Psychological Gender Differences Research Articles

Measurement Invariance of the HEXACO-100 Across Gender Groups: A Three-Sample Study.

We used exploratory structural equation modeling to examine gender-based measurement invariance (MI) in the HEXACO-100 across three samples that varied in terms of age (undergraduate students in Study 1, working adults in Studies 2 and 3) and testing context (research context in Studies 1 and 2, high-stakes selection context in Study 3). Across three studies, we consistently found support for configural and metric invariance but not scalar invariance. However, the effect size measures of non-invariance were generally small. That said, in the Emotionality scale, for the same latent score, females scored higher than males due to measurement non-invariance (between 0.26 and 0.48 standard deviation units). Thus, the observed mean gender differences overestimated the true mean gender differences. The current study provides detailed evidence regarding gender-based MI of HEXACO personality scales. More generally, it provides insight regarding the effect that measurement artifacts can have on understanding psychological gender differences at the latent level.

Correction of Paulina Banaszkiewicz (2022). Biological sex and psychological gender differences in the experience and expression of romantic jealousy

Correction of Paulina Banaszkiewicz (2022). Biological sex and psychological gender differences in the experience and expression of romantic jealousy

Prevalence of Prohibited Substance Use and Methods by Female Athletes: Evidence of Gender-Related Differences.

To achieve optimal sports performances, women and men may show specific doping practices because of the physiological and psychological gender differences, but there are few data on this topic. Here, we report the apparent use of prohibited substances and methods by female athletes based on analyses of the doping tests collected by the French Anti-Doping Agency from 2013 to 2019. We compared the frequency of use and the ergogenic and side effects to those of their male counterparts. The results revealed lower use of prohibited substances in female vs. male athletes, with significantly fewer anabolic agents, hormone and metabolic modulators, and cannabinoids. Gender specificity in utilization of substance classes was also shown. Relatively lower use of hormone modulators and cannabinoids and higher use of beta-2 agonists, diuretics and glucocorticoids were found in the woman cohort compared with men cohort, combined with the different choice of substances, possibly because of the altered ergogenic and/or side effects. However, no impact due to gender regarding the sports disciplines was observed, with both women and men showing similar use of anabolic agents, mainly in the anaerobic sports, and EPO and corticoids, mainly in endurance or mixed sports. Further studies are needed to put these French data into a global perspective, comparing uses across countries and exploring possible new developments in the fight against doping in women.

Behavioral gender differences are reinforced during the COVID-19 crisis

Behavioral gender differences have been found for a wide range of human activities including the way people communicate, move, provision themselves, or organize leisure activities. Using mobile phone data from 1.2 million devices in Austria (15% of the population) across the first phase of the COVID-19 crisis, we quantify gender-specific patterns of communication intensity, mobility, and circadian rhythms. We show the resilience of behavioral patterns with respect to the shock imposed by a strict nation-wide lock-down that Austria experienced in the beginning of the crisis with severe implications on public and private life. We find drastic differences in gender-specific responses during the different phases of the pandemic. After the lock-down gender differences in mobility and communication patterns increased massively, while circadian rhythms tended to synchronize. In particular, women had fewer but longer phone calls than men during the lock-down. Mobility declined massively for both genders, however, women tended to restrict their movement stronger than men. Women showed a stronger tendency to avoid shopping centers and more men frequented recreational areas. After the lock-down, males returned back to normal quicker than women; young age-cohorts return much quicker. Differences are driven by the young and adolescent population. An age stratification highlights the role of retirement on behavioral differences. We find that the length of a day of men and women is reduced by 1 h. We interpret and discuss these findings as signals for underlying social, biological and psychological gender differences when coping with crisis and taking risks.

Self-Efficacy Effects of Maccabi Telcare Center Diabetes Mellitus Intervention: Do Men and Women Benefit Equally?

A growing body of evidence points to physiological and psychological gender differences in the manifestation and treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. This study is part of a large-scale, prospective trial investigating the effects of Maccabi Telecare Center (MTC) interventions on self-efficacy. Here, we focus on the effects of gender on diabetes self-efficacy related to depressive symptom severity and illness representation. A prospective open-label study investigating the effect of tele-based intervention on diabetes self-efficacy. Participants completed the following questionnaires: Diabetes Management Self-Efficacy Scale (DMSES) (self-efficacy), Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) (depression), and Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R) (illness representation). Data were collected at three time points: Baseline (T1), 3-4 months (T2), and 8-9 months (T3). Although men and women exhibited similar baseline self-efficacy levels, men scored significantly higher than women over time, at T2 (p < .05) and T3 (p < .05). Consistent gender differences were observed throughout the study in depression and illness representations: women scored higher than men on PHQ-9 (3.94 vs. 5.57, p < .001), and perceived their diabetes consequences as more severe than men (p < .001). A linear regression analyses indicated that MTC intervention, age, baseline self-efficacy, and depression at T3 explained 39.8% of the variance of selfefficacy at the conclusion of the study for both genders, although more strongly for men. This study indicates that the effects of a treatment intervention for individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus are gender specific. Thus, gender-tailored interventions may be advised to further improve outcomes for women with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Gender differences in reading and writing achievement: Evidence from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

