Category: Gender Differences

Introduction

As noted by Martin & Dinella (2012), there is congruence between personal gender stereotypes and behaviors among children at the age of nine. Apparently, they begin to develop gender differences at an early age and most of them are already inclined to specific habits and behaviors that define their gender at this age. Research done by Martin & Dinella (2012) shows that less congruence is exhibited in girls who are tomboys and those who are not. This is influenced by different factors, which include the non-normative interests in tomboys. This paper will be discussing the gender difference in children, their social development, and stereotypes about activities and preferences.

Gender differences

Based on gender, children have different preferences in terms of beliefs, desires and feelings. These disparities are caused mostly by biological factors although others such as environmental and social factors contribute to the same. Children are subjected to a phenomenon known as Gender Typing, which shapes their behaviors, motives, and values. Through gender typing, they get to learn the culturally acceptable and appropriate behaviors for their gender. At this stage, boys and girls are taught how to behave appropriately to depict the characteristics of their gender inclination.

Martin & Dinella argue that some of the presumed variances between boys and girls are real while others are simply based on mythical assumptions (2012). For instance, boys are more masculine compared to girls who on the other hand have an enhanced understanding in early verbal skills. Gender disparities are greatly influenced by biological occurrences, which include hormones and literate levels of the brain (Martin & Dinella, 2012). Hormones are responsible for organizing biological disposition for children to display masculine or feminine characteristics.

Stereotyping and social development

Children grow amidst mythical beliefs that define their gender depending on different cultural values. For instance, boys are expected to show resilience, independence, assertiveness, as well as competitiveness (Pascual-Sagastizabal et al., 2013). Girls on the other hand are expected to be passive, sensitive, supportive and emotional (Pascual-Sagastizabal et al., 2013). However, gender roles and beliefs are gradually changing with the new generation paying less attention to some of these cultural values. Nonetheless, it is also imperative to note that cognitive factors in gender differences also play a major part in shaping the roles of boys and girls. When gender information is offered to both boys and girls, it automatically modifies their understanding and roles in their respective sexual characteristics. Therefore, stereotyping affects social interaction and development among both boys and girls.

Conclusion

This paper has discussed how gender roles are influencing children at a young age. The causes of gender disparities are clearly outlined in the paper as well as the gender roles concerning both boys and girls. The paper has also identified some of the major stereotypes that are associated with both boys and girls. In addition, the real characteristics based on biological formation have also been identified in the paper. As discussed above, stereotyping has a direct impact on the level and manner of social development in children. This is also true with cognitive factors, which include gender information. The paper outlines the different factors that are primarily responsible for shaping gender roles for both boys and girls. Gender disparities, social development, and stereotyping with regard to gender roles have been discussed extensively in this research.

References

Martin, C., & Dinella, L. M. (2012). Congruence between gender stereotypes and activity preference in self-identified tomboys and non-tomboys. Archives Of Sexual Behavior, 41 (3), 599-610. Web.

Pascual-Sagastizabal, E., Azurmendi, A., Sanchez-Martin, J. R., Braza, F., Carreras, M. R., Munoz, J. M., & Braza, P. (2013). Empathy, estradiol and androgen levels in 9-year-old children. Personality and Individual Differences, 54 (8), Web.

In the social context, men have been perceived as being the superior gender throughout time. However, with more focus on scientific justification, it has been proven that men do not live as long as women. Research proves that there is a definitive role for gender within health and illness. There are many factors that are instrumental in understanding which health-related differences arise within men in contrast with women. Such factors include the gender differences present in illness, the role of health behavior, and health beliefs.

Gender Differences in Illness

Illness, consequently, affects longevity. With a substantial amount of research, there are known to be various gender differences in illness. For example, women are more susceptible to becoming obese than men. They are also more likely to be diagnosed with high blood pressure, depression, back ailments, migraines, arthritis, piles, and varicose veins. However, it is more probable for men to be subject to lung cancer, digestive disorders, and HIV/AIDS. The illnesses men are prone to acquiring are more likely to be terminal.

Health Behavior

Studies have shown that there is a correlation between gender differences and health and illness relating to health behaviors. Men are more likely to partake in unhealthy behaviors. For example, it is more common for men to eat more fat, meat, and salt than fruit, vegetables, and fiber. Diet plays a key role in longevity. ‘You are what you eat’, as they say. Men are also more likely to smoke and use higher levels of drugs and alcohol. With the stigma behind self-care and personal development being seen as feminine; men tend to be less motivated in enacting a lifestyle change.

Risk

Men are found to partake in more risky behavior than women. Not only do men drink, smoke, and use drugs more than women, they do so excessively. Although we are entering an era where we understand that women should not be belittled for their extent of sexual partners, men tend to have more sexual partners. The more sexual partners one has increases susceptibility to sexually transmitted diseases. Men are also known to participate in high-risk activities such as bungee jumping or sky diving. Consequently, resulting in higher rates of accidental injury and death amongst.

Help-Seeking

A key component to staying healthy and maintaining optimal wellness involves the adequate utilization of health care. The usage of health care services amongst differing genders remains a factor in longevity. Men tend to use health care less than women and are often delayed in asking for help and defining symptoms. Furthermore, men are found to be less motivated to obtain screening tests and health check-ups. “Such factors cause delayed help-seeking which could contribute to gender differences in life expectancy and causes of mortality if men wait until their illness has progressed before accessing medical care” (Ogden, 2019).

Health Beliefs

Risk Perception

Research has proven that men and women hold different beliefs about their health, which influences behaviors. When addressing risk perception, men often underestimate their risk for a given illness or injury. Men perceive themselves as not being at risk of the effects of smoking, usage of drugs and alcohol, HIV, and skin cancer. Additionally, men accept the risks of dangerous driving. Men and women hold different perceptions of control. Although men value their status of health higher, they are known to seek help later, resulting in decreased longevity. “Men, therefore, show a profile of health beliefs which may contribute to behaving in less healthy ways and in turn, having shorter life expectancy than women” (Ogden, 2019).

Social Norms

Every society holds social norms pertaining to masculinity and femininity. These social norms relate to an individual’s behavior. In contemporary society, to be concerned about your health is perceived as feminine. Men are held to a certain standard of being, confined to gender constructs. “Men are positioned as naturally strong, resistant to disease, unresponsive to pain and physical distress, and unconcerned with minor symptoms” (Lee and Owens, 2002).

Furthermore, proving that society encourages men to conform to masculine behavior and avoid what is feminine. Often resulting in men partaking in stereotypical scenarios that are unhealthy and risky. Femininity, however, revolves around self-care. This characterization creates opposition for self-care amongst men. Society has enacted masculine norms that encourage behaviors and beliefs that negatively impact the health of men. Because women are encouraged to play an active role in their wellness while men are discouraged, they are more likely to surpass men in longevity.

Coping

How one copes leads to how one carries out a certain behavior. Men don’t want to share their emotions or seek out help when they are upset. However, it is acceptable for women to be emotional and expressive in coping. A lack of emotional expression has been known to have implications on health and behavior. Avoidant coping often surfaces as men are opposed to voicing their problems. This results in bad behavioral choices. Additionally, repressive coping and denial are detrimental and result in the increase of a stress response which in turn, graduates to an external stressor. The sole exception, with regard to emotional expression, is anger. Men are known to express higher levels of hostility and anger than women. Anger and hostility have been linked to cardiovascular disease.

Conclusion

Men and women are inherently different. Within health and illness is a multitude of factors contributing to why men do not live as long as women. With regard to illness, the difference in gender and bodily structure makes way for contrasting susceptibility of illnesses. Behavior creates actions, and actions affect lifestyles. Health behavior is studied to understand how a person acts and how it influences their status of well-being. There are many behavioral factors that can impact physical well-being and various medical conditions. Men often choose to take part in high-risk activities, which consequently result in increased rates of injury. The contrasting behaviors men choose to partake in play an instrumental role in their longevity. As a collective, men are less active in seeking medical help. The differing health beliefs both men and women hold influence their behaviors. Men are found to perceive risk and control less significantly than women. With social norms in place, men are set to a certain standard in which they must not waver in fear of being seen as feminine. These norms affect men’s ability to cope and express basic emotions. When looking at the source of longevity and its contrast between genders, we must look at the gender differences present in illness, the role of health behavior and health beliefs. It is only then that we can determine why women outlive men.

