of patient care, genetic counselor training and education, and genetic counseling research.

Size-assortative mating in explosive breeders: a case study of adaptive male mate choice in anurans

Abstract Exploration of size-assortative mating (SAM) in animals has led to a near consensus that it arises through constraints in choice, such as preference for large females combined with a large male advantage during intrasexual competition. Although such ‘apparent’ SAM is well explored, whether SAM arises because of specific preferences for size-matched mates has been less thoroughly considered. We tested for ‘preference-based’ SAM in an explosively breeding frog (Rana sylvatica), quantifying how male and female sizes affected fertilization and if males preferred size-matched females. We found that size mismatch severely reduced fertilization. Furthermore, males preferred size-matched, not larger, females in mate choice trials. Because males that mated with much larger females fertilized fewer eggs overall than they would have with size-matched females, male preference for size-matched females may be adaptive. Our results expand understanding of the mechanisms underlying SAM, suggesting that multiple mechanisms may simultaneously cause size-assortative mating patterns to emerge.

Comparative sexual selection in field and laboratory in a guild of sepsid dung flies

Phenomenological and behavioural studies have greatly advanced the study of natural selection. Field studies of selection well appraise the natural situation, but is this also true for laboratory studies, which are typically more mechanistic? We compared precopulatory sexual selection (mating differential based on pairing success) in field and laboratory of several closely related, ecologically similar black scavenger dung flies (Diptera: Sepsidae). Selection on fore femur (sexual trait) and wing size (nonsexual trait) and shape varied considerably among seven species and continental populations in agreement with variation in their mating system and sexual size dimorphism. Selection on trait size was mostly positive or nil, but never significantly negative, implying mating advantages of large males in most species. Strongest selection was found in species/populations with male-biased size dimorphism, associating evolutionary shifts from female- to male-biased dimorphism with intensified sexual selection for large male size by adding male –male competition to a mating system previously driven primarily by female choice. Although sexual selection on shape was closely aligned with allometric shape variation, selection on fore femur shape was more consistent than selection on wing shape, which was absent in most species. Sexual selection intensities, but not necessarily the underlying behavioural mechanisms, were overall similar in field and laboratory, suggesting that laboratory assessments well represent the natural situation. If this conclusion can be generalized, it would lend credence to the strategy of using controlled laboratory mating studies to better understand natural selection, behaviour and ecology, at least for smaller animals that can be held in captivity.

Educational ICT use outside school in the European Union: disparities by social origin, immigrant background, and gender

ABSTRACT This paper analyzes inequalities in using information and communication technologies (ICTs) for educational activities outside school by social origin, immigrant background, and gender. It examines whether these inequalities just work additively or whether certain combinations of these groups are associated with specific advantages or disadvantages and which factors drive these differences. Data from the EU sample of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 are used for the empirical analyses. The results show that male students with immigrant background and highly educated parents have the highest frequency of educational ICT use, while native female students with less educated parents show the lowest frequency. However, the group categories also interact: An academic family background is more advantageous for students with immigrant background and for boys than for native students and girls. The male advantage can be attributed to a general higher frequency of boys using ICTs in their free time, while the advantage of an academic family background is mainly due to a better endowment with educational resources at home. Implications for research and practice are discussed. IMPACT SUMMARY a. Prior State of Knowledge: Inequalities in students’ (offline) educational activities according to their social origin, immigrant background, and gender are well known. Differences in students’ ICT usage have been documented as well. However, the two literatures have hardly been combined so far. b. Novel Contributions: The paper examines whether inequalities in adolescents’ ICT use for educational purposes outside school exist according to social origin, immigrant background, and gender. It also analyzes how far these inequalities interact and which factors drive these inequalities. c. Practical Implications: As some social groups were shown to be less familiar with educational ICT use at home, all students should be supported in acquiring familiarity in using ICTs for educational purposes, e.g., by strengthening the inclusion of ICTs at school.