scholarly journals Exploring dual gender typicality among young adults in the United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 314-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi C. Z. Andrews ◽  
Carol Lynn Martin ◽  
Rachel E. Cook ◽  
Ryan D. Field ◽  
Dawn E. England

The goal of the current study was to better understand the development of gender typicality in young adulthood by applying the dual-identity approach to gender typicality, previously developed with children, to a university sample. Participants ( n = 215, Mage = 20.20 years; 62% female) were asked to rate their perceived similarity to both own- and other-gender peers. They also completed questionnaires assessing sexist attitudes, internalized sexualization (females), adherence to male-typed behaviors in the context of interpersonal relationships (males; adherence to physical toughness and restrictive emotional expressivity), gender-based relationship efficacy, friendships, self-esteem, social self-efficacy, and social anxiety. Results indicated that self-perceived gender typicality involves comparisons to both gender groups, and that meaningful typologies can be created based on similarity to own- and other-gender groups. As with children, results indicated that identifying with one’s own gender was advantageous in terms of low social anxiety and relationships with own-gender peers. For adults who identified with both own- and other-gender peers, we identified additional social benefits (i.e., efficacy and friendships with other-gender peers). Further, we identified a downside to own-gender typicality: individuals who identified only with their own gender had more sexist attitudes than those who identified with the other gender. Findings support the viability of the dual-identity approach in young adults, and have implications for researchers assessing gender typicality across development.

Author(s):  
Roberto Baiocco ◽  
Chiara Antoniucci ◽  
Emanuele Basili ◽  
Jessica Pistella ◽  
Ainzara Favini ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction The present article describes two interrelated studies that examine gender typicality in young adulthood using a new dual-identity approach. Methods Participants were recruited online from March 2020 to February 2021 and reported their perceived similarity to own- and other-gender peers as a way to assess their gender typicality. In study 1, the authors conducted an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test and validate the Perceived Similarity to Gender Groups Scale in a sample of Italian young adults (n = 571; Mage = 23.9; SD = 3.60). The authors documented the configural, metric, scalar measurement invariance, and validity. In study 2, the Perceived Similarity to Gender Groups Scale adopted in study 1 was used to assess the distribution of different typologies of gender typicality in another sample of Italian young adults who vary in gender and sexual orientation (n = 1126; Mage = 24.3; SD = 3.51). Results Results confirmed the structural validity of the Perceived Similarity to Gender Groups Scale, revealing the two-factor structure of the scale. Moreover, results of cluster analysis found different typologies of self-perceptions of gender typicality. Conclusion Both studies emphasize the relevance of studying gender typicality in young adulthood through a dual-identity approach, highlighting the relevance of gender and sexual orientations. Policy Implications The use of the dual-identity approach has significant social and clinical implications as it represents a more flexible and representative model of the complexity of gender typicality.


2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Di Giunta ◽  
Nancy Eisenberg ◽  
Anne Kupfer ◽  
Patrizia Steca ◽  
Carlo Tramontano ◽  
...  

The Perceived Empathic Self-Efficacy Scale (PESE) and the Perceived Social Self-Efficacy Scale (PSSE) were developed to assess, respectively, individuals’ self-efficacy beliefs regarding both empathic responding to others’ needs or feelings and managing interpersonal relationships. In this study of young adults, a unidimensional factorial structure of both scales was found in Italy, the United States, and Bolivia. Complete invariance at the metric level and partial invariance at the scalar level were found across gender and countries for both scales. The construct and incremental validity of both PESE and PSSE were further examined in a different sample of Italian young adults. Patterns of association of the PESE or PSSE with self-esteem, psychological well-being, and the use of adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies were found, often over and beyond their associations with empathy or extraversion, respectively.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jabari Miles Evans ◽  
Alexis R. Lauricella ◽  
Drew P. Cingel ◽  
Davide Cino ◽  
Ellen Ann Wartella

With increasing media choice, particularly through the rise of streaming services, it has become more important for empirical research to examine how youth decide which programs to view, particularly when the content focuses on difficult health topics such as suicide. The present study investigated why adolescents and young adults chose to view or not view season 1 of 13 Reasons Why and how individual-level variables related to adolescents’ and young adults’ viewing. Using survey data gathered from a sample of 1,100 adolescents and young adult viewers and non-viewers of the series in the United States, we examined how participants’ resilience, loneliness, and social anxiety related to whether participants viewed the first season or not. Our descriptive results indicate that adolescents who watched the show reported that it accurately depicted the social realities of their age group, they watched it because friends recommended it, and they found the subject matter to be interesting. Non-viewers reported that they chose not to view the show because the nature of the content was upsetting to them. In addition, results demonstrated that participants’ social anxiety and resilience related to participants’ viewing decisions, such that those with higher social anxiety and higher resilience were more likely to report watching season 1. Together, these data suggest that youth make intentional decisions about mental health-related media use in an attempt to choose content that is a good fit for based on individual characteristics.


Author(s):  
Deborah Carr ◽  
Vera K. Tsenkova

The body weight of U.S. adults and children has risen markedly over the past three decades. The physical health consequences of obesity are widely documented, and emerging research from the Midlife in the United States study and other large-scale surveys reveals the harmful impact of obesity on adults’ psychosocial and interpersonal well-being. This chapter synthesizes recent research on the psychosocial implications of body weight, with attention to explanatory mechanisms and subgroup differences in these patterns. A brief statistical portrait of body weight is provided, documenting rates and correlates of obesity, with a focus on race, gender, and socioeconomic status disparities. The consequences of body weight for three main outcomes are described: institutional and everyday discrimination, interpersonal relationships, and psychological well-being. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the ways that recent integrative health research on the psychosocial consequences of overweight and obesity inform our understanding of population health.


2020 ◽  
Vol 119 ◽  
pp. 105676
Author(s):  
Stephanie Chassman ◽  
Danielle Maude Littman ◽  
Kimberly Bender ◽  
Diane Santa Maria ◽  
Jama Shelton ◽  
...  

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