Sex Roles

Sex differences in play behavior across the early elementary school years as well as the relation between sex-typed play and peer acceptance were examtned. It was hypothesized that children who were more sex-typed in their play behaviors would be more accepted by their peers. The participants tncluded 86 grade two children and 81 grade four children. Popularity was assessed using a rating scale sociometric measure. Sex-typed behaviors were measured by observing the children at free play. Results indicated significant age and gender differences in children's play behavior. Specifically, boys engaged m more aggressive and rough and tumble play as well as more functional, solitarydramatic and exploratory play and tended to be involved more in group play, whereas girls produced more parallel and constructive play as well as more peer conversations. In grade 4, these differences were maximized such that boys produced more games-with-rules and girls exhibited more parallel-constructive activity Second, results indicated that sociometric ratings and observed degree of sex-typing were not significantly related except in the case of fourth grade males At the fourth grade level, a positive relation was observed between boys acceptance by male peers and "masculine" or male-preferred play behavior as well as between boys' acceptance by female peers and "feminine or femaiepreferred play.

Although gender-related differences in highly gender typed cognitive abilities are of considerable interest to educators and cognitive researchers alike, relatively little progress has been made in understanding the psychological processes that lead to them. Nash (1979)
proposed a sex-role mediation hypothesis for such differences, with particular emphasis on spatial ability. However, changes in gender equality and gender stereotypes in the decades since merit a re-examination of whether a sex-role association still holds (Feingold, 1988). A meta-analysis of 12 studies that examined sex-role identity and mental rotation performance
was conducted. These included studies from the United Kingdom, Canada, Poland, Croatia, and the United States of America. The mean effect size for masculinity was r = .30 for men and r = .23 for women; no association was found between femininity and mental rotation.
This effect size was slightly larger than that found previously by Signorella and Jamison (1986), and exceeds many other factors known to influence spatial ability. The implications of sex-role mediation of gender differences are discussed and future research directions are identified.

Secondary analyses of Revised NEO Personality Inventory data from 26 cultures (N = 23,031) suggest that gender differences are small relative to individual variation within genders; differences are replicated across cultures for both college-age and adult samples, and differences are broadly consistent with gender stereotypes: Women reported themselves to be higher in Neuroticism, Agreeableness, Warmth, and Openness to Feelings, whereas men were higher in Assertiveness and Openness to Ideas. Contrary to predictions from evolutionary theory, the magnitude of gender differences varied across cultures. Contrary to predictions from the social role model, gender differences were most pronounced in European and American cultures in which traditional sex roles are minimized. Possible explanations for this surprising finding are discussed, including the attribution of masculine and feminine behaviors to roles rather than traits in traditional cultures.

The perceptions and attitudes o)°365 eighth-grade girls were surveyed to examine the direct and indirect impact of mothers' life style on adolescents 'gender-role development. Among the hypotheses investigated were the following: (1) mothers' activity Outside the home enhances her status and increases the likelihood of diminished gender-role differentiation in the family and (2) status and parental role differentiation explain a greater proportion of the variance in the gender-role socialization variables than maternal life style. Multiple regression analyses were carried out to determine which combination of life style and intervening variables would best predict gender-role responses. Collectively, the results indicated only modest relationships between maternal characteristics and girls' gender-role socialization. The appropriateness of this model for future research is discussed. In the mid-1970s, with over half of the married women in the United States employed, the impact of mothers' life style on the development of children has become an increasingly frequent and important focus for socialization researchers. Very recently the emphasis on expanding and diversifying roles for women has caused social scientists to be interested in the personality development of females and particularly the impact of mother as model for gender-role socialization. This survey research project, focusing on the perceptions of eighth-grade girls, assumes mothers' life style to be a significant factor for daughters' genderrole development. However, it attempts to go beyond mothers' employment or nonemployment in search of intervening variables that can help explain why this role dichotomy may have an effect on the gender-role development of children.

