Qualitative Gender Differences Research Articles

Gender aspects of labor behavior of doctors at healthcare institutions in Moscow

Current processes in the field of public healthcare — optimizing public healthcare institutions, formation of the market of paid medical services, changes in the legislation and in the requirements for qualification of healthcare workers — require new approaches in management. Today is needed not only redistribution of the volumes of medical assistance between different organizations, but also a review of the healthcare infrastructure, which should meet the needs of the population and ensure the quality of medical assistance. Introduction of Professional standards this year and transition to accreditation of all doctors and nurses directly affect the requirements for qualifications of medical workers. All this requires development of targeted training system in higher education and internship, creating a nationwide database of vacancies in healthcare organizations. The formats of work themselves and the requirements for employees are changing. The main task is to eliminate the imbalance in the distribution of medical workers by levels and conditions of medical care. Based on these needs, a new labor behavior of medical workers is being formed, which depends on many factors and needs a high-quality and in-depth study, not only in theory, but also in practice. This article presents the results of studies of the factors affecting labor behavior in the gender aspect. Labor attitudes and values, attitude toward work, labor activity, and job satisfaction are analyzed. There are presented the tools for both quantitative and qualitative analysis of the raised issues and formation of personnel reserve. The purpose of the article is to identify the gender aspects of the labor behavior of doctors at healthcare institutions using the example of Moscow. On the basis of the conducted study were identified qualitative gender differences and developed tools that could be used in healthcare organizations for analysis of personnel’s work, internal staff rotation, formation of personnel reserve.

Patriarchy and the Structure of Employment in Criminal Justice: Differences in the Experiences of Men and Women Working in the Legal Profession, Corrections, and Law Enforcement

Feminist scholars have long argued that patriarchy affects the structure and organization of society as well as the lived experiences of men and women. Although often referenced in discussions of gender differences in crime and justice, few have articulated more specifically the link between patriarchy and gender differences in the experiences of men and women as victims, offenders, or workers. We take up the challenge to theorize patriarchy and examine the extent to which it operates as an organizing principle with regard to employment in the criminal justice system. We consider differences in the representation of men and women working in the legal profession, corrections, and law enforcement, as well as the culture and structure of these workplace environments in the United States. We argue that patriarchy is a useful midlevel theoretical concept that helps explain both quantitative and qualitative gender differences in criminal justice work. This study complements the “doing gender” approach by focusing on gender at the institutional level, and describing how the culture and structure of the criminal justice system shape and constrain the experiences of individuals occupying social roles within it.

Are there gender differences in the cognitive components of adult reading comprehension?

This study examined: (i) whether gender differences exist in the specific cognitive components that are tapped by measures of adult reading comprehension and (ii) whether gender differences exist in the powers of these specific cognitive components to predict reading comprehension. The results revealed a small male advantage for text inferencing and low-knowledge integration, d=−.36 and d=−.28, but no gender differences in the remaining six cognitive components. They also revealed that high-knowledge integration, text memory, and epistemic belief of learning were more predictive of reading comprehension performance for females than males, whereas word decoding was more predictive of reading comprehension performance for males than females. Taken as a whole, these results suggest that there are few quantitative gender differences in the specific cognitive components that are tapped by measures of adult reading comprehension; however, there are important qualitative gender differences in the predictive powers of these specific cognitive components.

Genetic and environmental influences on the relationship between adult ADHD symptoms and self-reported problem drinking in 6024 Dutch twins

Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have shown a positive association between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and problematic alcohol use in adults. To what extent this association is explained by genetic and environmental factors is largely unknown. Data on ADHD and alcohol consumption were collected by self-report in 6024 adult Dutch twins. ADHD symptoms were assessed by three subscales of the Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scales-Self-Report: Screening Version (CAARS-S:SV): inattentiveness, hyperactivity and the ADHD index (ADHD-I). Problem drinking was defined as at least two self-reported alcohol-related problems on the CAGE questionnaire. Structural equation modelling was applied to the bivariate twin data to estimate genetic and environmental influences. Heritability of ADHD symptoms ranged between 32% and 40% and heritability of problem drinking was 50%. The positive correlation between ADHD symptoms and problem drinking was confirmed in this general population sample, with phenotypic correlations between 0.20 and 0.28 and genetic correlations between 0.39 and 0.50. Phenotypic correlations are primarily (61-100%) explained by genetic influences with non-shared environmental influences explaining the remaining covariance. No significant quantitative or qualitative gender differences in covariance structure were found. This study convincingly shows that ADHD symptoms and problem drinking are moderately but significantly correlated in adults and that genetic correlations are primarily underlying this association. This suggests that early interventions are required to prevent adolescents with ADHD from developing problematic levels of alcohol use. Furthermore, clinicians who treat alcohol-dependent patients should be aware that the patient may have a co-morbid condition of ADHD; integrated interventions are required.