The identity crisis of women from the perspective of ‘The Darling’ and ‘Profession for women’

The concept of “identity crisis” originates in the work of developmental psychologist Erik Erikson, who believed that the formation of identity was one of the most important parts of a person’s life.

When people are confused about their role or goal in life they face an identity crisis. Identity crisis is one of the common conflicts people face during their development. Erikson described identity as a subjective sense as well as an observable quality of personal sameness and continuity, paired with some belief in the sameness and continuity of some shared world image. As a quality of unself-conscious living, this can be gloriously obvious in a young person who has found himself as he has found his communality.’ The protagonist of ‘The Darling’ Olenka is the best example of an identity crisis. She is a person, who needs a male in her life, she feels empty without a male. The Russian author Anton Chekov introduced this woman who is representing the dependency of women on men.

The main character of ‘The Darling’ is familiar as Olenka. Olenka is constantly in love with someone or other. She finds it difficult to live without the dominance of a male partner. The first love with Mr. Kukin the manager of the theatre called the Trivoli. He is now ruined because rain has driven his customers. He is very pessimistic about his life but a deep and genuine feeling arises in Olenka and she falls in love with her fretful neighbor. The narrator has described how Olenka has always been in love with someone starting with her father as a young child and she feels affection from most of the people she meets. Even her female friends have also expressed their love for Olenka by saying “Oh you Darling”. After the sudden death of Lukin. Olenka moves towards Vasily Pustovalov, the Marchant of a local timber yard. The writer notes that Olenka liked him very much, and after a few days her love turns into a relationship with Vasily and they married. She started helping her husband. In the meantime, she makes friends with the veterinary surgeon named Smirnin. After six years Pustovalo died and she become a widow. Olenka retreats into virtual isolation. But Olenka and Smirnin soon become lovers. Unfortunately, Smirnin is posted to a camp near Siberia and Olenka becomes absolutely alone. The lonely widow grows thinner and frets that she no longer knows what to talk about. This is irony years later Smirnin reappears and informs Olenka that he has reunited with his wife and young son. Olenka suggested that the family move into her home and that Olenka can live in the attached cottage. The aging widow immediately falls in love with the Smirin’s old son Shasa. Thus the whole story represents the identity crisis of our protagonist Olenka. Because of her identity crisis view of life, she has never given of her walking of life.

On the other hand ‘profession for women’ by Virginia Woolf is addressing a group of women seeking employment in a workforce predominated by men. She speaks of the struggle present for all women writers, and that is to break out of the conventions society has for women- being pure, conservative, and sycophantic towards men without a mind of their own. This is a mental barrier that she was able to break, with great difficulty, in order to incorporate her own voice into her writing. She was able to do so thanks to her financial independence, which allowed her to not depend on writing for a livelihood and allowed her to break conventions. Now that women will join the workforce, Woolf says that it is important to ask questions regarding what all of this implies, how women are to behave once they are professionals and to explore the individual voice that women will need to bring to their jobs. Some women succeeded as writers among other professions due to the relative cheapness associated with the work. In Professions for Women, the character realizes that before she can accept herself as a professional woman, however, she must first confront her demons. She believes in the necessity of destroying what she calls ‘The Angel in the House. ‘The Angel in the House is an ideal. She is the woman writer’s subconscious, a subconscious brought on by generations of an oppressive Victorian society. This woman is the creation of men. She is the charming, quiet, unselfish, and ‘pure’ woman of the house. In other words, she did not have or want to have a mind or wish of her own, much less a room of her own.

The only way for the character to be able to write honestly about novels written by men was to kill the ‘Angel in the House, to get rid of this submissive image of a woman who never disputes anything, and goes along with everything. ‘…I took my pen in my hand to review that novel by a famous man, she slipped behind me and whispered: My dear, you are a young woman. You are writing about a book that has been written by a man. Be sympathetic; be tender; flatter; deceive; use all of the arts and wiles of our sex. Never let anybody guess that you have a mind of your own. Above all, be pure.’ The character’s only way out was the vanquishing of this mindless Victorian product. ‘Killing the Angel in the House was part of the occupation of a woman writer.’ The character, much like the author, could not accept that the only way for a woman to succeed in life was to charm, conciliate, and lie her way through the maze of male-dominated social structures.

This two-story represents two kinds of women with different points of view on life. One is dependent on men another is trying to find her own way to live life. Our society is based on male domination. It’s a practice done by both men and women. Women and men are dependable on each other in every perspective of their life. But the dominance of men over females is common practice for a long time. In the study of the history of the growth of women’s rights throughout recorded history, the personal achievement of women is always neglected. It’s seen that more traditioturenal recordings of history have minimized or ignored the contribution of women. This ignorance makes women dependent on male people.

Culture and society have a huge impact on gender roles. America receives thousands of cultural messages each week concerning gender roles, including advertisements, movies, TV, music, magazines, and family influence. This constant bombardment of information presents traditional and evolving less-traditionally defined gender roles. People subconsciously and consciously take in this cultural information about gender roles. They then evaluate the information to try and understand how the information applies to them and how they should then operate within society. While many people and organizations challenge these traditional gender roles, the influence of mainstream culture remains evident in perceptions while other cultural influences are growing.

From the perspective of Bangladesh, gender inequality is improving, ‘In 2015, Bangladesh was ranked 139 out of 187 countries on the Human Development Index[1] and 47 out of 144 countries surveyed on the Gender Inequality Index in 2017. Many of the inequalities are the result of extreme poverty and traditional gender norms centered on a patrilineal and patriarchal kinship system[2] in rural areas.’

Women are dependent on men this is a social norm. society and culture is telling this for a long time. The idea of dependence versus independence can cause internal conflict, according to Colette Dowling’s book, ”The Cinderella Complex: Women’s Hidden Fear of Independence.’Psychological effects of this dependency and conflict are a lack of self-esteem, lack of confidence, anxiety, and inability to function in the workplace according to Dowling.

ABSTRACT

Research shows a link between masculine roles, depression and social media (SM). This was explored via semi-structured interviews using male participants between 18-30 years of age who frequently used SM. Interview questions focused on attitudes and opinions about social media activity and masculinity. Thematic Analysis was used to analyse the data, and 2 themes were identified. Theme 1. was masculine expectations/roles and theme 2. was insecurity/body image. Results show that respondents feel pressure to conform to traditional masculine roles such as they are reluctant to show emotions and feel pressure to present the self in a good-light. Furthermore, respondents’ participation in social media impacts how they feel about themselves, particularly when viewing images of other people online, which has important implications about their well-being.

INTRODUCTION

Depression is a significant problem among men. Suicide rates are three times more common for men than for women in the UK (Hawton, 2000). Depression in men is far less likely to be diagnosed and treated than in women, (Moller-Leimkuhler et al., 2004) what could stem from the fact that men are reluctant to ask for help and tend to deny that they have a problem of emotional nature at all.

Masculine depression

Masculine depression is a form of depression where men are feeling pressure to suppress their emotions in order to avoid being perceived by others as vulnerable or weak. Crying or being emotional is strongly associated with feminine characteristics so men are told to “Man up” in order to conform to these masculine norms (Magovcevic & Addis, 2008). According to Helgeson (1995;1968) psychosocial mechanisms such as gender role socialisation can result in masculine depression. Gender is socially constructed, and it leads to different patterns of expectations about appropriate behaviour for men and women. Men receive messages from early on what is allowed, and what is normal behaviour to their gender. These masculine identities are normalised, idolised and internalised (Helgeson, 1995; 1968). Denial of depression is one of the characteristics men use to demonstrate their masculine identity and avoid being categorised to lower status groups like females or homosexuals (Courtenay 2000). Conforming to traditional (or hegemonic) masculine norms are highly linked with depression according to a vast majority of the studies (Nadeau, Balsan, & Rochlen, 2016).