A frequently observed research finding is that females outperform males on tasks of verbal and language abilities, but there is considerable variability in effect sizes from sample to sample. The gold standard for evaluating gender differences in cognitive ability is to recruit a large, demographically representative sample. We examined 3 decades of U.S. student achievement in reading and writing from the National Assessment of Educational Progress to determine the magnitude of gender differences (N = 3.9 million), and whether these were declining over time as claimed by Feingold (1988). Examination of effect sizes found a developmental progression from initially small gender differences in Grade 4 toward larger effects as students progress through schooling. Differences for reading were small-to-medium (d = -.32 by Grade 12), and medium-sized for writing (d = -.55 by Grade 12) and were stable over the historical time. Additionally, there were pronounced imbalances in gender ratios at the lower left and upper right tails of the ability spectrum. These results are interpreted in the context of Hyde's (2005) gender similarities hypothesis, which holds that most psychological gender differences are only small or trivial in size. Language and verbal abilities represent one exception to the general rule of gender similarities, and we discuss the educational implications of these findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Influence of culture on psychological gender differences

Influence of culture on psychological gender differences

Mars, Venus, or Earth? Sexism and the Exaggeration of Psychological Gender Differences

Few studies have examined how people perceive psychological gender differences despite the practical importance of these perceptions for everyday life. In three studies, we examined whether there is a positive association between sexism and the tendency to exaggerate psychological gender differences. Study 1 demonstrated that the more strongly men endorsed hostile sexism and the more strongly women endorsed hostile or benevolent sexism, the larger they perceived gender differences to be across a broad range of psychological traits. Study 2 documented that the more strongly people endorsed hostile or benevolent sexism, the more likely they were to exaggerate the size of gender differences. In Studies 1 and 2, women perceived gender differences to be larger than did men, after accounting for sexism. Finally, Study 3 showed that increasing (decreasing) the perceived size of gender differences predicts corresponding increases (decreases) in sexism. These results support relevant theory, which argues that differentiation between genders underlies sexist ideologies, and they may inform future intervention studies that aim to reduce sexism by targeting exaggerated gender beliefs. Discussion highlights the proposed connection between sexism and the belief that “men are from Mars and women are from Venus”.

Technical Communication in Assembly Instructions

Women decide on about 80% of the goods that their household buys. But marketers often sell products, especially technical ones, that are designed by men and therefore are oriented largely toward their needs. Consequently, assembly instructions for these products are also oriented toward men’s needs. To illustrate the impact of gender orientation in assembly instructions, this study investigates whether theoretical cognitive or psychological gender differences have a practical influence on the usability of assembly instructions. This study has direct implications for technical writers who strive for a more universal design for such instructions.

Evaluating gender similarities and differences using metasynthesis.

Despite the common lay assumption that males and females are profoundly different, Hyde (2005) used data from 46 meta-analyses to demonstrate that males and females are highly similar. Nonetheless, the gender similarities hypothesis has remained controversial. Since Hyde's provocative report, there has been an explosion of meta-analytic interest in psychological gender differences. We utilized this enormous collection of 106 meta-analyses and 386 individual meta-analytic effects to reevaluate the gender similarities hypothesis. Furthermore, we employed a novel data-analytic approach called metasynthesis (Zell & Krizan, 2014) to estimate the average difference between males and females and to explore moderators of gender differences. The average, absolute difference between males and females across domains was relatively small (d = 0.21, SD = 0.14), with the majority of effects being either small (46%) or very small (39%). Magnitude of differences fluctuated somewhat as a function of the psychological domain (e.g., cognitive variables, social and personality variables, well-being), but remained largely constant across age, culture, and generations. These findings provide compelling support for the gender similarities hypothesis, but also underscore conditions under which gender differences are most pronounced.

Occupational Stress versus Cortisol Associated with Psychological Variables and Gender Differences among Women and Men in Nursing

The present research focused on a sample of Spanish male and female nurses to determine whether psychological variables are related to occupational stress and cortisol. Spanish male (n = 98) and female (n = 98) nurses, matched in diverse sociodemographic variables, completed measures of occupational stress, cortisol 8 am (8 h), and cortisol 8 pm (20 h), and psychological variables. Multivariable regression analyses revealed different patterns of association among the variables when analyzing subjective and (occupational stress) objective indicators (cortisol at 8 h and cortisol at 20 h). In male nurses, higher stress is related to worse self-perceived health, worse mental health, less cortisol measured at 8 h, and more morningness. For the female nurses, higher stress is related to being younger, worse self-perceived health, and less job satisfaction. The only similarities found in the target variables and the measures of stress studied in the groups of males and females are worse self-perceived health and worse mental health associated with more occupational stress.