This study was designed to examine participants' perceptions of targets who varied in Likelihood to Sexually Harass (LSH; scores. Ninety-four Caucasian participants were shown videotapes of male targets who had scored either high or low on the LSH scale. In half of the sessions, the participants watched the videotapes without sound and in the other half the participants watched the videotapes with the sound on. Participants then generated open-ended responses to a question asking them to imagine what it would be like to have this man as an employer. Judges who were unaware of the purpose of the study independently rated the open-ended responses for their evaluative implications (positive or negative), context (professional or interpersonal), as well as their domain (affiliative or dominant). Results indicate that overall men who were high in LSH were viewed most negatively and least positively compared to their low LSH counterparts. This is consistent with previous research by on identification of men with sexual harassment proclivity. Men who are high or low in LSH behave in different ways and participants are able to pick up on the cues associated with this important personality factor.

This cross-sectional study tested a conceptual model of women's HIV/AIDS protective behaviors using gender roles, relationship power strategies, and precautionary sexual self-efficacy as predictors in a predominantly Black and Latina community sample of heterosexual women (N ϭ 125). Results revealed no support for the full model, but partial confirmation for several components of the model. Education significantly predicted gender roles, and gender roles and use of direct power strategies were significant predictors of sexual self-efficacy. Most of the participants were married or partnered and were unconcerned about contracting HIV, suggesting that if women perceive that they are at low or no risk, their gender roles, power strategies, and precautionary sexual self-efficacy will be inconsequential to their HIV/ AIDS risk reduction practices. In 1982, a year after HIV/AIDS was first identified, 67 cases of AIDS in women were reported to the Centers for Disease Control [CDC] (1983). Sixteen years later, the CDC recorded 106,059 cases among women and adolescent girls nationwide (CDC, 1998), making women the fastest growing group of people with the disease. Between 1991 and 1995, the number of women diagnosed with AIDS increased by 63% (Wortley & Fleming, 1997).

The status of research on sex differences in attribution is reviewed in light of the articles published in this issue. The authors conclude that several widely hem beliefs about sex differences in attributions may be unwarranted. Various explanations for the lack of consistent results in studies exploring situational and dispositional effects on sex differences in attributions are offered. The authors conclude that alternative attributional questions need to be raised and investigated in order to understand sex differences in achievement.

In this paper, we acknowledge and critique the absence of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) experiences in the recent proliferation of scholarship on Bhooking up^among youth (aged 16 to 24). Although previous research has documented that LGB youth hookup at high rates (up to three-quarters of LGB youth), and oftentimes more than heterosex-uals, the most basic aspects of hookups (e.g., motivations, experiences, and outcomes) have not been comprehensively explored. This is pertinent because young adulthood, in particular , is a time when young people explore their sexuality. Most scholarship on hooking up has focused on White heterosexual college students, mostly due to sampling constraints and impediments, and so we are left with a critical gap in our knowledge about LGB youth-a population that is typically at higher risk for sexual, mental, and emotional health issues. We begin by reviewing the literature on hooking up among heterosexual young adults as organized by four themes: hookup definitions/frequencies, contexts, motivations , and outcomes. We do this to explicitly highlight and contrast what little is known about LGB youth hookups. We then provide a research agenda that projects how future researchers can advance this area of scholarship and begin to fill its gaps, while considering the hookup experiences of diverse LGB youth.

This study explored women's use of aggression, focusing on how they define initiation of aggression and what motives they have for behaving aggressively. Twenty-five women who had used aggression during conflicts with their romantic partners were interviewed. Results indicated that, while the women reported initiating aggression in the majority of conflicts described (54%), they varied in how they defined initiation, with some believing that initiating aggression meant being angry, bringing up the conflict issue, or persistently asking the partner to engage verbally. Twelve categories of motives for the use of aggression were also identified. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, highlighting the ongoing need for an ecological perspective when studying women's use of aggression.