Body Image

Men are increasingly subject to anxiety because of their body image. Masculine bodies are idolised and eroticized in the media (Shilling, 1993). The idolised man in Western societies are white, muscular, confident and ambitious, so pressures on appearance is on the rise (Shilling, 1993). Men`s sports have maintained the normalised and idolised form of heterosexual masculinity for decades (Messner, 1992). Athletes are seen as fearless warriors with muscular bodies, who display highly hegemonic masculinities. Many young boys view these sportsmen as role models and many men desire to be associated with the hegemonic status. Men`s body image affecting men`s self-esteem and increase feelings of insecurity worldwide (Messner, 1992).

Social media

Social media (SM) is gaining increasing importance amongst youths’ daily lives. The link between social media and depression is heavily researched. However, research shows ambiguous results. Sander and colleagues (2000) have found no connection between internet usage and depression. Studies such as “Facebook envy” and “Facebook intrusion” consistently found higher rates of depression in participants (Błachnio, Przepiórka, & Pantic, 2015). Facebook envy characterised by feelings of inferiority in response to comparing oneself and one`s life to others` posts and photos and their idealised portrayal of lifestyles. Facebook intrusion is a loss of control over SM usage, that disrupts daily activities and relationships of the individual. Men found to be more likely than women to have Facebook intrusion. Furthermore, negative comparison of the self with other individuals found to be related to depression (Błachnio et al., 2015). SM usage was associated with various mental health problems including depression, low self-esteem and narcissism (Andreassen, Pallesen & Griffiths, 2017). The accessibility of SM and that they can be easily subject to judgement, can increase the pressure on men to prove their masculinity to others.

The impacts of social media on masculine identities are not widely researched. Most of the studies focused on female participants. Thus, the aim of this study is to explore how does social media influence masculinity and wellbeing.

RESULTS

Interview Themes

The study was aiming to find out how does social media influence masculinity and well-being. From the interview, 2 themes were identified (see Appendix iii.), one was masculine roles/expectations where respondents elaborated on the issues of being part of the masculine identity and mentioned how these expectations are changing with time. The other theme found, identify issues associated with social media usage and self-esteem. The following section will outline the 2 themes found in these data concerning masculinity and social media usage. In the discussion part, these are compared to well-being and mental health.

Masculine roles/expectations

The respondent raised an issue about certain negative aspects of traditional gender expectations, such as the lack of the ability to express their feelings, and the messages they get about appropriate behaviour from society. However, respondents added that as time changes societies expectations are changing regarding traditional masculinity.

Insecurity/Body image

Respondents mentioned the negative sides of having a social media account, and generally being part of the social media society. Participants had a negative impact on their self-esteem and body image while engaging in social media usage, comparing themselves to other users.

DISCUSSION

The aim of this study was to explore how does social media usage influence individual`s masculine identities and how does it implicate their mental health. Theme 1. show that respondents feel pressure to conform to traditional masculine roles, whereas theme 2. show that respondents’ participation in social media impacts how they feel about themselves. Themes were identified where masculine expectation/roles and Insecurity/Body Image discussed above.

Represents masculine roles and expectations, and it is strongly linked with gender role socialisation. This theme is aligned with this theory because respondents felt they must avoid posting personal information online, as it wasn`t seen as a manly thing to do. Men are feeling pressure to prove their masculinity by restricting their emotions and denying their mental health problems. Masculine identities are socially constructed, and these ideal expectations are often unrealistic, creating a discrepancy between the expected and the real self. This can create a pressure on the individual, because deviating from the norm can result in rejection and ridicule by society. As a result, men can acquire internalizing symptoms such as emotional numbness or somatic symptoms and externalizing symptoms in the form of anger or isolation (Magovcevic & Addis, 2008). However, respondents felt that the traditional masculine role is slowly changing, and there is a different kind of pressure on young boys, a strong desire to conform, in relation to self-presentation and body image.

Literature shows that the primary motives of SM usage among youth is to promote the self in favourable ways (Manago et al., 2008). Theme 2. shows that respondents felt insecure when they were constantly viewing images of people with idolised masculine bodies, such as sportsmen, and individuals in the media industry and compared their bodies to these masculine body images. This theme is aligned with the term “Facebook-envy” where individuals experience negative emotionality while engaging in social media activity. Indeed, respondents felt that comparing the self is a natural and inevitable process. According to Festinger (1954) social comparison theory individuals gain a sense of validity by comparing the self to others. The accessibility of SM magnifies this process in a way that individuals can be subject to scrutiny by their peers and that the judgement is widely available online in any time of the day, meaning there is no escape from judgement. Studies show that body image affects self-esteem and confidence of the individuals, something that has been studied extensively with girls, and beginning to have an impact on boys also (Olivardia et al., 2004).

These findings demonstrate a link between social media masculinity and self-esteem, suggesting that the affective valence of SM activity might have an impact on male respondents` wellbeing.

Studying social media with male participants gives an insight into the processes that trigger depression in men and can help design interventions for individuals with hegemonic masculine identities who display externalising behaviours such as cyberbullying or misogyny.

REFLEXIVE ANALYSIS

My themes that I used mainly represents participant 2 and 3. Participant 1 had a very different view on the research question compared to participant 2 and 3, where I found more cluster in the data. That could stem from age and cultural differences. Participant 1 might have displayed hegemonic masculinity, so denial of influence and not talking about emotions could be reflected in his answers. It is also possible that participant 1 is simply not affected by social media. The fact that there were only 3 participants and there were only 2 themes to identify might have influenced me to choose themes that match with my research question, although I tried to represent the main message of the participants in an impartial way. The material did not affect me emotionally or personally. My preconceptions of the answers to my research question were refuted, and so it did not influence my analysis.

Limitations of the study can be the effect of social desirability, meaning that participants highly monitor their answers. The sample size is small, so the study cannot be representative. There is not enough question to explore the topic in detail. Future research can have a different methodology, gathering data through conversations or comments online, analysing with thematic analysis with more participants from different ethnic groups.

Literature Review

The primary research question of this study is to search and analyze for any direct positive and negative outcomes associated with gender impacts in decision-making, studies in this literature are divided into the following themes; a) gender differences in managerial decision-making create work-related difficulties, b) Gender impacts in managerial decisions can be used strategically and finally, c) Gender differences in managerial decisions invite inequality.

Gender differences in managerial decision-making create work-related difficulties

Multiple studies have shown that gender differences in managerial decision-making create work-related difficulties in many dimensions and aspects. According to Johnson & Powell (1994), Gender impacts in the field create stereotypes that damage individuality and technicality in managerial decisions; in addition, Radu, Deaconu & Frăsineanu (2017) found that gender differences and their perception in the workplace create strong personal biases that interfere with the work quality. In this sense, it is noticed that when stereotypes are created it affects the individuality and technicality of managers that reflects their perception in the workplace, and eventually leads to the work quality being affected. Moreover, Klenke (2003) states that there are certain constructs such as power, conflict mediation, and politics play a greater role in managerial decisions than gender differences do. Hultin (1998), shed light on a common difficulty faced due to gender diversities and their perceptions, which has often led to pushing women back from positions of power or control. Therefore, constructs or external factors have a major role in decision-making compared to the role of gender differences. Hence, a commonly emerging theme within the literature studied shows that gender differences add to the complexities that need to be taken into consideration within the work context.

