Variation In Gender Differences Research Articles

Spatial variation in gender-biased parasitism: host-related, parasite-related and environment-related effects

The gender-biased pattern of parasite infestation has been shown to be a complicated phenomenon that cannot be explained by a single mechanism but rather involves several different mechanisms. We asked what are the factors that affect the manifestation and extent of gender-biased parasitism and studied the relationship between parasite-related (mean abundance, mean species richness and total species richness of all parasites), host-related (rodent density and proportion of reproductive males and females both separately and together) and environment-related (mean daily maximal and minimal temperatures, rainfall and relative humidity) factors and the magnitude of gender-biased infestation of a South African rodent Rhabdomys pumilio by ixodid ticks, gamasid mites, lice and fleas. We found that spatial variation in gender differences in parasite infestation was affected by parasite-, host- and environment-related factors, although the set of factors affecting gender differences in infestation differed among higher taxa of ectoparasites. Gender differences in infestation by fleas and lice were affected mainly by parasite-related factors, whereas gender differences in infestation by ticks and, in part, by mites were affected mainly by host-related and environmental factors. In addition, spatial variation in most measures of gender difference in mite infestation remained unexplained.

Gender Differences in Extreme Mathematical Achievement: An International Perspective on Biological and Social Factors

Genetic and other biological explanations have reemerged in recent scholarship on the underrepresentation of women in mathematics and the sciences. This study engages this debate by using international data-including math achievement scores from the Third International Mathematics and Sciences Study and country-level data from the World Bank, the United Nations, the International Labour Organization, the World Values Survey, and the International Social Survey Programme-to demonstrate the importance of social factors and to estimate an upper bound for the impact of genetic factors. The author argues that international variation provides a valuable opportunity to present simple and powerful arguments for the continued importance of social factors. In addition, where previous research has, by and large, focused on differences in population means, this work examines gender differences throughout the distribution. The article shows that there is considerable variation in gender differences internationally, a finding not easily explained by strictly biological theories. Modeling the cross-national variation in gender differences with country-level predictors reveals that differences among high achievers are related to gender inequality in the labor market and differences in the overall status of men and women.

A COMPARISON OF THE ALCOHOL USE DISORDER IDENTIFICATION TEST (AUDIT) IN GENERAL POPULATION SURVEYS IN NINE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

This study explored the suitability of the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) for cross-national comparable estimates of problem drinking in general populations. On the item level the focus is on responsiveness to cross-national and gender differences. For the set of items the focus is on intercorrelations between items, indicating to what extent the AUDIT constitutes a scale. General population surveys from nine European countries were included. Cross-tabulations were used to analyse cross-national and gender differences in scores on the items. Reliability analysis was used to analyse intercorrelations between the items. The items 'blackouts' (men and women) and 'guilt and remorse' (women) are the most frequently reported consequences. Gender differences tended to be smaller for 'guilt and remorse' and 'concern of others', and largest for 'morning drinking'. The reliability analysis shows that in eight of the nine countries frequency of drinking lowers the alpha. Injury and concern of others lead to a lower internal consistency in three countries. There was sufficient variation between countries in the pattern of responses and variation in gender differences to conclude that the set of consequence items was responsive to national and gender differences in problem drinking. Frequency of drinking was not a good indicator of problem drinking. The country differences in item total correlations of consequences might be due to differences in how these items are interpreted. Decisions on which items to include in an instrument to allow comparison of estimates of problem drinking cross-nationally require studies on how these items are interpreted in general populations of different countries.

Gender differences in economic support and well-being of older Asians.

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of gender differences in economic support and well-being in eight countries in Southern and Eastern Asia (Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, and Taiwan). We examine multiple economic indicators, including sources of income, receipt of financial and material support, income levels, ownership of assets, and subjective well-being. Results show substantial variation in gender differences across indicators and provide an important qualification to widely held views concerning the globally disadvantaged position of older women. Whereas men tend to report higher levels of income than women, there is generally little gender difference in housing characteristics, asset ownership, or reports of subjective economic well-being. Unmarried women are economically advantaged compared to unmarried men in some respects, in part because they are more likely to be embedded in multigenerational households and receive both direct and indirect forms of support from family members.