Occupational segregation and psychological gender differences: How empathizing and systemizing help explain the distribution of men and women into (some) occupations

The proportion of men and women workers varies among occupation types. There are several factors that may contribute to occupational segregation by gender. Using a large U.S. sample (n=2149), we examine the extent to which occupational segregation can be attributed to gender differences in empathizing and systematizing: Psychological dimensions which theorists argue represent meaningful differences between men and women. Of the eight occupational categories for which employee gender and occupation type were associated at the p<.01 level, four of these – Construction, Professional/Scientific/Technical fields, Management, and Education – were partially mediated by systemizing and/or empathizing scores, which typically accounted for 10–20% of the observed gender differences. For other areas, like Health, gender differences were not mediated by either measure.

Psychological Correlates in Subjects with Hereditary Angioedema (HAE)

Objectives: Hereditary Angioedema (HAE) is a rare serious medical condition caused by a deficiency of C1-inhibitor, due to mutations in its structural gene. The disease appears clinically as cutaneous swelling of the extremities, face, genitals, and trunk, painful swelling of the gastrointestinal mucosa and life threatening laryngeal edema. In this study we evaluated in HAE patients and in the relative controls the psychological status and gender differences to verify if there is a link between disease and mental status. Methods: We studied “psychological stress”, using the Cognitive Behavioural Assessment 2.0 (CBA-2.0), in a total of 70 patients with confirmed HAE from different Italian Hospitals (41 women, 29 men; aged 17 to 78). Results: The analysis of the majority factors of CBA-2.0 tests indicates a clear difference between male and female patients; in fact, women perceive more intensively than men the different signs of the disease (have more consciousness of the consequences that this illness provokes in their life). Conclusion: Our data indicate that HAE is associated with emotional factors that can also complicate the clinical status of patients.

Shame and Guilt: Relationships of Test of Self-Conscious Affect Measures With Psychological Adjustment and Gender Differences in Iran

In numerous studies conducted in Western societies, shame as measured by the Test of Self-Conscious Affect (TOSCA) has correlated with maladjustment whereas the TOSCA Guilt Scale has predicted adjustment. The present investigation sought to determine if such linkages would also appear in the Muslim cultural context of Iran. Iranian university students (N = 132) responded to Shame and Guilt Scales from the third version of the TOSCA, along with an array of personality measures. Shame correlated negatively with adjustment and positively with maladjustment. Guilt displayed an opposite pattern of relationships. As in previous Western investigations, women scored higher than men on guilt, but the expected female elevation in shame failed to appear. Shame, nevertheless, interacted with gender to predict relationships with poorer psychological functioning in women, but not in men. These data most importantly confirmed that the TOSCA Shame and Guilt Scales in Iran display implications similar to those observed in the West and that gender differences in Iran may deserve additional research attention.

Men and women are from Earth: Examining the latent structure of gender.

Taxometric methods enable determination of whether the latent structure of a construct is dimensional or taxonic (nonarbitrary categories). Although sex as a biological category is taxonic, psychological gender differences have not been examined in this way. The taxometric methods of mean above minus below a cut, maximum eigenvalue, and latent mode were used to investigate whether gender is taxonic or dimensional. Behavioral measures of stereotyped hobbies and physiological characteristics (physical strength, anthropometric measurements) were examined for validation purposes, and were taxonic by sex. Psychological indicators included sexuality and mating (sexual attitudes and behaviors, mate selectivity, sociosexual orientation), interpersonal orientation (empathy, relational-interdependent self-construal), gender-related dispositions (masculinity, femininity, care orientation, unmitigated communion, fear of success, science inclination, Big Five personality), and intimacy (intimacy prototypes and stages, social provisions, intimacy with best friend). Constructs were with few exceptions dimensional, speaking to Spence's (1993) gender identity theory. Average differences between men and women are not under dispute, but the dimensionality of gender indicates that these differences are inappropriate for diagnosing gender-typical psychological variables on the basis of sex.