Gender impacts in managerial decisions can be used strategically

Certain studies have acquired a more positive and technical perspective toward gender differences within workplace decision-making. According to Gernreich and Exner (2015), data gathered through extensive research has identified and broadened diversity in needs and strengths within genders, such knowledge can be used strategically in the areas of management and work monitoring. Evidence-based information about defining features of gender differences in their decision-making abilities is critical in determining the number of business practices like team management, cooperation, and financial considerations (Burke & Collins, 2001). Research by Apesteguia, Azmat, and Iriberri, (2010) has proven that firms that have allotted importance to gender differences in the selection of decision-making entities have made better financial and economic choices that have benefitted their revenue greatly. Positions of authority are greatly based on leadership styles; these are diversified on the basis of gender and display commonalities and differences on this base (Patel, 2013), and the understanding of these style differences is incredibly important in the work context. Research compressed under this theme has recognized how information on gender differences can be used for potential.

Gender differences in managerial decisions invite inequality

Another theme that emerges in the pieces of literature taken into account is that gender differences that exist in managerial decision-making are a barrier to fair play within organizations. According to Stamarski and Hing (2015), many issues like sexism have originated on account of incessant focus on gender differences in managerial positions or decisions, they invite inequality on account of highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of genders in different areas. The female working class has been known to be a victim of extreme discrimination in the workplace on account of concrete belief in stereotypes that promote female inferiority (Tiwari, Mathur, & Awasthi, 2018), this has strictly limited work opportunities for women in all sectors and especially in managerial fields. Increased reliance on information about gender differences is also promoting the normalization of evils like gender discrimination and providing them with logical fuel (Verniers & Vala, 2018). Furthermore, the common notion of respective or appropriate roles that women play in decision-making has restricted the entrepreneurship potential of women, whereby managerial and authoritative ventures are stripped from them (Welsh, Kaciak, & Minialai, 2015).

In conclusion, the information examined from various studies sheds light on the existence of gender differences in managerial decision-making and how the occurrence has multiple facets in terms of the effect that it produces within organizations. Some perspectives contrast in how gender differences have positive and negative influences on performance and opportunities. Some pieces are insightful in determining how gender differences can be utilized for betterment through acknowledgment of diversity and its strategic application in the workplace for beneficial hiring and placement in managerial positions, appropriate for every field.

While many studies focused on women and the problem of sexism, only a few researchers have spotted the light on misogyny against women in hip-hop music. Hip hop as we mentioned before is an art style that was first known in America by the 1980s and introduced to Moroccan society by a few groups that delivered the messages of this new urban art which was most of the political messages before it knew some changes. (Fried 1999) suggested that hip-hop music gives people a voice and keeps the excluded from general society as a vehicle to increase knowledge and awareness about social problems. however, the lyrics of hip-hop songs are still being criticized by the media and critics. There are many attempts to determine hip-hop music as a genre of audio pornography that includes sexism and violent ideas misbehaviors (Lynxwiler and Gay (2000).

Despite the fact that the subject of hip-hop has been the center of concern for so many years, there is only a few analysis about it, and most of them are about international hip-hop music. one of these analyses that were made by (Blinder 1993) was about 1985 to 1990’s heavy metal and hip hop music, which concluded that hip hop music was more sexually and graphic comparing to heavy metal which was nearly subtle because of its illusions to sexuality male domination. When it comes to the image given to women in hip-hop music, many studies have been made in order to spot the light on it. McFarland’s (2003) study defined two main subjects and themes that were well-dominant in hip-hop music which are the critique of racial inequality and the championship of the domination and supremacy of men over women. His study showed that Of the 263 songs that mentioned women, 37% identified them as objects of male desire and sources of pleasure while 4% justified violence against them. Some suggest that popular music is a part of a wider cultural resistance to feminism over the past years, a collective of efforts to block gender equality and bring back male domination. Lay (2000, 239) argues, ‘‘Popular music can be read as a vehicle for heterosexual male concerns [over the advancement of women and gays] and, more importantly, for the recuperation of hegemonic masculinity.’’ in response to this popular discourse Collins (2000, 82, 144) believe that hip hop to be one of ‘‘controlling images’’ that was utilized to support black women. on the other hand, Oliver (2006, 927) argues that hip hop’s sexist lyrics ‘‘provide justifications for engaging in acts of violence against black women’’ (see also hooks 1994; Rhym 1997).

In this essay, I will review an article published by Tina Rampino on the education gender gap, specifically on the attitude and aspirations of school-going males and females. Rampino begins by setting the scene in terms of gender differences in performance and identifying some of the sociological debates surrounding these. Rampino’s research confirms previous studies done on attitudes and aspirations, but also reveals that certain factors, like the situation at home or the economy, can influence attitudes and aspirations.

Rampino starts her article, from a sociological perspective there are some major concerns when looking at the gender differences in educational attitudes, aspirations, and eventually attainment. Rampino mentions in the article, every year when the GCSE results are released the media will highlight the statistics, that on average, present that females score higher than males. Rampino goes on by explaining that this is often the case with sociological topics, that there are both nature or nurture arguments and perspectives. Rampino then clarifies that according to the nature argument, differences between males and females are biologically determined, and innate, and do not change over time. Alternatively, Rampino explains that the nurture argument looks more at the environment in which people live which creates the gender difference.

Another research Rampino refers to and that supports the nature argument includes the PISA study that was carried out between 2000 and 2009. This indicates that females outscore males in reading, but males are better in maths and science. But what that study also shows is that subject-specific gender gaps are not constant over time, so she mentions that this leaves room for further explanations for gender differences in education. Rampino says, that the Nurture argument looks for gender differences in beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. And that academics have observed that from early childhood, children are treated differently depending on their gender.

After explaining the different arguments and studies Rampino then focuses more specifically on the aspirations and attitudes of males and females and how that relates to educational attainment. As well all how focusing on aspirations and attitude can also reduce the risk of undesirable behaviors. Rampino carries on by explaining her own research. She carried out a study based on a self-completed questionnaire on a group of eleven to fifteen-year-olds. Rampino concentrated on four questions, the first two focusing on attitude and the last two on aspiration.

From the study, Rampino concluded that females have more positive attitudes and higher educational aspirations than males. Even though gender differences are small they are statistically significant, and females have more positive attitudes than males. For 62% of females doing well at school means a great deal whereas only 59% of males share the same view. Furthermore, 77% of females think that gaining their GCSE qualifications is very important compared with 76% of males. Small gender differences persist in negative educational attitudes. For 7% of males doing well at school meant a bit or very little to them, compared with 5% of females. Overall females not only tend to report more positive educational attitudes than males but they tend to report less negative educational attitudes too (Rampino, 2013, p9). Rampino found that females systematically report more positive educational attitudes and aspirations than males even after controlling for a range of child and family-specific factors (Rampino, 2013, p2).

A more detailed analysis by Rampino suggests the effects of gender on children’s educational attitudes and aspirations differ according to parental education and parental educational attitudes, their age, and ultimately fluctuations in the business cycle. Rampino found that even though the effect of parental education on attitudes to schooling and the importance of GCSE examinations does not vary by gender, its impacts on children’s educational aspirations do. Contrary to expectations based on gender role socialization and social control theories that parental background is more important for females than males, Rampino found that the educational aspirations of males are more positively affected by parental education than those of females (Rampino, 2013, p34).

What Rampino also concluded was, for males specifically, if one of the parents held a degree, the males’ attitude toward education was more positive (Rampino, 2013, p19). Additionally, she concluded that whereas females’ educational attitudes and aspirations stayed stable or improved when they grew up, males’ educational attitudes and aspirations decreased.

Lastly, Rampino mentions that when looking at it from an economic perspective, females had a more positive educational attitude and aspirations during less economic periods compared to males who seem not to be impacted by that, being good or bad economic times.

In the next paragraph, I will detail out other research that supports Rampino’s article, but moreover, I will also criticize her work and arguments.

As Rampino also mentioned, many sources confirm, when looking at the statistics, at every level of the educational system, from SATs, and GCSE to degree level, females outperform males (Brown, 2015, p67).

