Patterns of Gender Development Across Intersections of Age, Gender, and Ethnicity-Race.

Two components of gender identity are gender similarity, how one's self-concept relates to the major gender collectives (i.e., female, male), and felt pressure to conform to gender norms. The development of these components across ages and contexts has been understudied. The focus of this study was to examine variations in gender similarity and felt pressure across multiple intersecting contexts: developmental stage, gender, and ethnic-racial group. Six data sets were harmonized and means were compared across 2628 participants (51% girls, 49% boys) from four different developmental cohorts (childhood n = 678, early adolescence n = 1322, adolescence n = 415, and young adulthood n = 213) from diverse ethnic-racial backgrounds (45% White, 23% Latinx/Hispanic, 11% Black/African-American, 7% Asian-American, 5% American Indian, and 5% Multiracial). Results revealed nuanced patterns: Gender intensification was supported in early adolescence, primarily for boys. Young adult men reported lower levels of pressure and gender typicality than younger boys, but young adult women's levels were generally not different than younger girls. Surprisingly, young adult women's levels of own-gender similarity and pressure from parents were higher than adolescent girls. Expectations of gender differences in gender typicality and felt pressure were supported for all ages except young adults, with higher levels for boys. Finally, there were more similarities than differences across ethnic-racial groups, though when there were differences, minoritized participants reported heightened gender typicality and pressure (largely accounted for by higher scores for Black and Latinx participants and lower scores for White and Multiracial participants). These results add to what is understood about contextually dependent gender development.

Endorsement of Masculine-Typed Behaviors Decreases During Middle Adolescence: The Contextualizing Role of Peer Experiences for Adolescents Living in the United States.

While more research is emerging about the development of masculinity during adolescence, not much is known about how masculine-type behaviors develop over time in middle to late adolescence within the context of friendships and peer experiences. This study examined trajectories of masculine-typed behavior from ages 14 to 17. Multilevel modeling was used to account for cross-time and within-time variability in masculine-typed behavior and examined the role of positive and negative peer experiences in predicting this variability. This was done in a sample of 334 U.S. adolescents (51% boys; 50% White, 19% Black, 15% Latina/o/e). At the between-person level, boys and girls decreased in masculine-typed behavior over time. At the within-person level, negative peer experiences predicted fluctuations toward greater masculine-typed behavior, whereas friend support predicted fluctuations toward less masculine-typed behavior. Adolescence is a key period for navigating masculinity norms, and peer experiences are a key context for the development of masculine-typed behavior.

Parents' judgments of children's gender-typed play indicate qualities of the early-life caregiving environment.

Play is critical for children's development but is the target of significant gender stereotyping. Early in life, parents must navigate these stereotypes on behalf of their children. This study examined typologies of caregivers' judgments toward their infants' future engagement with toys and activities considered typical of same- and different-gender peers, and whether these judgments indicated qualities of the child-rearing environment. We conducted a latent profile analysis on a sample of 501 families with infant children in a large city in the Western United States (501 mothers, 388 fathers; 69% White, 16% Latinx, 8% African American). Results showed that parents could be classified as androgynous, stereotyped, counterstereotyped, or gender-impartial in their preferences for their child's toys and activities. Mothers who displayed androgynous and counterstereotyped preferences-primarily conveying approval different-gender-typed play-were rated higher on objective assessments of the quality of the home environment and parent-child interactions. How parents orient to cultural gendered messages for children's play may have implications for the overall parenting environment. We discuss implications for research and practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Nuanced Longitudinal Effects of Domains of Perceived Gender Similarity on Adolescent Peer Victimization.

Gender similarity is an indicator of perceived fit with own-gender peers and other-gender peers and is strongly correlated with indicators of adolescent adjustment, including negative peer interactions. Although gender similarity is generally studied as a composite variable, evidence is increasing that peer victimization might be uniquely related to specific domains of gender similarity such as appearance or interests. A better understanding of the specific factors that motivate peer victimization will likely aid in intervention efforts. We analyzed five domains of own- and other-gender similarity (feelings, actions, appearance, preferences, time spent with peers) for adolescents, and explored whether they uniquely predicted negative peer interactions including general peer victimization (e.g., pushing/hitting) and experiencing or perpetrating gender-based peer victimization (e.g., anti-gay name-calling) over time. With 407 adolescents (14-17 years old, M age = 15.42, 50% girls, 52% White) from two timepoints that were six months apart, we first conducted MANOVAs at T1 to assess gender differences in peer victimization experiences. Next, we conducted logistic regression path analyses to model the relation between gender similarity and peer victimization over time. Adolescents reported unique outcomes for different domains of gender similarity with girls focused on appearance and boys focused on not spending time with girls. We discuss how girls' and boys' experiences of gender similarity may be differentially informed by androcentric culture and how different expressions of gender uniquely provoke negative peer attention.