This research examines the mutual influence of race and victim drinking on college students' domestic violence attributions. Participants were 200, predominately White, middle-class college students. They read a vignette depicting a domestic violence incident. Manipulated within ...

A community sample of psychologically abused women (N = 93; 83 Anglo, 4 Hispanic, 4 African-American, 1 Native American, 1 "Other") in 3 groups (psychological abuse only, with moderate violence, with severe violence) received payment for completing lengthy questionnaires and interviews. This study concerns women's perceptions of their own and their partners' gender roles and gender role attitudes. Women in all 3 groups rated themselves feminine and egalitarian, as hypothesized. Ratings of their partners were near the midpoint of the scales on masculinity and traditionalism, contrary to hypotheses. Women experiencing psychological abuse with severe violence had more negative perceptions of their partners and believed their partners had more negative views of them than did women who shared the common experience of psychological abuse but sustained less or no violence.

This study was designed to examine coping strategies for relational aggression. Ninety-eight female middle-and high-school students completed the Revised Ways of Coping Scale (Folk-man & Lazarus, 1985) and reported characteristics of a relational aggressive act of ...

The question of whether or not personality and life success halo effects occur for weight for men was examined in 2 experiments. Experiment 1 used a 2 (weight of man) · 2 (sex of participant) design and personality social desirability measures. Experiment 2 used a 2 (weight of man) · 2 (sex of participant) design and the Big-5 dimensions of personality. Weight did not affect personality ratings on the dimensions of the Big-5. Personality halo effects only occur for social desirability aspects of personality. Thinner men received higher social desirability ratings than overweight men did. Additionally, thinner/normal weight men received higher ratings for attractiveness, enthusiasm, and perceived occupational success, while heavier/ overweight men received higher ratings for intelligence, friendliness, trustworthiness, parenting skill, and mate potential. These results are discussed in terms of prior research on beauty and weight.

The current studies were conducted to examine two questions regarding the development of an ethic of care versus an ethic of justice, where the former is associated with being female and the latter is associated with being male. First, does gender role orientation in adolescence predict the ethical orientation one adopts better than gender itself does? Second, does adolescents' ethical orientation predict their volunteering behavior? To answer these questions, two studies were conducted. In Study 1, adolescents completed Bem's Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and Jensen's World View Questionnaire (WVQ) which assesses ethical orientation. Girls and individuals high in femininity were higher on the ethic of care than were boys and individuals high in masculinity. In addition, individuals with a feminine gender orientation received higher care scores than individuals with an androgynous orientation. Regression analyses indicated that gender orientation accounted for more of the variance in the ethic of care than did gender. In Study 2, older adolescents completed Jensen's WVQ and were subsequently asked to volunteer in one of two settings: a personal setting or an impersonal setting. Individuals high in the ethic of care were more likely to volunteer and volunteered for more hours, but volunteered equally often in the two types of settings. Individuals who "apologized" for being unable to volunteer were higher on caring. The results are discussed in the context of Gilligan's theory of socialization to morality.

In all four studies, the children were heterogeneous with regard to social class, ethnicity, and race. In Experiment 1, children (71 boys, 90 girls) in Grades 3-6 read five stories about a target boy and in Experiment 2 (102 boys, 137 girls) about a target girl who displayed four sex-typed behaviors that ranged from exclusively masculine to exclusively feminine. In Experiment 1, boys preferred the exclusively masculine boy most as a friend. With each addition of a feminine behavior (and corresponding subtraction of a masculine behavior), the friendship ratings became increasingly negative. In contrast, the girls preferred the exclusively feminine boy most as a friend and, with each addition of a masculine behavior, 1portions of this article were presented at the meetings of the

A multidimensional approach to occupational gender type was explored. In Study 1, participants' spontaneous images of various jobs were elicited. The attributes generated were used to develop a job images questionnaire employed in Study 2 on which participants rated a random sample of 100 occupational titles. Occupational images were primarily structured on two orthogonal dimensions: prestige and gender type. The multidimensional approach to occupational gender-type was supported in that important gender-related occupational attributes (masculine personality trait requirements and analytical skills) did not load on the gender-type factor, but did load highly on the prestige factor. Thus, even though the prestige and gender-type factors were orthogonal, specific gender-related attributes were related to perceived occupational prestige.