When looking at statistics, females outperform males, however, social class differences influence educational attainment more than gender does, research by Perry and Francis has confirmed this (Brown, 2015, p68).

And according to Haralambos, the picture is more complex than females outperforming males and explains that over the last 45 years, both genders have improved their performance. And that only some working-class males could be described as underachieving (Haralambos et al, 2018, p96). Something that Rampino does not consider is that Academics have observed that from early childhood, children are treated differently depending on their gender (McNeill et al, 2003, p18).

In her study, Rampino does not look at what actually goes on in the classrooms. Study shows that males are in general more disruptive in class and devaluates schoolwork (Brown, 2015, p70). And there is evidence that females enjoy education more than males (Newbold, 2008, p156). Haralambos looks at the learning styles in schools, and that some methods motivate females or males more than the other gender (Haralambos et al, 2018, p101).

Another aspect is the role of the teacher. Teachers, mostly females, encourage males more to go into sciences and technology compared to females. This has also been found in sports, with rugby and cricket for the males and hockey and netball for the females. A girl who identified herself as a rugby player or a boxer might be looked at as a tomboy (Brown, 2015, p218).

As mentioned, female teachers dominate primary schools, where they control and suppress a male. This suggests that schools should be made more masculine and that attention and resources should be redirected from females to males (Haralambos et al, 2013, p712). Research in the Netherlands (CBS) shows that, even if females score higher than males in the primary school exams, the advice from the teacher on the secondary school level for males was similar to or higher than that from the females (CBS, 2018).

Another key aspect that Rampino does not take is the influence of the Media. The media create and reinforce gender stereotypes in a number of ways. Comics, for example, present different images of men and women. females are usually presented as pretty, romantic, helpless, easily upset and emotional, and dependent on males for support and guidance. Males are presented as strong, independent, unemotional, and assertive (Brown, 2015, p219).

Early interventions to improve the home learning environment during pre-school years, to improve a child’s educational attitudes during primary school, and to encourage teenagers’ ambitions for higher education throughout secondary school, could help attenuate the socio-economic gap in educational attainment (Gregg et al, 2010).

An international study in 2018, titled Drawing The Future, confirms some of Rampino’s conclusions. This report draws on the responses of 13,070 primary school children from the United Kingdom. From September to December 2017 children aged 7 to 11 from 146 primary schools. The research team then coded these jobs according to the list of 69 occupations (Chambers et al, 2018, p24).

As Rampino also suggests, the perceptions children have about certain jobs and careers are formed and sometimes cemented at a young age. These studies have emphasized that children’s aspirations are often shaped and restricted by gender stereotyping, socio-economic background, and, importantly, who they know. These factors can, and do, go on influence the academic effort children apply in certain lessons, the subjects they choose to study, and the jobs they end up pursuing (Chambers et al, 2018, p5).

Findings in the United Kingdom show, that across the survey, children’s aspirations appear to be shaped by gender-specific ideas about certain occupations. Males overwhelmingly aspire to take on roles in traditionally male-dominated sectors and occupations (Chambers et al, 2018, p5).

Over four times the number of males wanted to become Engineers compared to females. Furthermore, nearly double the number of males wanted to become scientists compared to females in our survey. Nevertheless, almost 3 times the number of females wanted to become Doctors compared to males, and nearly four times the number of females want to become Vets compared to males (Chambers et al, 2018, p5).

Conceptions of traditional femininity, specifically ideas around caring roles, may also explain the difference in the number of females wanting to become a teacher or doctors compared to males. It may also be influenced by the teachers the children see, with the majority of primary school teachers being female (Chambers et al, 2018, p6). International findings show, that while aspirations, and the influences on these aspirations, vary by country, there are a few global trends that appear from the data. In terms of gender stereotyping and gendered career expectations, aspirations do tend to lay in stereotypical masculine or feminine roles across the survey. One of the most popular jobs for males across our survey is often police and army while teaching appears as one of the most popular occupations for females (Chambers et al, 2018, p6). In most countries in the survey, Maths or Science is in the top two favorite subjects among children for both males and females. The general trends suggest that in some developing countries, children have more practical and high professional ambitions, whereas in developed countries aspirations are often formed around celebrity culture, like a Sportsperson, a career in social media, and gaming (Chambers et al, 2018, p6). Parents, and other members of the family, are often the major influencer if the respondent indicated that they knew someone personally who did that occupation. If a young person did not know someone personally who did that job, TV/Film is the biggest influencer. In all countries in our sample, less than one percent of children state they had heard about the job from a volunteer from the world of work coming into school (Chambers et al, 2018, p7).

In conclusion, Rampino’s study and arguments raise some valid points and concerns on the attitudes and aspirations of school-going males and females, these should be considered for further research and future policies, but it does only represent a certain perspective as other research shows that it is much more complex, and many different factors drive the attitudes and aspirations of males and females.

A career seems far away for most primary school-going children. Making a link between what they learn in primary school and the profession they might one day pursue is not easy, particularly for those coming from challenging backgrounds. Early interaction can be a way of raising children’s aspirations and broadening their horizons. Including experiences of the real world in learning and the school, the curriculum can lead to increased motivation resulting in increased educational attainment. Volunteers from the world of work can also play a key role in providing children with role models and tackling stereotyping around gender and ethnicity and helping ensure that children at a young age don’t start ruling out options for themselves. Creating and promoting a culture where males appreciate and understand the value of education as a means to improve their life chances is key to assure their motivation does not fade as they progress through secondary school.

References

Books

1. Browne, K. (2015). “Sociology for AQA volume 1 AS and 1st year A level”, fifth edition. Polity Press: Cambridge
2. Flanagan, C., Berry, D., Jarvis, M.,& Liddle, R. (2015) ’’AQA Psychology for A level Year 1 & AS’’ Illuminate publishing Ltd: Gloucestershire.
3. Giddens, A & Sutton P W. (2017) “Sociology”,8th edition. Polity Press: Cambridge
4. Goodman, Alissa, Paul Gregg, and Elizabeth Washbrook. 2011. ‘Children’s Educational Attainment and the Aspirations, Attitudes, and Behaviours of Parents and Children through Childhood.’ Longitudinal and Life Course Studies
5. Haralambos, M. & Holborn, M. (2008). “Sociology – Themes and Perspectives”, seventh edition. HarperCollins: London
6. Haralambos, M. & Holborn, M. (2013). “Sociology – Themes and Perspectives”, 8th edition. HarperCollins: London
7. Haralambos, M., Holborn, M & Wilson, P. (2018). “AQA A-Level Sociology – Themes and Perspectives year 1 and AS”. HarperCollins: London
8. McNeill, P., Blundell, J., Griffiths, J., (2003). “Sociology AS – The Complete Companion”. Nelson Thornes: Cheltenham
9. Newbold, C., Peace, M., Swain, L., Wright, M., (2008). “AQA Sociology AS”. Nelson Thornes: Cheltenham
10. Rampino, T. & Taylor, M. (2013) “Gender differences in educational aspirations and attitudes”, Institute for Social & Economic Research, University of Essex

Websites

1. Chambers, N., Kashefpakdel, E., Rehill, J. & Percy C. (2018). “Draw the Future” educationandemployers.org (online), Available at: https://www.educationandemployers.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/DrawingTheFuture.pdf, [accessed 15 December 2018]
2. CBS, (2018). “Meisjes stijgen meer boven schooladvies uit dan jongens” cbs.nl (online) , Available at: https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/nieuws/2018/50/meisjes-stijgen-meer-boven-schooladvies-uit-dan-jongens , [accessed 15 December 2018]

Women or men, which group is more likely to learn a new language and what effect does gender have on the new language learning process? Are women more inclined to learn a new language or men? Is there a connection between bilingualism and gender?

What gender characteristics affect the mastery and learning of a new language?

These questions have always occupied the minds of language learners. Is language and gender-related at all?