The Roots and Fruits of Masculinity: Social Antecedents and Sexual Relationship Consequences of Young Men's Adherence to Masculine Norms.

On a longitudinal sample of 181 emerging adult men (Mage = 19.36, SDage = 1.48), we analyzed how diverse socializing agents (fathers, male peers, magazines, music videos, TV dramas, and TV sitcoms) related to adherence to masculine norms, and how norm adherence related to men's interpersonal sexual cognitions and behaviors (romantic relationship self-efficacy, sexual self-esteem, and alcohol-primed sexual encounters). We found that male peers, magazines, and music videos related to masculine norm adherence one year later, and that norm adherence predicted increased alcohol-primed sexual encounters. We followed this up with analyses investigating the role of specific masculine norms and found unique socialization and outcome paths for different masculine norms. For example, analyses indicated that male peers were positively related to norms of winning, power over women, playboy attitudes, and risk-taking, and that playboy attitudes, risk-taking, emotional control, and self-reliance predicted lower levels of romantic relationship self-efficacy. Interestingly, sitcom viewing related to lower adherence to masculine norms including heterosexual presentation and having power over women. Findings identify the unique influence of male peers, magazines, and music videos on young men's sexual cognitions and behaviors and highlight how combining different socialization agents in one model is key to identifying these unique patterns of socialization and their consequences.

Oral contraceptive use is not related to gender self-concept.

Oral contraceptive (OC) use is a valuable and underutilized natural experiment for examining exogenous hormone effects on aspects of cognition and behavior, especially aspects that show sex or gender differences. OC use, however, is not randomly assigned; women who use OCs may systematically differ from non-users for gender-linked reasons that potentially confound investigations of the pharmacokinetic effects of OCs. Thus, the primary aim of this study was to investigate whether OC users and non-users differ in gender self-concepts, as sociocultural factors might influence who uses OCs and why. A secondary aim was to examine whether OC users of different pill formulations differ in gender self-concept. Multivariate analyses of covariance (controlling for age) on a large sample of 395 young adult women revealed no significant differences between OC users (n = 247) and non-users (n = 148) in four aspects of gender self-concept (expressivity, instrumentality, femininity, and masculinity), with univariate effect sizes averaging d = 0.07. Moreover, inferences about group differences did not change when considering sociocultural factors (i.e., reason for OC use) or pharmacokinetic properties of the pills (i.e., androgenicity). Thus, findings indicate that differences in gender self-concept do not underlie OC use and non-use, and that the androgenicity of different OC formulations does not impact gender self-concept. Taken together, findings also highlight the specificity of exogenous ovarian hormone influences, as there are documented effects on cognition but not on personal characteristics, such as gender self-concept.

The Link Between Masculinity and Spatial Skills Is Moderated by the Estrogenic and Progestational Activity of Oral Contraceptives.

Conversations about gender and spatial skills frequently dissolve into a hackneyed debate over nature and nurture. This is particularly true for conversations concerning three-dimensional (3D) mental rotations skill, which shows the largest gender difference of all aspects of cognition, with men-on average-outperforming women. To advance this empirical area of inquiry, biopsychosocial influences on spatial skills should be considered, and a unique opportunity do to that is provided by combined oral contraceptives (OCs). OCs with relatively low estradiol doses and with highly androgenic progestins have been positively related to spatial skills. Gender self-concepts, including masculine and feminine self-perceptions, have also been positively related to spatial skills. It is wholly unknown, however, whether the exogenous sex hormones contained in OCs moderate the link between self-perceived masculinity and 3D mental rotations. This study filled that knowledge gap by utilizing a sample of 141 naturally cycling (NC) women and 229 OC users who completed a computerized survey and cognitive tests. A series of moderation analyses examined whether the link between masculinity and 3D mental rotations depended on pill use or on the estrogenic, progestational, or androgenic activity in OCs, which were operationalized using a novel coding scheme. Results showed that the positive masculinity-3D mental rotations link was only present for NC women, presumably because it was altered by the exogenous hormones in OCs. Indeed, the link was accentuated in users of OCs with relatively low estrogenic and high progestational activity. Future research on menstrual cycle and pill phase is needed, but these findings importantly delineate ways in which biological and psychosocial factors combine to explain variation in spatial skills among women. They also suggest that focus should be placed on the under-investigated progestational activity of OCs, which is facilitated by the novel quantification of OC action used in this study. Thus, this research increases understanding of the neurocognitive and behavioral correlates of ovarian hormones and has implications for the betterment of women's health.