This study was designed to identify African American early adolescents’ subjective meanings of African American women’s sexuality through an examination of Stephens and Phillips’ (2003) sexual images—the Diva, Gold Digger, Freak, Dyke, Gangster Bitch, Sister Savior, Earth Mother, and Baby Mama. These eight sexual images both inform and reflect beliefs about African American women’s physical attractiveness. Interpersonal relationship decision making processes also were influenced by these conceptual frameworks of African American women’s sexuality. Findings from this study are important given the tendency of previous researchers to ignore race and intraethnic variations in studies of beliefs about attitudes toward sexuality.

Relatively little attention has been paid to later life masculinities. Separate studies were designed to identify the commonly held images of old men and then determine whether or not an old man is perceived as a man or more in terms of a gender-neutral elderly person. The first assessed the commonly held images of positive and negative later life masculinities. A second study examined if old men's gendered character was perceived similarly in comparison to a young man or an old woman. Findings from the studies revealed age expectations and masculinity norms jointly affected people's images of old men. Old men were favorably described more often than negatively stereotyped, and there was evidence of distinct late life masculinity expectations. Keywords Old men. Later life masculinities. Stereotypes Recent interest in the social worlds of old men and how age-specific masculinities differentially structure men's experiences has been noticeable (

Although relatively few teenagers have been diagnosed with AIDS and the extent of asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among adolescents remains largely unknown, there is cause for concern about teens' risk of contracting HIV disease. The incubation period (the time from initial infection to the development of full-blown AIDS) is estimated to average eight years, and therefore it is probable that most of the individuals in their twenties who have AIDS (20% of all the people with AIDS) contracted HIV during their teenage years. The sexual and drug use activities of many teenagers place them at increased risk for HIV transmission. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are pervasive and a major cause of morbidity among sexually active adolescents. The rates of STDs have continued to rise even during the 'age of AIDS'. These rates are of concern since the behaviors associated with the acquisition and transmission of STDs are also the behaviors associated with HIV transmission. In addition, the presence of STDs may increase the likelihood of HIV transmission.

This study used content analysis to examine if themes related to ambivalent sexism emerged when female students wrote an essay answering the question "What does it mean to be a woman?" and examined the relationship between Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI) scores and content analysis.

Using data from 188 female full professors from all 14 Dutch universities this study examines whether skewed sex ratios in the environment and the absence of a women-friendly environment are related to their career path experiences and to their perception of the general ease of women's obtaining a professorship. Results from multi-level analyses show a positive relationship between the perception of women-friendly environment and both the experience of their own career path, and the perceived ease with which other women could become a full professor. Moreover results show that the higher the percentage of women professors in the academic field the stronger the relationship between perception of women friendliness and the experienced ease with which they became a full professor.

We drew on Foucault's notion of ‘practices of the self’ to examine how young people take up, negotiate, and resist the imperatives of a public health discourse concerned with the relationships between health, fitness, and the body. We did this through a discussion of the ways young women and men talk about their own and others' bodies, in the context of a number of in-depth interviews conducted for the Life Activity Project, a study of the place and meaning of physical activity in young people's lives, funded by an Australian Research Council Grant. We found that the young women and men in the study engaged the health/fitness discourse very differently: for the young men, health conflated with fitness as an embodied capacity to do physical work; and for the young women, health was a much more difficult and complex project associated with managing and monitoring practices associated with eating and exercise to maintain an ‘appropriate’ body shape.

