Leiden University Student Repository

Schwäricke, Kira (2022)

Sex difference in Self-regulation and Risk Taking of children and youth: A meta-analysis

Bachelor thesis | Psychologie (BSc)

Self-regulation and risk taking are among the most thoroughly researched cognitive variables that show sex differences in school settings. For the past decades, girls have been academically outperforming their male counterparts on a global scale. Differences in self-regulation and risk taking could explain the gap in school performance between boys and girls. Thorough research into sex differences in these variables may provide insight that could minimize this gap in school performance. This meta-analysis explores the link between sex differences in school performance and sex differences in self-regulation and risk taking. Additionally, the development of self-regulation and risk taking was examined for each sex. This meta-analysis compares the results of 22 articles for self-regulation and 19 articles for risk taking. Results showed that there is a significant difference in self-regulation with SMD= -.11, 95%-CI [-0.19, -0.03] p = 0.006, and in risk taking with SMD= .19, 95%-CI [0...Show moreSelf-regulation and risk taking are among the most thoroughly researched cognitive variables that show sex differences in school settings. For the past decades, girls have been academically outperforming their male counterparts on a global scale. Differences in self-regulation and risk taking could explain the gap in school performance between boys and girls. Thorough research into sex differences in these variables may provide insight that could minimize this gap in school performance. This meta-analysis explores the link between sex differences in school performance and sex differences in self-regulation and risk taking. Additionally, the development of self-regulation and risk taking was examined for each sex. This meta-analysis compares the results of 22 articles for self-regulation and 19 articles for risk taking. Results showed that there is a significant difference in self-regulation with SMD= -.11, 95%-CI [-0.19, -0.03] p = 0.006, and in risk taking with SMD= .19, 95%-CI [0.09, 0.30] p < 0.000. A significant maturation effect was found for risk taking, with SMD= .19, 95%-CI= [0.09, 0.30], p < .000, but not for self-regulation.Show less

child, adolescent, youth, risk taking, risk seeking, self-regulation, self-discipline, sex, gender

Author

Schwäricke, Kira

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Specialisation

International Bachelor of Psychology

Supervisors

Wierenga, L.

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en