The Effect of Target's Power on Prosocial Behavior: A Cross-Cultural Study.

Social power predicts numerous important life outcomes and social orientations. Thus far, the research literature has mainly examined how an individual's own power shapes interactions with others, whereas whether a target's power affects social interactions has been relatively neglected. In particular, does a target's power have an effect on the agent's prosocial behavior? Furthermore, could culture along with the power distance dimension alter the effect of a target's power on prosocial behavior? To explore these two research questions, we investigated the effect of a target's power (power unspecified targets vs. powerful targets) on prosocial behavior in both China and the United States. Questionnaires measuring prosocial behavior toward power unspecified or powerful targets were distributed to Chinese and American emerging adults (n in total = 893). According to the results, both Chinese and Americans were less likely to help powerful targets compared with power unspecified targets. Moreover, the Chinese were less prosocial toward both power unspecified and powerful targets in comparison to the Americans. These findings highlight the key roles of a target's power and culture in shaping an individual's prosocial behavior.

Quantifying gender norm resistance.

INTRODUCTION: Qualitative and mixed-methods researchers have described the experience of gender norm resistance in adolescence and identified potential types of resistance including indirect resistance (motivated by a preference for gender-atypicality) and direct resistance (motivated by dislike of gender norms and a desire to change them). Building on this work, we developed the Gender Norm Resistance measure to operationalize indirect and direct gender norm resistance. We explored how gender norm resistance aligns with and differs from other gender self-concepts (e.g., felt pressure to conform to gender norms) and peer relations (e.g., contact with peers) and tested for gender differences. METHODS: Participants included 484 early adolescents (girls = 234; Mage = 11.44 years, SD = 0.56). Analyses included factor analyses (EFA, CFA) and bivariate correlations to gather validity evidence, and ANOVAs to determine mean level differences. RESULTS: Evidence that validated using the proposed measure as intended was found including confirmation of the two types of gender norm resistance (indirect and direct). Mean differences were found across participant gender as well as across types of gender norm resistance. CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the Gender Norm Resistance measure, the different ways adolescents experience indirect and direct gender norm resistance, and the limited role of felt pressure in gender norm resistance.

Does gender-bending help or hinder friending? The roles of gender and gender similarity in friendship dissolution.

We explored how gender and gender similarity affects friendship dissolution following the transition to middle school. We predicted that both gender and gender similarity (measured by perceived similarity to own-gender and other-gender peers) explain dissolution trends and that less own-gender similarity or more other-gender similarity predicts more friendship dissolution. We considered gender and gender similarity at both the individual and dyad level (reflecting the discrepancy between friends). Participants were 198 students in Grade 6 (42% Latinx, 21% Caucasian, 10% Native American, 8% African American, 2% Asian American, and 17% mixed backgrounds; 77% qualified for free/reduced meals) in reciprocated same- or mixed-gender friendships followed from fall to spring of the academic year. Multilevel multimember logistic regression models, nesting friendships within each participating individual, demonstrated that girl-girl friendships were less likely to dissolve than boy-boy friendships, and mixed-gender friendships did not dissolve more than same-gender friendships. Feeling similar to one's own gender predicted less dissolution, but feeling similar to the other gender did not increase friendship dissolution. There was no support for the hypothesis that feeling similar to both genders (i.e., androgyny) protected against friendship dissolution, nor was there any support for the hypothesis that dyad-level differences in gender similarity would predict dissolution. The discussion focuses on the importance of conducting individual and dyad-level analyses as well as including gender similarity constructs when studying gender differences in friendships and their trajectories over time. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).