How Much of the Gender Difference in Child School Enrolment Can Be Explained? Evidence from Rural India

AbstractThere are significant gender differences in child schooling in the Indian states though very few studies explain this gender difference. Unlike most existing studies we take account of the implicit and explicit opportunity costs of schooling and use a bivariate probit model to jointly determine a child's participation in school and market jobs. Results obtained from the World Institute of Development Economics Research (WIDER) villages in West Bengal suggest that indicators of household resources, parental preferences, returns to and opportunity costs of domestic work significantly affect child school enrolment. While household resources have similar effects on enrolment of boys and girls, other arguments tend to explain a part of the observed gender difference. Even after taking account of all possible arguments, there remains a large variation in gender differences in child schooling that cannot be explained by differences in male and female characteristics in our sample.

Attitudes Toward Violence Against Women: A Cross-Nation Study

An understanding of attitudes toward violence against women is vital for effective prevention strategies. In this study we examined attitudes regarding violence against women in samples of undergraduate women and men students from four countries: India, Japan, Kuwait, and the United States. Attitudes toward sexual assault and spousal physical violence differed between men and women and across the four countries. Variations in gender differences across countries indicated that, for attitudes regarding sexual assault of women in particular, sociocultural factors may be a stronger influence than gender. Findings suggest the importance of examining differences within the larger sociocultural context of political, historical, religious, and economic influences on attitudes toward gender roles and violence against women.

Gender differences in unipolar depression: a general population survey of adults between age 18 to 64 of German nationality

Background: Several studies from different epidemiological backgrounds have shown that unipolar depression is more prevalent in females than in males. This study examines gender differences in depression in a sample of 4075 probands recruited representatively from the general population in the northern German epidemiological catchment area of Lübeck. Methods: Probands were interviewed with M-CIDI by lay interviewers. Results: Being married only seems to increase the female depression risk when having children, while higher education reduced female excess; both male and female risk for depression raised sharply in separated, divorced and widowed probands. Not being employed was associated with an increased risk in male depression whereas in females risk was nearly unchanged. The gender ratio increased with the minimum number of depressive symptoms. Female excess was not reduced by a higher degree of subjective impairment or melancholic features. Females also predominated in longer episode durations. Female excess in the total group emerged beginning from adolescence with a tendency for a male excess in the prepubescent ages. No birth cohort effect was observed. Limitations: The cross-sectional design of this study precluded causal analysis of reported associations and some retrospective assessments are error-prone because of recall bias. Conclusions: We support previous findings of variations in gender differences in depression, however observed social parameter influences underline the need for a more detailed analysis of subgroups and underlying psychological mechanisms.

A multilevel meta‐analysis of gender differences in learning orientations

Background. Reviewing gender differences in learning processes does not result in a clear and coherent picture of the magnitude and direction of gender differences (Severiens & ten Dam, 1994). The results not only differ on several dimensions but at times they are actually contradictory.Aims. The aim of the present study is to obtain a more coherent picture of gender differences in learning orientations.Samples. To provide this picture, a meta‐analysis was performed on 22 studies which investigate gender differences in learning orientations. The studies used Entwistle's Approaches to Studying Inventory, and were conducted in a variety of higher education settings.Methods. The results of these studies were analysed in a multilevel approach with two levels: the respondents are nested within studies.Results. Results show significant mean gender differences on the Reproduction Orientation (women score higher), and on the Non‐academic Orientation (men score higher). Furthermore, gender differences appeared on 11 of 16 scales (e.g., relating ideas, operational learning, fear of failure, negative attitude to studying, extrinsic motivation). The effect scores of 10 of 16 scales of the ASI are heterogeneous. The observed variation in gender differences across studies could not be explained by the small number of available study characteristics.Conclusions. More research is needed which explores factors in the educational context ‘responsible’ for the magnitude and direction of gender differences in learning orientations.