In present study we investigated possible gender differences in how 357 secondary-school students valued the importance of masculine and feminine characteristics within sport and physical education and how their ratings of values were related to their participation in gendered sport. The results indicated that boys rated appearance strength, sports competence, endurance strength, and masculinity as significantly more important than did girls. Girls rated appearance good looking face, appearance slender, and femininity as significantly more important than did boys. Further, more boys participated in traditionally masculine sports, whereas girls to a greater extent participated in traditionally feminine sports. A discriminant function analysis separated the masculine sport group from the feminine sport group, which suggests that higher scores on the masculine function were indicative of lower value on appearance slender and flexibility, accompanied by higher value on appearance strength and masculinity. For the feminine sport group, this pattern was the opposite.

This study defines contrapower harassment in academia as student incivility, bullying, and sexual atten-tion aimed at faculty. A US, Alaskan sample of 399 professors (50% women, 88% white) at the state's largest public university was surveyed about their ...

The purpose of this research was to extend previous work on gender bias in performance evaluation. Specifically, we examined whether a structured free recall intervention could decrease the influence of traditional gender-stereotypes on the performance evaluations of women. Two hundred and forty-seven college students provided performance ratings for vignettes that described the performance of male or female college professors. Results indicated that without the intervention, raters who have traditional stereotypes evaluated women less accurately and more negatively. Conversely, the structured free recall intervention successfully eliminated these effects. The usefulness of the structured free recall intervention as a tool for decreasing the influence of gender stereotypes on performance ratings is discussed.

Researchers ha v e emphasiz ed the signi® cant role of rape myth acceptance in indi v iduals' predisposition to engage in sexually aggressi v e beha v ior, including rape. The purp ose of this study was to exam ine the current state of rape myth acceptance in college students and the factors which differentiated acceptance v s nonacceptance of rape myths. One hundred ® fty-eight primarily Caucasian respondents were pro v ided with two measures of attitudes toward rape an d asked the degree to which they agreed or disagreed with each statem ent. Results indicated that college students reported disagreem ent with rape myth statements. Howe v er, v ariations in the degree of disagreem ent emerged; men and indi v iduals who had not attended a rape awareness workshop expressed weaker disagreement with rape myths than women and indiv iduals who had attended a rape awareness workshop. Discriminant analysis of these v ariables successfully identi® ed a core set of rape myths which differentiated indi v iduals in terms of the degree to which they subscribed to rape-suppo rti v e attitudes. Conclusions were drawn regarding rape myth acceptance an d the need for further research.

In the present study we analyzed cultural variations of managerial gender typing, i.e., that managers are perceived as possessing traits that are part of the masculine stereotype. Management students of both sexes from three different countries-Australia, Germany, and India-estimated the percentage to which one of three stimulus groups, i.e., executives-ingeneral (no gender specification), male executives, or female executives, possesses personoriented and task-oriented leadership traits. Participants also rated the importance of these characteristics for the respective group. Furthermore, another group of participants described themselves regarding the two types of traits and their importance for themselves. Altogether, the results indicate a less traditional view of leadership compared to previous findings, which is very similar in all three countries. Nevertheless, there exists an interculturally shared view of a female-specific leadership competence according to which women possess a higher person orientation than men. The self-descriptions of the female and male management students regarding person-and task-oriented traits were found to be very similar.

This study examines the beliefs of college Chicanas regarding ethnic iden-tification, preferred endogamy, and male perceptions of their achievements. The central research question of this cross-sectional and exploratory study is to determine if ethnically identified Chicanas who ...

What & the relationship between the quafity of men's job and partnership roles on the one hand and men's mental health on the other? This question was addressed in a random sample of 300 men, ages 25-40, in dual-earner couples. Predictions were made from both main-effects and two interaction-effects models of this relationship. More specifically, negative-spillover effects, as predicted by the role-stress model, were estimated both from work to home and home to work. Positive-spillover effects, as predicted by the role-enhancement model, were estimated from home to work and from work to home. The general finding was that the effects are additive not interactive, thus supporting the main-effects model With respect to spillover effects, there was some support for the role-stress model, but no support for the role-enhancement model More specifically, the relationship between job stress and psychological distress was exacerbated among men who had troubled relationships with their partners.