Feminists Need to Look Beyond Evolutionary Psychology for Insights into Human Reproductive Strategies: A Commentary

The Sex Roles: Feminist Reappraisals of Evolutionary Psychology issue that addressed evolutionary psychology’s Sexual Strategies Theory is enlightening for feminists as well as those scholars who examine men and women’s behavior. As several articles in this issue show, there are mixed results in support of this theory. While some feminists may want to conclude that this an indication of the limited influence evolution and biology has on gendered behavior, the mixed results rather may be due to problems that are foundational to evolutionary psychology itself. For those interested in evolutionary perspectives of men and women’s behavior, they should look beyond evolutionary psychology and examine what evolutionary biology and behavioral ecology can provide to our understanding of reproductive strategies. This is evident in feminist and female evolutionists’ works that have created a new model of sexual dialectics, begun the retesting of A. J. Bateman’s foundational work that underlies parental investment theory and Sexual Strategies Theory, and provided new evidence of phenotypic and behavioral plasticity. This research has called into question past assumptions of male dominance and female passivity in mating, and continues to challenge evolutionary psychology’s claim that based on Sexual Strategies Theory, there are evolved psychological gender differences between men and women in their desire for short-term mating opportunities and sexual variety that are rooted in our evolutionary past and not very responsive to the current environments within which men and women are making these reproductive decisions.

P02-236 - Gender differences in elderly patientswith depression

ObjectiveTo detect phenomenological gender differences in elderly patients with depression for better understanding. In addition to illustrate neuro- psychological gender differences in elderly patients with depression for better management.SubjectsA case/control, comparative study with consecutive sample. 80 elderly Egyptian subjects of both sexes aged 60 years or above recruited from psychiatry outpatient clinic in Kasr Al Aini and Beni Suef hospitals with no obvious cognitive impairment or substance related psychiatric disorders. The subjects were classified into 2 groups (depressed patients and control groups) 40 subjects each.The MethodsDiagnostic criteria of the DSM-IV TR, Symptom checklist, MMSE, GDS,WAIS and STAI were used.ResultsComparison between the depressed patients and the control group revealed that the depressed group has affected cognitively than the control group as assessed by MMSE and also showed deterioration of intellectual abilities (deterioration index). Comparison between the depressed males and females subgroups revealed that the characteristics of the patients and correlates of depression are similar in both sexes except for some significant findings e.g, depression in elderly women is more associated with widowhood, more suffering of sense of worthlessness, more affection of attention and more disturbance in reasoning and costructional abilities.ConclusionDepression in older patients is related to widowhood, presence of family conflicts an positive past history of depression. There were no gender differences in elderly depressed patients except for that depression in elderly women is more associated with widowhood, sense of worthlessness, more affection of attention and more disturbance in reasoning.

Psychological Gender Differences in Bariatric Surgery Candidates

Over 177,000 bariatric surgeries were performed in 2006. Most patients are required to receive presurgical psychological clearance, although there are no empirically validated psycho-surgical risk factors. In an effort to establish normative data on suspected risk factors, the present study was conducted to determine if males and females differ on psycho-surgical risk factors. Subjects consisted of 361 consecutive bariatric surgery candidates undergoing a psychological evaluation in a private practice setting. They were administered the PsyBari, a test that detects and measures psycho-surgical risk factors, and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-2). The results indicate that males have significantly higher BMIs than females (p=0.035). Females have tried significantly more diets than males (p<0.000). Females are significantly more likely to report a history of depression than males (p<0.000). Females received significantly higher scores on the PsyBari Depression Index than males (p<0.000.). Females received significantly higher BDI-2 scores than males (p<0.001). Females are significantly more likely to report a history of anxiety than males (p=0.004). Females received significantly higher scores on the PsyBari Social Anxiety Index than males (p=0.038). The results indicate that males and females differ significantly on suspected psycho-surgical risk factors. Assessments of bariatric surgery candidates should recognize that males and females have different baselines for psycho-surgical risk factors. Further research on bariatric surgery candidates should report results separated by gender.

Individual differences in the accuracy of detecting social covariations: Ecological sensitivity

Ecological sensitivity refers to the ability to detect covariations in the social environment. The goal of this research was to investigate one operational definition of ecological sensitivity, the ability to observe covariations occurring between group membership and particular behaviors exhibited by group members. A 15-excerpt videotape was devised in which such covariations were scripted into the behavior of the people who were interacting. After watching each excerpt, participants were asked to describe up to three behavioral differences they observed between two groups identified on the answer sheet. Higher ecological sensitivity consisted of recalling a larger number of valid covariations. In three studies, with a total of 279 participants, higher ecological sensitivity was associated with (1) being female, (2) another ecological sensitivity task (accuracy of one’s beliefs about the nature of psychological gender differences), (3) more self-reported attunement to social interaction, (4) greater tolerance for ambiguity and openness to experience, (5) more extraversion, and (6) better psychological adjustment. There was no overall association with several measures of general cognitive ability, cognitive style, and ability to decode nonverbal cues.

Integrated review of the social and psychological gender differences in depression

A range of theories has been proposed to explain the well-documented finding that women are twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with depression. Theories offering psychological and sociological explanations are reviewed in this paper. The possibility that this finding is an artefact of differences in the ways in which men and women demonstrate depression is examined. A discussion of the implications of establishing a broader systemic perspective of depression for understanding the gender difference in depression is presented.