scholarly journals Preschool Gender-Typed Play Behavior Predicts Adolescent Gender-Typed Occupational Interests: A 10-Year Longitudinal Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 843-851
Author(s):  
Karson T. F. Kung

AbstractThere are significant gender differences in both play behavior and occupational interests. Play has been regarded as an important medium for development of skills and personal characteristics. Play may also influence subsequent preferences through social and cognitive processes involved in gender development. The present study investigated the association between gender-typed play behavior in early childhood and gender-typed occupational interests in early adolescence. Participants were drawn from a British longitudinal population study, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Participants were recruited based on their parent-reported gender-typed play behavior assessed at age 3.5 years. There were 66 masculine boys and 61 masculine girls, 82 feminine boys and 69 feminine girls, and 55 randomly selected control boys and 67 randomly selected control girls. At age 13 years, the participants were administered a questionnaire assessing their interest in gender-typed occupations. It was found that masculine children showed significantly more interest in male-typical occupations than did control or feminine children. Compared with control children, feminine children had marginally significantly lower interest in male-typical jobs. Masculine children also had significantly lower interest in female-typical jobs than did control or feminine children. The associations were not moderated by gender and were observed after taking into account sociodemographic background, parental occupations, and academic performance. The degree of gender-typed play shown by preschoolers can predict their occupational interests 10 years later following transition into adolescence. Childhood gender-typed play has occupational implications that transcend developmental stages.

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. e025621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexa R Yakubovich ◽  
Jon Heron ◽  
Gene Feder ◽  
Abigail Fraser ◽  
David K Humphreys

ObjectivesTo evaluate the psychometric properties of a novel, brief measure of physical, psychological and sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) and estimate the overall prevalence of and gender differences in this violence.DesignData are from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a birth-cohort study.SettingAvon, UK.Participants2128 women and 1145 men who completed the questionnaire assessment at age 21.Outcome measuresParticipants responded to eight items on physical, psychological and sexual IPV victimisation at age 21. Participants indicated whether the violence occurred before age 18 and/or after and led to any of eight negative impacts (eg, fear). We estimated the prevalence of IPV and tested for gender differences using χ2or t-tests. We evaluated the IPV victimisation measure based on internal consistency (alpha coefficient), dimensionality (exploratory factor analysis) and convergent validity with negative impacts.ResultsOverall, 37% of participants reported experiencing any IPV and 29% experienced any IPV after age 18. Women experienced more frequent IPV, more acts of IPV and more negative impacts than men (p<0.001 for all comparisons). The IPV measure showed high internal consistency (α=0.95), strong evidence for unidimensionality and was highly correlated with negative impacts (r=0.579, p<0.001).ConclusionsThe prevalence of IPV victimisation in the ALSPAC cohort was considerable for both women and men. The strong and consistent gender differences in the frequency and severity of IPV suggest clinically meaningful differences in experiences of this violence. The ALSPAC measure for IPV victimisation was valid and reliable, indicating its suitability for further aetiological investigations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yingxin Chen ◽  
Susan Hodgson ◽  
John Gulliver ◽  
Raquel Granell ◽  
A. John Henderson ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Evidence suggests that exposure to particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μm (PM10) is associated with reduced birth weight, but information is limited on the sources of PM10 and exposure misclassification from assigning exposures to place of residence at birth. Methods Trimester and source-specific PM10 exposures (PM10 from road source, local non-road source, and total source) in pregnancy were estimated using dispersion models and a full maternal residential history for 12,020 births from the Avon longitudinal study of parents and children (ALSPAC) cohort in 1990–1992 in the Bristol area. Information on birth outcomes were obtained from birth records. Maternal sociodemographic and lifestyle factors were obtained from questionnaires. We used linear regression models for continuous outcomes (birth weight, head circumference (HC), and birth length (BL) and logistic regression models for binary outcomes (preterm birth (PTB), term low birth weight (TLBW) and small for gestational age (SGA)). Sensitivity analysis was performed using multiple imputation for missing covariate data. Results After adjustment, interquartile range increases in source specific PM10 from traffic were associated with 17 to 18% increased odds of TLBW in all pregnancy periods. We also found odds of TLBW increased by 40% (OR: 1.40, 95%CI: 1.12, 1.75) and odds of SGA increased by 18% (OR: 1.18, 95%CI: 1.05, 1.32) per IQR (6.54 μg/m3) increase of total PM10 exposure in the third trimester. Conclusion This study adds to evidence that maternal PM10 exposures affect birth weight, with particular concern in relation to exposures to PM10 from road transport sources; results for total PM10 suggest greatest effect in the third trimester. Effect size estimates relate to exposures in the 1990s and are higher than those for recent studies – this may relate to reduced exposure misclassification through use of full residential history information, changes in air pollution toxicity over time and/or residual confounding.


Author(s):  
Ieuan Evans ◽  
Jon Heron ◽  
Joseph Murray ◽  
Matthew Hickman ◽  
Gemma Hammerton

Experimental studies support the conventional belief that people behave more aggressively whilst under the influence of alcohol. To examine how these experimental findings manifest in real life situations, this study uses a method for estimating evidence for causality with observational data—‘situational decomposition’ to examine the association between alcohol consumption and crime in young adults from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Self-report questionnaires were completed at age 24 years to assess typical alcohol consumption and frequency, participation in fighting, shoplifting and vandalism in the previous year, and whether these crimes were committed under the influence of alcohol. Situational decomposition compares the strength of two associations, (1) the total association between alcohol consumption and crime (sober or intoxicated) versus (2) the association between alcohol consumption and crime committed while sober. There was an association between typical alcohol consumption and total crime for fighting [OR (95% CI): 1.47 (1.29, 1.67)], shoplifting [OR (95% CI): 1.25 (1.12, 1.40)], and vandalism [OR (95% CI): 1.33 (1.12, 1.57)]. The associations for both fighting and shoplifting had a small causal component (with the association for sober crime slightly smaller than the association for total crime). However, the association for vandalism had a larger causal component.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 229
Author(s):  
Mark Mummé ◽  
Andy Boyd ◽  
Jean Golding ◽  
John Macleod

This data note describes the linked antenatal and delivery records of the mothers and index children of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) birth cohort study. These records were extracted from the computerised maternity record system ‘STORK’ used by the two largest NHS trusts in the study catchment area. The STORK database was designed to be populated by midwives and other health professionals during a woman’s pregnancy and shortly after the baby’s birth. These early computer records were initiated in the early 1990s, shortly before the start of enrolment to ALSPAC. At this time the use of electronic medical record systems such as ‘STORK’ was very new, the accuracy of the records has been questioned and little contemporary detailed documentation is available. Small sample spot checks on the accuracy of the information in ‘STORK’ suggests extensive missingness and differences against gold-standard fieldworker abstracted information in some variables; yet high levels of completeness and agreement with gold-standard data in others. Software code was created using STATA (StataCorp LLC) to transform the original CSV (comma-separated values) files into a cohesive and consistent format which was reviewed for data-completeness for its potential use in future research. The cleaned ‘STORK’ records provide health, social and maternity data from the very earliest period of the ALSPAC study in an easily accessible format, which is particularly useful when other sources of data are missing.


2001 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Golding ◽  
Pembrey ◽  
Jones ◽  
The Alspac Study Team

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