Research on leadership has either ignored women or focused on sex differences. This paper illustrates how both of these strategies have been detrimental to women. An alternative conception based on sex-role orientation is presented and the research relating androgyny to leadership style and managerial effectiveness is reviewed. It is proposed that adopting an androgynous management style may help women to overcome the negative effects of sexstereotyping in the workplace.

Numerical modeling of a complete powder coating process is carried out to understand the gas-particle two-phase flow field inside a powder coating booth and results of the numerical simulations are compared with experimental data to validate the numerical results. The flow inside the coating booth is modeled as a three-dimensional turbulent continuous gas flow with solid powder particles as a discrete phase. The continuous gas flow is predicted by solving Navier-Stokes equations using a standard k-e turbulence model with non-equilibrium wall functions. The discrete phase is modeled based on a Lagrangian approach. In the calculation of particle propagation, a particle size distribution obtained through experiments is applied. The electrostatic field, including the effect of space charge due to free ions, is calculated with the use of the user defined scalar transport equations and user defined scalar functions in the software package, FLUENT, for the electrostatic potential and charge density.

We examined basic breeding biology, as well as the eVects of parental sex, brood size, nestling age, and nest habitat on foraging distances and parental food delivery rates of snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) on Devon Island, NT, Canada, in the summers of 2003-2006. Clutch sizes and initiation dates were similar to those found in previous studies, although nest density was much higher. Feeding rates and foraging distances of buntings diVered depending on the size and age of the brood, but were similar between nest habitats. Unlike in earlier studies, we found that male buntings made fewer feeding visits, but traveled longer distances to forage for food than females. Whether these diVerences between the sexes relate to reducing competition for prey, or to diVering sex roles in parental care due to the poorly insulated nest cavities of this species, remains to be determined.

The simultaneous effects of the sex-role appropriateness of the task and the presence or absence of competition upon the attributions made by males and females were studied with 192 college students. Contrary to predictions, males rated themselves as lucMer than females in the competitive conditions. However, as predicted, females made fewer sell:serving attributions for the male than the female task.

In this study, the relationships among gender, instrumental~expressive self-schemata, and modes of helping were explored. Duffng session one, the level of schematicity of 114 predominantly white undergraduate subjects was assessed using Spence and Helmreich's Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ), along with importance ratings of the PAQ items to subjects' self-descriptions. During session two, a week later, the same subjects read nine scenarios involving a friend in need of help. Subjects were presented with problem-solving and nurturing behavior items and were asked to rate how likely they were to help the fn'end. The data support social role theory but give little support to Markus ' (1977) self-schema theory. Findings indicated that overall, women were more likely to help than men. Additionally, women were more likely to help in a nurturant way than in a problem-solving way, whereas men did not differ in helping modes. Schematicity was not predictive of schema-relevant helping behavior when controlling for gender. The findings of this study imply that in circumscribed contexts, gender may play a more significant role in likelihood to engage in problem-solving and~or nurturing behaviors than schema per se.