Language and gender refer to the relationship between male and female language. Gender differences are not only a reflection of the words between men and women but also a reflection of their different lifestyles and attitudes. Gender differences are popular research in many fields, such as psychology, social linguistics, and women’s studies. In these areas, the differences between men and women in many aspects have been studied from different angles with different psychologies.

The existence of gender differences in the use of language tools for communication has always been of interest to researchers and has become a psychological fact in recent decades. Research on gender differences in linguistics began with Robin Lakoff. He introduced the language of women and published a book in 1973 entitled “Language and the status of women” to analyze the linguistic differences between men and women considering language payment and learning to be completely dependent on gender. The book attracted many enthusiasts. In this book, Lakoff mentions several features of the female language. For example, a part of this book claimed that women from childhood to adulthood are superior to men in linguistic and verbal performance.

The claim that women are more successful than men at learning a new language has been widely debated and the result has often been positive. The latest statistics show that the number of bilingual and multilingual women is higher. Fortunately, bilingual and multilingual culture is on the rise and according to European statistics, 56% of the world’s population is bilingual and multilingual. In Iran alone, an estimated 7.33 million bilinguals live across the country and most of these statistics are women.

In the twentieth century, scientists generally believed that there was no gender difference in their general intelligence between men and women, but today this claim is completely refuted.

In psychology, gender differences are addressed at two levels: the first level refers to sexual distinctions of biological origin and biological tendencies. The second level refers to gender differences with cultural-artistic roots. If different speakers have different opinions, the question arises as to how people with more than one language can think. When language is related to identity and identity follows a different form and thought according to gender, the importance of bilingualism becomes more obvious and more complex in form and appearance, and the issue of bilingualism should consider the effect of perceptual thinking on different genders.

According to the latest research, researchers have found that there are changes in the perception and intelligence of men and women and women have a wider linguistic repository, more cognitive flexibility and processing strategies than men, and more power in learning a new language.

Regarding the issue of differences between men and women, it can be stated with certainty that research conducted in the last decade shows that there are significant differences between the capacities of intelligence in the phenomenon of bilingualism between men and women. For example, Suching. (2009), in a study on the assessment of collective intelligence of male and female teachers in Taiwan, showed that women are superior to men in language intelligence and have more ability in this area. Mirdehghan. (2011) in a study on the performance of Azeri-Persian bilinguals with Persian-speaking monolinguals in understanding proverbs showed that gender has an effect in this regard and women are more efficient than men.

Why are women more successful in learning a new language?

When it comes to learning, men, and women have completely different ways and approaches. Men’s learning is somewhat fundamental and proceeds within a framework while this learning is integrated into women also women are more inclined to know the culture and country of destination. In addition, although men are better oriented-than women, women have innate verbal skills. That is, women are better speakers, listeners, writers, and readers. All these factors are effective in learning a new language. Because to learn a new language, you have to listen, speak, read, and write well.

The last and most important reason why women are more successful in learning lies in their brains. That is, how their brain processes language. It is true that the structure of the brain is the same and it is divided into left hemispheres (analytical and logical function) and right (visual-musical and non-linguistic process), but according to a survey of all language students in UK universities in 2013, (69% were women and 31% were men) turned out that men and women process language differently.

It showed that women use both hemispheres in their conversations. While men use only one hemisphere in this situation. So we say that women are more creative than men, and that factor helps them in the learning process. Men usually learn better with the help of visualization and hearing, they need sensory reinforcement to process data, unlike women who try to process comprehensively. Usually, women pay attention to all aspects of the learning process (speaking, reading, and pronunciation), but men adhere to a number of study methods, which hinders progress. We have also seen a lot in society that women have better and more social relationships and tend to participate in most conversations.

Language has long been regarded as an area over which women have complete control. For example, in discussions of translation and interpretation, there are always more women than men, or even if you are careful, the number of female instructors is usually much more than men.

Perhaps one of the most interesting findings of the researchers is that women are usually less embarrassed about verbal mistakes and pass them by very quickly, but men prefer not to participate in discussions in similar situations too much so as not to make verbal mistakes, especially if they are in a new environment. Of course, it is a very broad statement to say that all women are sociable, while there are many exceptions. Many studies have suggested that part of learning a new language depends on the fear of men and women. In fact, many people do not dare to attend group classes and are not able to speak another language in class, and may feel threatened. As experience has shown, in these cases, women are ahead of men because they are more inclined to talk and be in public.

As mentioned, there are many exceptions – so we can not attribute all the above reasons and examples to all men and women. It should be noted that the natural ability to learn a new language is present in both men and women. But the findings show that women tend to challenge themselves more and find effective ways to learn. In fact, they are always looking for a stimulus and motivation to continue the learning process.

It is also important to note when men and women aim to learn a new language:

Observations show that girls generally start talking earlier, and therefore participate in conversations and understand them faster than boys. Also, according to statistics, the number of girl language learners is more than boys. It is expected to be the same in adulthood.

Women are less preoccupied than men, (although there are exceptions, as mentioned earlier)

For example, compare a housewife with a working man in the process of learning a new language. Certainly, a woman has more time and focuses on the learning process, so she can get results sooner.

The impact of social factors on language learning :

Social factors play an important role in the process of learning a foreign language. Although gender is essentially biological, because women and men do not have the same in society, and as a result, different social roles arise in different behaviors, thus, gender is always influenced by social elements. In a way, learning a foreign language is also affected by these elements.

It should be acknowledged that girls’ attitudes toward learning a new language are better and more positive. Differences in perceptions are undoubtedly partly the result of career foresight that both groups of learners know it. and as a result, give more value to a language-like subject that has an obvious connection to their future employment. Girls have accepted the professional value of learning a foreign language, but boys do not pay much attention to it.

As women play a more active role in some social contexts and men in others, this creates linguistic differences between the two groups. On the other hand, different social roles have created different patterns of behavior, and therefore social expectations of women and men in terms of their social behavior are not the same, and in general, women use better and more correct language forms that are more credible. This kind of attitude of women toward language also plays an important role in learning a new language.

The effect of bilingualism:

Now that evidence has shown that there are more bilingual women than men, what effect does this have on their lives?

Numerous studies show that managing more than one language affects the structure and function of the brain. Bilingualism has a positive effect on cognitive control, often referred to as executive function. The flexibility of bilingual minds and their ability to concentrate on activities is far greater. Bilinguals need more cognitive control whenever they speak. They should monitor what language is appropriate, and choose the appropriate lexical text accordingly. The sooner a second language is acquired and the more skilled it is, the more pronounced the bilingual effect on cognitive control will be, and the stronger the executive functions will be compared to monolinguals. Scientific studies and brain scans of bilinguals show that the gray matter density of bilinguals is higher than that of monolinguals, and they perform better in activities that require attention, skill, and memory. Increased connectivity of nerve fibers in the lower regions of the cerebral cortex involved in language processing and joint control show structural changes in bilingualism.

In conclusion, it has been said that women are more motivated and determined to learn a language than men, which helps them process things better. Age is also a very important issue in the learning process. At what age do men and women think about learning a new language? Women prefer to start learning at an early age and usually move on to the end, which helps a lot in their success. They know how to challenge the brain and motivate themselves.

Now, according to these statements, is it right to say that men should stop trying to learn a new language altogether?

of course not. It is definitely difficult to start anything. It may be harder to learn a new language. These challenges are for both women and men, and it takes a lot of time, practice, and obligation. What sets women apart in the process is how they deal with this challenge. They try to find different ways in any way. There is a general belief that the brain can be deceived and can be directed in the direction we like. Perhaps it can be said that women indoctrinate the brain with the stimuli they create by being more present in gatherings and friendly relationships.

In general, women do not necessarily have a different learning style than men, they just try to have and use several methods at the same time, while men are content with one method and do not seek to discover new ways.

So there is no obstacle for men to learn and it is wrong to consider language learning as a woman’s job. As much as men themselves need to be motivated, teachers need to take the initiative and help their progress.