Differences in the smoking identities of adolescent boys and girls

Objective To assess sex-disaggregated differences in youths' characterizations of their own smoking behavior. Method Cross-sectional data including demographics (sex, age, and grade level), perceived addiction to tobacco, Dimensions of Tobacco Dependence Scale (DTDS) scores, the Modified Fagerström Tolerance Questionnaire (M-FTQ) scores, smoking history, and self-reported smoking identity were collected from questionnaires administered to 7246 students in British Columbia, Canada. Differences in tobacco dependence by sex and by smoking identity were examined. Results Girls were more likely to report being ex-, social, irregular, or regular smokers than were boys; and were more likely to select more than one smoking identity to describe their smoking behavior. Among the current smokers, the boys smoked more cigarettes each day, on average, and had significantly higher scores on the social and sensation dependence dimensions of the DTDS, and the M-FTQ, compared with the girls. Girls in each smoking identity group had lower scores on every tobacco dependence measure, except the emotional dependence dimension of the DTDS. Conclusion Adolescent boys and girls appear to understand and subscribe to ‘smoking identity’ groups in similar patterns. However, there may be differences in the ways boys and girls conceptualize, describe, and endorse smoking identities. Researchers should examine the consistency between adolescents' smoking identities and researcher-derived categorizations of their smoking in planning and selecting appropriate interventions. Future research should explore qualitative gender differences in the smoking identities of adolescents.

Gender differences in acute tobacco withdrawal: Effects on subjective, cognitive, and physiological measures.

Gender differences in tobacco withdrawal are of considerable clinical importance, but research findings on this topic have been mixed. Methodological variation in samples sizes, experimental design, and measures across studies may explain the inconsistent results. The current study examined whether male (n = 101) and female (n = 102) smokers (> or =15 cigarettes/day) differed in abstinence-induced changes on a battery of self-report measures (withdrawal, affect, craving), cognitive performance tasks (attention, psychomotor performance), and physiological responses (heart rate, blood pressure, brain electroencephalogram). Participants attended 2 counterbalanced laboratory sessions, 1 following 12 hr of abstinence and the other following ad libitum smoking. Results showed that women reported greater abstinence-induced increases in negative affect, withdrawal-related distress, and urge to smoke to relieve withdrawal distress. In contrast, both genders reported similar abstinence-induced changes in positive affect and urge to smoke for pleasure. Men and women exhibited generally similar abstinence-induced changes in physiological and cognitive performance measures. In addition, gender did not moderate the association between withdrawal symptoms and baseline measures of smoking behavior and dependence. Abstinence-induced changes in withdrawal distress mediated the effect of gender on latency until the 1st cigarette of the day at trend levels ( p < .10). These findings suggest that there are qualitative gender differences in the acute tobacco withdrawal syndrome that may underlie gender-specific smoking patterns.

Genetic Etiology of Reading Difficulties in Boys and Girls

AbstractAlthough it has been suggested that genetic influences on reading difficulties may differ in boys and girls, results obtained from previous analyses of data from same-sex twin pairs have failed to provide evidence for a differential genetic etiology of reading disability (RD) as a function of gender. However, results of a recent study in which data from both same-sex and opposite-sex twin pairs were analyzed indicated a higher heritability for reading difficulties in boys (Harlaar et al., 2005). Because the current sample of twin pairs tested in the Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center is substantially larger than that analyzed for our previous report (Wadsworth et al., 2000), this hypothesis was tested more rigorously using data from both same-sex and opposite-sex twin pairs in our current augmented sample. Composite reading scores from 634 twin pairs were subjected to DeFries–Fulker sex-limitation analysis using the model-fitting approach of Purcell and Sham (2003). Analysis of data from the combined sample of male and female twins indicated that genetic influences account for more than half the proband reading deficit (h2g = .58). When this model was extended to test for gender differences in the magnitude of genetic influences on RD, h2g estimates were somewhat higher for females than for males (.63 and .53, respectively), but the difference was nonsignificant (p &gt; .3). A test for qualitative gender differences was also nonsignificant. Thus, these results provide little evidence for a differential genetic etiology of RD in boys and girls.