Popular books on heterosexual relationships often present gender--dichotomized views of behavior. To test predictions derived from gender schema and social role theories, relationship suggestions from Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus were presented in masculine, feminine and neutral versions to 355 undergraduate students in the mid--Atlantic region of the United States. Participants either made descriptive stereotyping ratings or indicated their own preferences for the relationship suggestions. Half of each group was asked to respond as if the relationship in question was a romantic one, and half for a college roommate. When making descriptive stereotyping ratings, participant responses were in the stereotypic direction but with the means all close to the neutral midpoint. When making preference ratings, both women and men preferred neutral versions of the items over masculine and feminine versions, and women liked all types of items more than did men, but the average ratings indicated general appreciation for the items. Participants also liked the items better if the relationship was with a romantic partner rather than a college roommate. The highly positive reactions of all participants to all types of items and the failure to find consistent patterns of gender-stereotypic responses across rating methods and relationship contexts suggest that gender differences in relationship preferences may be less dramatic than portrayed in popular books. It is argued, however, that such books can impact readers' perceptions of gender and relationships.

attitudes and by a close, continuous, and satisfactory relationship with their mothers. Overall, maternal influences on the development of daughters' career orientation outweigh other factors encountered in schools, and emerge as key predictor variables in Korean women's career development.

In this study we explored the effects of respondent gender and the specific gender combination (i.e., cross-and same-gender dyads) on perceptions of a sexual encounter between a teacher and an adolescent student. Respondents (120 male and 120 female undergraduates) read a brief scenario and answered questions about their perceptions of the encounter. Significant interactions emerged between teacher gender and student gender. For example, the male teacher/male student dyad was viewed as the least normative, and the female teacher/male student dyad was perceived as the most normative. Significant interactions also were found between teacher gender and respondent gender. Results generally were consistent with gender role stereotypes.

The purpose of this study was to examine gender role socialization as a function of parenting experience in an actual toy play situation and as a function of adults' perceptions of typically gender-stereotyped children's toys. Each of 48 children (24 boys and 24 girls) played with 3 adults: either his or her own mother or father, a matched mother or

This study investigated whether television domestic comedies' depictions of gender roles within the family have changed in the past 40 years. Ten domestic comedies were selected based on their popularity and the inclusion of siblings. These series were divided into two groups-pre and post 1984, given the time span covered by the series and the series' setting. College students screened three representative episodes and made subsequent judgments on the portrayals of similarity, equality, and dominance, family satisfaction and family stability in the spousal, sibling, and familial relationships. Results indicated the depictions of gender roles fluctuated throughout the period, with peaks in satisfaction and stability ratings in the 1950s and mid-1980s. More recent domestic comedies contained less positive depictions, specifically displaying more dominance and less satisfaction and stability. Subjects reported families that were more distressed were less desirable and less like their own.

This issue represents our efforts to apply a feminist or gender lens to the research on violence in intimate relationships and to forward our understanding of gender and interpersonal violence. The paper introduces the articles in this special issue on "Understanding Gender and Intimate Partner Violence" within a framework of theoretical and methodological issues in feminist research. The current articles are viewed as contributing to our understanding of gender and interpersonal violence: by investigating patterns of interpersonal violence; by examining interpersonal violence with the context of lifespan and culture; by positing or testing theoretical models for gender and interpersonal violence; and by arguing for methodological or conceptual advances in the field.

The field of domestic violence has concentrated its theories, research, and treatment methods on the male–female dimensions of the problem. However, male–male issues also play a crucial role. The authors explain how traditional male socialization and rigid sex role stereotyping can have emotional and behavioral consequences that are displaced onto male–female relationships. In particular, "humiliation" is a potent and pervasive social mechanism that dominates male psychology, causing multiple problems in male self-esteem and interpersonal relations. Humiliation is the social form of shame and is deeply rooted in the same-sex relations of childhood groups, rituals of passage, and problematic relationships with father figures

Discrimination has been conceptualized as a stressor that may be more negative than generic stress because it is tied to valued and unchangeable social identities. As with other stressful events, the experience of sexism has been related to poorer mental health and some physical health outcomes. This study of 179 female college students (79% of whom were White) showed that the relation between perceived sexism and binge drinking and smoking was mediated by psychological distress. In addition, there was a direct relation between sexism and smoking for weight control. Given the large toll that tobacco and excessive alcohol use exact on the U.S. population, we suggest that policy makers aim to reduce discrimination as one method to improve overall health.