Economic Strategies, Welfare Regimes and Gender Inequality in Employment in the European Union

Female participation in paid employment has in creased significantly in recent decades throughout Europe, but despite the existence of equal opportuni ties policies the position of women in the labour market remains a subordinate one. There are how ever, significant differences between European Union countries in terms of the extent of inequality. Using data from Eurostat, and a methodology simi lar to the United Nations human development index, a composite index of gender inequality in employ ment is devised and estimated for countries in the EU in order to identify more precisely the extent of variation in gender differences. These differences in gender inequality in employ ment are linked to relationships between the state, the economy and society, more specifically, in terms of welfare regimes and regulatory frameworks. Pre liminary results indicate marked differences in the extent of gender inequality between social demo cratic and liberal market economies with varying performances in the more corporatist and in the southern or peripheral economies suggesting that any harmonization of social policy in the EU should be towards rather than away from more social demo cratic regimes if gender equality in employment is considered to be a desirable social goal.

What's Class Got to Do with It? A Further Examination of Power-Control Theory

In recent issues of this journal, J. Hagan, A. R. Gillis, and J. Simpson elaborate a power- control theory of common deliquency. They propose a positive relationship between neo-Marxist conceptions of class and common forms of delinquency, patterns of variation in gender differences by class, and intervening variables to explain these variations. An examination of class, gender, and delinquency in three U.S. data sets did not reveal the same patterns. A neo- Marxist categorization of the labor force was generally unrelated to common delinquency, and there was no evidence of paterned class-gender variations of the sort reported in their 1985 analysis. Gender differences by race were consistent with their theory, while racial differences were not. Moreover, an attempted reconstruction of data for the full set of household categories reported in the 1987 analysis raises important questions about the nature of class variations and the role of patriarchal imbalance in generating gender differences.

Gender differences in tobacco use in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and Latin America

This paper reviews historical, anthropological and contemporary survey data concerning gender differences in tobacco use in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and Latin America. In many cultural groups in these regions, tobacco use has been substantially more common among men than among women. In some groups, tobacco use has been about equally common for both sexes. No evidence was found of any group in which tobacco use has been substantially more common among women. The widespread pattern of greater tobacco use by men appears to be linked to general features of sex roles. For example, men have often had greater social power than women, and this has been expressed in greater restrictions on women's behavior, including social prohibitions against women's smoking. These social prohibitions against women's smoking have strongly inhibited women's tobacco use and thus have been a major cause of gender differences in tobacco use. Gender differences in tobacco use have varied in magnitude, depending on the type of tobacco use and the particular cultural group, age group and historical period considered. Causes of the variation in gender differences in tobacco use include variation in women's status and variation in the social significance and benefits attributed to particular types of tobacco use in different cultures. Contact with Western cultures appears to have increased or decreased gender differences in smoking, depending on the specific circumstances. The patterns of gender differences in tobacco use in non-Western societies are similar in many ways to the patterns observed in Western societies, but there are several important differences. For example, current evidence indicates that in many non-Western societies women have been more likely than men to quit smoking, in contrast to most Western societies where men have been as likely or more likely than women to quit smoking.

City Differences and Nondifferences in the Effect of Race and Sex on Occupational Distribution

The empirical and theoretical analysis of intercity variation in black-white occupational differences constitutes a thin but persistent thread running through the last 30 years of sociological literature. At least nine separate statistical analyses have been reported in major sociological journals from 1951 to 1976, starting with Turner's (1951) attempt to test hypotheses frequently found in the race relations concerning the relative occupational position of the Negro male in the labor forces of large American cities. This paper reassesses this entire literature on theoretical, methodological and empirical grounds. Our strategy here is to ask some key, underlying questions which never have been considered by earlier empirical-studies of city differences in the race-occupation relationship. We find unexpected answers to these questions and these answers lead us to reexamine the dominant methodology of previous studies of the relative occupational standing-of blacks and whites in U.S. metropolitan areas. In our methodological reexamination of earlier studies, we ask some additional basic, underlying questions which have not been considered in previous research, and the answers we find enable us to explain exactly how certain methodological conventions in this literature misled earlier researchers. As a further validation of our methodological arguments, and for theoretical reasons developed in this paper, we also investigate intermetropolitan variation in gender differences in occupational distribution. Finally, we draw upon recent theoretical and empirical research on the social evaluation of occupations to derive a theoretical explanation of why sexual differentiation and racial differentiation in the occupational structure does not vary substantially across U.S. metropolitan areas.