Genetic Etiology of Reading Difficulties in Boys and Girls

Although it has been suggested that genetic influences on reading difficulties may differ in boys and girls, results obtained from previous analyses of data from same-sex twin pairs have failed to provide evidence for a differential genetic etiology of reading disability (RD) as a function of gender. However, results of a recent study in which data from both same-sex and opposite-sex twin pairs were analyzed indicated a higher heritability for reading difficulties in boys (Harlaar et al., 2005). Because the current sample of twin pairs tested in the Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center is substantially larger than that analyzed for our previous report (Wadsworth et al., 2000), this hypothesis was tested more rigorously using data from both same-sex and opposite-sex twin pairs in our current augmented sample. Composite reading scores from 634 twin pairs were subjected to DeFries-Fulker sex-limitation analysis using the model-fitting approach of Purcell and Sham (2003). Analysis of data from the combined sample of male and female twins indicated that genetic influences account for more than half the proband reading deficit (h2g = .58). When this model was extended to test for gender differences in the magnitude of genetic influences on RD, h2g estimates were somewhat higher for females than for males (.63 and .53, respectively), but the difference was nonsignificant (p > .3). A test for qualitative gender differences was also nonsignificant. Thus, these results provide little evidence for a differential genetic etiology of RD in boys and girls.

Quantitative and Qualitative Gender Differences in the Immune System may Contribute to the Mild Progression of HCV Infection in Women

Quantitative and Qualitative Gender Differences in the Immune System may Contribute to the Mild Progression of HCV Infection in Women

‘We Do Not Engage in Promotional Journalism’

Although the results of content analyses of television and newspaper sport coverage have shown quantitative and qualitative gender differences, such analyses do not reveal why some texts are selected and others not. Although this selection process is constrained by structural factors, there is room for agency since journalists decide what to include and how to write about that. Little scholarly attention has been paid to the ways in which agency is used in the discourses of sport journalists to describe the gendering of the selection process. The purpose of this study is to explore the discursive strategies and their gendered subtexts employed by Dutch sports journalists in explaining the selection process, especially the exclusion of women’s sports coverage. The results show that the journalists conceal issues of gendered dynamics of power by using an ideology of neutrality. This strategy allows them to be misogynist and resistant to the coverage of women’s sport while simultaneously allowing them to claim neutrality and fairness for themselves. We explore how their discourse is linked to a broader societal discourse and how it simultaneously strengthens that discourse.

Gender difference of subjective symptoms of fatigue among Japanese adolescents

The purpose of this study was to quantitatively and qualitatively examine a gender difference of subjective symptoms of fatigue (SSF) in healthy students. The subjective fatigue scale for young adults (SFS-Y) consisted of the following 6 subscales: concentration thinking difficulty, languor, reduced activation, reduced motivation, drowsiness and feeling of physical disintegration. The SFS-Y was administered to 5,435 students aged 15 to 20 yr. Student's t test was used to examine quantitative gender differences for items and factor scores. The qualitative gender difference was examined by comparing factor structures obtained from confirmatory factor analysis. A similarity in the factor structure was evaluated from: 1) interpreted factor names, 2) factor loadings, 3) degree of fit, and 4) congruence coefficient. A complaint of SSF shows gender differences, but the difference is not remarkable. The factor structure of SSF in males and females is suggested to be the same, because six factors with the same name were interpreted in both groups and the similarity of factor structure was very high. There are some qualitative gender differences in SFS, but no qualitative gender differences in factor structure.

A twin study of sex differences in social support.

Social support may reduce the risk of psychiatric illness. Though perceived as an environmental measure, genetic factors may influence levels of social support. A relationship between social roles and personality with social support suggests possible sex effects on the sources of individual differences in social support. We used the responses of MZ and DZ same and opposite sex twins to 16 questions regarding their social life. Six factors--friend support, relative support, friend problem, relative problem, confidants and social integration were used for structural equation modelling. Factor derived scales were analysed for genetic, shared and unique environmental influences. Quantitative and qualitative gender differences were analysed using the software package Mx. Except for relative support and confidants, no qualitative sex differences were seen. Genetic and individual specific environmental influences accounted for the variance for friend support, friend problems, relative problems and social integration and no quantitative gender differences were seen. For relative support genetic factors were detected in females but not males, while for confidants, the shared environment was important in females but not males. Except for relative support in males, genetic factors influence variation in all dimensions of social support. Shared environmental factors influence relative support and relative problems in both sexes. Sex differences were detected for confidants and relative support.