There is a plethora of evidence contributing to the emotional expression in individuals and whether or not, it varies according to gender. Chaplin and Aldao (2013) found that positive emotion expressions and internalizing negative emotion expressions are more evident in girls whereas externalizing negative emotions are expressed more by boys. However, Ferguson and Eyre (2000) reported contradictory findings on gender differences based on previous evidence. For instance, they found that female preschoolers exhibit more overt aggression and self-distress, as components of guilt whereas Chaplin and Aldao (2013) reported boys express more externalizing emotions such as anger or aggression as compared to girls. Similarly, where some studies state that gender differences exist in the experiences of emotion, certain others claim that no differences can be observed till infancy (Davis, 1995). Hence in light of these opposing findings, it can be concluded that even for the same emotion, some studies report that no gender differences exist while others find them to be more prevailing in males as compared to females and vice versa.

These contradictions can be attributed to a number of extraneous, confounding, mediating, and/or moderating variables that either went unnoticed or remained uncontrolled. Certain factors influencing experiences of negative emotions on the basis of gender have been derived from previous studies and compiled below.

Gender Roles

From the time a child is born, he/she is expected to act in a certain way by the parents and members of society. These expectations can be culture-specific but can give rise to gender roles which are norms of conduct that have to be followed by individuals of a specific gender. Instead of one gender over the other, individuals with a feminine gender role reported more guilt-proneness and shame-proneness than did the masculine and undifferentiated gender role groups (Benetti-McQuoid & Bursik, 2005). Gender in itself is a social construct, emerging out of the social roles or the need for personal identity in an individual. As insensitivity is viewed as non-normative for females, they tend to develop feelings of guilt over inconsiderate behavior whereas since males perceive aggression to be normative for them, they are less likely to show guilt over aggressive behaviors, as compared to females. (Bybe, 1998). This indicates the importance of how individuals view themselves and how they are viewed by others, as an integral component in determining the manifestation of emotional experiences.

Stereotypical Behaviors

There are certain actions that seem to be accepted by one gender but not by the other. Ferguson and Eyre (2000) emphasize the role of socialization agents to promote feelings of negative emotions of guilt and shame, more in females than males. Women are encouraged to be loving toward others, connected to them, and interpersonally sensitive (Zahn-Waxler et al., 1991). On the other hand, males are stereotyped to be achievement-oriented, active, aggressive, autonomous, competitive, dominant, and stronger than females. This effectively provides a few reasons for males to be ashamed of possessing unwanted identities. Plant, Hyde, Keltner, and Devine (2000) reported that women are stereotyped as experiencing more guilt, shame, and embarrassment, whereas men are stereotyped as experiencing more pride (as cited in Else-Quest, Higgins, Allison & Morton, 2012). The complex interaction individuals have with the members of their society, is likely to affect their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Therefore, depending on what stereotypes are being followed in a given sociocultural context, emotional experiences may or may not give way to gender differences.

Age

Gender differences have been studied widely in different age groups of individuals. Certain meta-analytic studies provide evidence of how these differences increase with age. Chaplin and Aldao (2013) found that during infancy, gender differences were almost negligible but became more significant with age, such as in the period of adolescence. On the contrary, Else-Quest et. al. (2012) that gender differences in experiencing guilt increase from adolescence through adulthood but found no significant gender differences in the experience of embarrassment. One possible explanation for this result can be the gender roles and stereotypical behaviors mentioned above. As infants are unable to understand the complex expectations held by their parents and lack awareness about stereotypical behaviors around them, they are less likely to modify their behavior along those lines. However, with age, the child begins to realize gender-specific roles and stereotypes which leads to the occurrence of gender differences. Another possible explanation is the change in hormonal levels during puberty which may trigger changes in emotion-related neural circuitry, differently for boys and girls, further contributing to gender differences in emotion expression (De Bellis et al., 2001).

Self-Report

Studies have also been conducted to examine whether there is a difference in the way males and females report emotional experiences by themselves. Most of the findings conceptualize that females report these experiences more than males. It was found that more guilt is experienced in females, with the onset of adolescence. As cited in Bybee (1998), in a study conducted by Buss and Brock (1963), female college students reported more guilt, when asked to administer electric shocks, as compared to their male counterparts. Stilwell and Galvin (1985) also mentioned that girls reported feeling more discomfort and physiological disturbance in response to transgressions. In an empirical study conducted by Pulham (2009), the results indicated that females are more likely to experience embarrassment and humiliation than males. A possible reason for these unidirectional findings may again be attributed to how females are expected to be more emotionally expressive than males. Parkins (2012) reported women to indeed be the more emotionally expressive of the genders. There also exist neural explanations to support that females experience more emotions than males. In a study that required participants to use reappraisal to down-regulate their emotional responses to negatively valenced pictures, the findings suggested that neural differences were evident between different genders, even when behavioral were not. Men showed lesser increases in prefrontal regions, associated with reappraisal, greater decreases in the amygdala, associated with emotional responding, and lesser engagement of ventral striatal regions, associated with reward processing (McRae, Ochsner, Mauss, Gabrieli & Gross, 2008). These findings and explanations can be used to conclude that females in general, have both an inherent tendency and societal freedom to experience and report negative emotions, more than males.

As self-esteem plays an important role in individuals’ development studies have always presented interest in how an individual’s self-esteem is influenced by early parental attachment. Many of the studies present that a positive and close relationship with carers leads to higher levels of self-esteem and confidence. However, it is still debatable if gender differences and self-esteem are in one way or another associated, as a distinct result has been found. Therefore, this study is aiming to explore gender’s parental attachment scores, defining which gender group presents greater levels of self-esteem. Sixty-one participants took part in the study and completed two questionnaires: The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Parental Attachment Questionnaire. There was no significant relationship found between levels of self-esteem and parental attachment, however, gender differences and parental attachment presented no effect on self-esteem, rather gender differences scores presented a weak negative relationship with self-esteem, suggesting that males present higher levels of self-esteem. For further research is important to consider a more reasonable sample size and gender distribution as the present data is skewed and presents a number of limitations.

Introduction

Family plays a vital role in the development of children. From the moment a child is born the family represents the environment in which that child learns and develops, and the parents have to play their parts as role models. John Bowlby (1969) presented the theory of attachment as an instinctive tendency of humans to develop protective and comforting connections, claiming that children may adopt various behavioral strategies, depending on life circumstances, to get as much support as they can from their care providers. Furthermore, he is stating that attachment behavior is adjusted in the light of life experiences. Later on, Mary Ainsworth proposed a classification of attachment based on studies of mother and baby interaction, focusing on the type and quality relationship between mother and child emerging from conditions of stress represented by the presence of a stranger and the condition represented by the temporary absence of the mother. As a result, Ainsworth placed those interactions in three primary attachment styles: secure, anxious avoidant, and anxious ambivalent (Ainsworth, 2015). Levine & Heller (2010) are stating that individuals’ attachment styles reflect the consistent level of support and responsiveness a parent or caregiver provides any individual, in early childhood. But how does parental attachment play into self-esteem? Self-esteem is defined by Bleidorn et al. (2016) as a subjective evaluation of self-worth, encompassing views on oneself and emotional states. Do individuals with a specific upbringing present a higher level of self-esteem than others?

Emphasizing the current literature on attachment, Beckett & Taylor (2019) is identifying parental attachment as an emotional anchor and a source of security, therefore arguing that insecurity is commonly represented by the absence of attachment. Equally, much of the existing literature concerning attachment is highlighting the importance of the relationship between parents and children as a vital dimension in enhancing the well-being of children and facilitating healthy cognitive and emotional well-being.

However, there are a few questions that still have to be addressed. First, do the patterns of parental attachment and gender differences have any implications on an individual’s self-esteem? Second, does self-esteem differs in the magnitude of parental attachment affect gender differences? Third, are there gender-specific variables that predict differences in parental attachment effect on self-esteem?

