Using five different data sets, this study explores the bidirectional relationship between standardized tests and various indicators of success. Examining student success on a variety of indicators such as cumulative grade point average and graduation rates, the study demonstrates the limited usefulness of such tests, particularly when the data…

The purpose of this study was to explore the comparative contribution that (a) multiple sources of education about sexual topics (peers, media, school and other adults), and (b) the timing of this sex education, make on American adolescent sexual attitudes and behavior. Participants were 672 ethnically and economically diverse male and female,…

This study assessed rates of lifetime and current alcohol use among 7th- through 12th-grade Mexican American and non-Hispanic White students. Students from 55 middle and high schools from the southwestern U.S. completed a survey of alcohol use. Odds ratios were calculated for grade by gender by ethnicity comparisons for Mexican American boys (n =…

The author assessed personality scores for 47 undergraduates enrolled in a forensic identification program. Results revealed no difference between men and women enrolled in the Forensic Identification Program on subscales of the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS-V), with the exception of Experience Seeking. Participants had lower Disinhibition scores…

This article examines perspectives on and intersections between two recurrent themes in the history of American psychology: sex differences and theories of self. These themes and certain connections between them are considered in three eras: early American psychology, feminist psychology coincident with the second wave of feminism, and the recent…

Gender differences in the construct validity of Jack's (1991) Silencing the Self Scale (STSS) were assessed using 187 female and 169 male undergraduates. Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed gender differences in the scale's latent structure and at best provided only limited support for the validity of the scale's four…

Drawing on the theoretical and empirical foundations of two evolutionary models, we argue that, among humans and other mammals, a twofold selection process would parsimoniously account for sex-linked advantages in spatial contexts. In males, a superiority for both solving navigation-related spatial problems and understanding physical principles…

Objective: The objective of the present study is to replicate findings in first-episode psychosis reporting a smaller volume in brain structures in a population with adolescent onset. Method: Magnetic resonance imaging studies were performed on 23 psychotic adolescents (12-18 years old, 17 males, 6 females) consecutively admitted to an adolescent…

Gray matter volumes of Heschl's gyrus (HG), planum temporale (PT), pars triangularis (PTR), and pars opercularis were measured on MRI in 48 healthy right-handers. There was the expected leftward PT asymmetry in 70.8%, and leftward PTR asymmetry in 64.6% of the sample. When asymmetry patterns within individuals were examined, there was not one…

Role congruity theory predicts that women will be less likely than men to emerge as leaders when expectations for the leader role are incongruent with gender stereotypes. A 2 x 2 x 3 design that crossed the sex of the dominant partner, mixed- and same-sex dyads, and masculine, feminine, and neutral tasks involved 120 dyads of unacquainted college…

Theorists suggest that gender differences in moral reasoning are due to differences in the self-concept, with women feeling connected to others and using a care approach, whereas men feel separate from others and adopt a justice approach. Using a self-categorization analysis, the current research suggests that the nature of the self-other…

This study tested the hypothesis that higher rates of depression in adolescent girls are explained by their greater exposure and reactivity to stress in the interpersonal domain in a large sample of 15-year-olds. Findings indicate that adolescent girls experienced higher levels of total and interpersonal episodic stress, whereas boys experienced…

This study examined the stability of early adolescent best friendships across a school year. Grade 7 students (N = 174) participated in group-testing sessions in the fall and spring of their school year. Participants completed peer-nomination measures, described the quality of their best friendships, their knowledge of their best friend, and their…

Little research has examined parents' experiences of their children's transition to adolescence. The authors studied a sample of 170 mothers' and 159 fathers' open-ended descriptions of their experiences and investigated the role of prior relationship quality in predicting the nature of parents' experiences. Changes in the personal qualities of…

Sex differences on the WISC-R (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised) are examined in a sample of 1258 11 year olds in Mauritius. Boys obtained a significantly higher Full Scale IQ by 5.8 IQ points. Boys obtained a higher Performance IQ by 6.5 IQ points and a higher Verbal IQ by 1.0 IQ points. On the subtests, girls obtained a…