Topic 2. Gender differences in psychological adjustment Examine gender differences in the psychological adjustment of children and adolescents between the ages of 7 and 15 years. Answering this question requires (a) critical evaluation of the evidence Essay Example
8GENDER DIFFERENCE IN PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT
Gender Difference in Psychological Adjustment
Gender Difference in Psychological Adjustment
Gender differences in children’s emotion expression and psychological adjustment have been observed as early as preschool years, with female children and adolescents geed 7 to 15 years being less likely to demonstrate anger, and more likely to display sadness, than boys. One source of influence on these gender differences might be the socialization pressures that orient girls and boys toward diverse roles in life. These socialization pressures, nevertheless, might not usually be overt or obvious, but might be faint, passed on in the form of differential attention to girls’ and boys’ expressions during incidents, attention that might subtly encourage expression of particular emotions and discourage others. This might contribute to the tendency for females to be more likely than boys, to express submissive emotions, like anxiety and sadness, and for males to be more disposed to convey disharmonious emotions, like laughing at one another and anger.
Gender Differences in Psychological Adjustment to Child Abuse
Examinations on the effects of child abuse and neglect have included gender differences in psychological adjustment to abuse. Gender differences in expression of symptom on the basis of the exposure to physical and sexual abuse were revealed in a study conducted by Rensick, Blum, and Chandy (1996). The outcomes of this study showed that male adolescents who were victims of sexual abuse experienced more problems in delinquent behaviors, marijuana use , school, as well as sexual risk taking behavior in comparison to girls who were victims, who reported increased degrees of disordered eating, suicidal behavior and ideation, and a higher frequency of taking consuming alcohol. On the other hand, Arends and Garnefski (1998) showed that sexual abuse was equally connected with behavioral and emotional problems and suicidal ideation in adolescent females and males, but delinquent and aggressive behavior was highly prevalent in male adolescents. These diverging findings obstruct our understanding of probable gender related impacts on the sequelae of sexual abuse. It’s similarly possible that the findings of the subsisting research based samples on both female and male participants might be puzzled by the effect of gender.
Gender Differences to Psychological Adjustments to Divorce
Children and adolescents always lose a degree of contact of their attachment figures when their parents divorce. It is a stressful and confusing time for adolescents and children, in spite of whether a divorce was agreeable or not. According to Boooth et al (2000), there are numerous national studies that reveal poor school performance, behavior problems, and low self esteem and adjustment problems associated with divorce. They note that there are greater instances of early sexual activity, delinquent behavior and constant academic issues. Gender difference amid children in a divorced family play a very significant role in the way they adjust. This is true at the duration of divorce and has long tem impacts in adult life. Several investigations have agreed that girls and boys respond differently to the diminished contact with a main attachment figure. Boys appear to have a hard time with divorce, leading them to have problems at school; withdrawals form social interactions and fights with peers (Kobak, 1999).
Nevertheless, Amato and Keith (2001) conducted a follow up investigation to this study and established that behavior traits are ranked in children and adolescents with divorced children and detected negative behaviors. The study emphasizes that disadvantages connected with divorce are identical for girls and boys. The stress on children and adolescent