The present study is aiming to explore what kind of relationships exists between gender identity, parental attachment, and self-esteem. Furthermore, this research is seeking to understand the implication of parental attachment and gender differences in the level of self-esteem. The hypothesis refers to a significant positive relationship between self-esteem and parental attachment where an association of higher levels of self-esteem and a higher level of parental attachment has been identified. On the other hand, the study’s aim is to explore the effects of parental attachment and gender differences on self-esteem as well.

Thus, the influence of parental attachment on levels of self-esteem likely varies by gender differences in a notable way, through gender differences in the level of parental attachment measures. This way of exploring gender and parental attachment suggests that in the male’s case, all variables are held constant, while in the female’s case, higher levels of parental attachment are scientifically predicting higher levels of self-esteem and this represents our hypothesis.

Methods

Participants

The participants consisted of 61 Psychology undergraduates (10 males, 50 females and 1 preferred not to say). They had a mean age of 24.33 years (SD = 9.50, range from 19 to 61 years); males had a mean age of 26.70 years (SD = 12.63) and females had a mean age of 23.90 years (SD = 8.92). Opportunity sampling represented the recruitment process adopted.

Design

The employed research design is a correlational one as we are aiming to find out if our variables are related, and in what way. The relationship between self-esteem and parental attachment has been examined by correlational analysis. Concerning the multiple regression analysis, gender, and parental attachment represented the predictor variables where self-esteem embodied the outcome variable.

Materials

Two questionnaires have been used for this study. Self-esteem was measured using The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) which includes 10 items. Each item is rated on a 4-point scale (1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree, 3 = disagree, 4 = strongly disagree), with higher scores reflecting higher self-esteem. For the self-esteem questionnaire items 2, 5, 6, 8, and 9 are negatively worded and were reverse coded. According to Rosenberg (1965), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale has good internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha reported of  = .77. In the current study, the Cronbach’s alpha value was  = .92. Parental attachment was measured using the Parental Attachment Questionnaire (Kenny, 1987) which comprises of 55 items and 3 subscales. Each item is rated on a 5-point scale (1 = not at all, 2 = somewhat, 3 = a moderate amount, 4 = quite a bit, 5 = very much), with higher scores reflecting greater parental attachment. For the parental attachment questionnaire, 25 (out of 55) items (3, 6, 10, 11, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 29, 31, 33, 34, 35, 38, 41, 43, 47, 52, 53, 55) are negatively worded and were reversed coded. According to Kenny (1987), the Parental Attachment Questionnaire has an excellent internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha reported of = .92. In the current study, Cronbach’s alpha value was  = .97.

Procedure

Participants were approached during a seminar and asked to take part in the study. Before taking part in the study they read an information sheet detailing their ethical rights, and the agreeing consent has been completed electronically. After agreeing to take part, participants completed demographic questions including gender and age. Then they completed the self-esteem questionnaire followed by the parental-attachment questionnaire. Participants completed the study at their own pace, taking approximately 30 minutes.

Data analysis

All statistical analyses are reported with two-tailed levels of significance, and with the alpha level set at .05. All scale measures were treated as interval data.

Before conducting the correlational analysis between self-esteem and parental attachment, violation checks have been applied to all required assumptions. There were no violation predictors for the assumption of a level of measurement, related pairs, independence of observations, linearity, or homoscedasticity. However, the violation has been predicted for the normality assumption as the parental attachment histogram and normal probability plots presented some non-normal distributions. Furthermore, one Kolmogorov-Smirnov value was significant (p < .05). As violation of the normality assumption has been noticed, Spearman’s rho the non-parametric alternative to correlation, will be conducted.

All required assumptions have been checked for violations before conducting the multiple regression analysis with gender and parental attachment as predictor variables and self-esteem as the outcome variable. Violation of the assumptions of the level of measurement, related pairs, independence of observations, linearity, homoscedasticity, independence, and multicollinearity has not been presented. However, the normality assumption has been violated as the parental attachment histogram and normal probability plots show some non-normal distribution and one Kolmogorov-Smirnov value was significant (p < 0.5). Conversely, the assumption of multicollinearity has not been violated (VIF's < 5, tolerance's > .20, r’s < .90). Parental attachment weakly positively correlating with self-esteem and gender weakly negatively correlating with self-esteem is indicated by correlation matrix. (See Table 1). The assumption of independent errors (Durbin-Watson = 2.01) has been met. Due to the violation of the normality assumption caution will be taken when interpreting the data in the multiple regression analysis.

Table 1: Correlation matrix showing correlations between gender, self-esteem, and parental attachment

• Self-esteem Parental attachment Gender
• Self-esteem —
• Parental attachment .21 —
• Gender -.28* -.11 —
• *p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001

Results

The relationship between self-esteem (as measured by the Self-Esteem scale) and parental attachment (as measured by the Parental Attachment scale) is shown in Figure 1.

Assumption testing analyses indicated that there were violations of the normality assumption. A Spearman rank order correlation coefficient revealed that even though the correlation was weak and positive, there was no significant relationship between self-esteem and parental attachment (rho = .20, N = 61, p > .05).

A simultaneous multiple regression was used to investigate whether gender and parental attachment predicted self-esteem. Overall, the regression model was significant, F(2, 58) = 3.69, p < .05, R2 = .11, with 11% of the variance in self-esteem being explained by parental attachment and gender. Parental attachment did not predict self-esteem (β = .18, p = .15). Furthermore, gender negatively predicted self-esteem, β = -.26, p = .04, suggesting that females have lower self-esteem than men.

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to focus on the investigation of how self-esteem would be affected by parental attachment and gender differences. The prediction has been referred to higher levels of parental attachment in female cases will significantly predict higher levels of self-esteem compared with the male cases.

From the results of this study, the suggestion is that certain elements of parental attachment contribute to individuals’ differences in presenting a high level of self-esteem. However, differences between gender differences and self-esteem are found in the descriptive statistics, not supporting our hypothesis. Overall, results from this study indicate that gender differences may affect the ways that parental attachment contributes to self-esteem, as it has been shown that gender differences weakly predicted self-esteem levels and the gender category presenting higher levels of self-esteem is the male’s case.

The current findings are not consistent with Young’s (2013) nor Meredith G.F. Worthen’s (2011) studies where the result is indicating that gender differences may affect the way that parental attachment contributes to self-esteem. Moreover Young (2013) Is arguing that self-esteem is a ‘pivotal mechanism’ related to parental attachment. On the other hand, the findings seem to be consistent with (Lucktong, Salisbury & Chamratrithirong, 2017) and Robins et al. (2002). However, contrary to the existing studies, the current study did not find a significant relationship between parental attachment and self-esteem. The reason for the non-significant result might be directly referring to the study’s limitations. As the convenience sample and results have been limited to university students, it can be argued that the familiarity with the scales and the comprehensive understanding of what is expected. Another limitation of the study can refer to the unequal distribution of the sample as there are only 10 male participants compared to 50 female participants and the skewed data showed higher self-esteem scores for males. Finally, one more limitation is characterized by the lack of a wider variety of variables such as socioeconomic status, life satisfaction, or perceived anxiety.

There are several ways the result of this research could be extended. First, would be helpful and informative to examine other socio-demographic characteristics such as race/ethnicity or family structure. Second, as the attachment is not limited to parents and exploration of friends bonding would certainly complement the result of the study. Finally, an exploration that incorporates social class variables and differences between balanced and unbalanced families would yield fruitful results.

To conclude, a contribution to the existing body of knowledge around the subject of gender differences and parental attachment implication on the scores of self-esteem is brought even if the results of the current study are insignificant. Only gender predicts association with self-esteem, just because the data itself is skewed and unequal regarding the male participants. There is no doubt that further studies should be conducted in order to establish a stronger theory concerning the relationship between gender differences, parental attachment, and self-esteem