Sibling aggression is a common phenomenon which can lead to negative outcomes on the development of children. Aggression between siblings can possibly be explained by the quality of the sibling...Show moreSibling aggression is a common phenomenon which can lead to negative outcomes on the development of children. Aggression between siblings can possibly be explained by the quality of the sibling relationship and gender. The aim of the current study is to investigate whether anger in response to a sibling, as an indicator of the quality of the sibling relationship, is related to sibling aggression and whether gender plays a moderating role. A sample of 18 sibling pairs (oldest sibling: aged 10 to 18 years, M = 14, SD = 1.9) participated. The aggression between siblings was measured with the sibling version of the Conflict Tactics Scale, CTS2-SP. To measure anger in response to provocative behavior of the sibling a Virtual Reality (VR) task was used. The provocative behavior was believed to be controlled by their sibling but was actually an avatar. The participants were also asked if they believed if their sibling controlled the avatar during the VR task. The scores of the oldest sibling of the pairs were included. The results showed that anger in response to the sibling was not related to sibling aggression and that participants showed equal aggression towards their sibling. Also, no gender differences were found between participants in the link between anger and aggression, so gender did not play a moderating role. It seems that gender differences in siblings play a smaller role than in boys and girls for showing aggression. The results suggest that aggression between siblings might be more normal and accepted than aggression between boys and girls and that siblings may be more used to each other compared to non-family related children. However, further research is needed, to understand the phenomenon of sibling aggression even better in order to prevent it, since the consequences of sibling aggression can be profoundly serious.Show less
The aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between the amount of day care and the quality of mother-child relationship for babies around 12 months of age. It is important to...Show moreThe aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between the amount of day care and the quality of mother-child relationship for babies around 12 months of age. It is important to investigate this relationship as many more parents use daycare for young children nowadays than in the past. The sample of the current study was a semi-random selection from a larger longitudinal study. The participants consisted of 70 mothers between 25 and 44 years old (M = 32.9 years, SD = 3.9) and their babies who where around 12 months old (M = 378.9 days, SD = 12.8). Based on earlier research, it was predicted that fewer hours of day care would be associated with a more secure attachment relationship. In addition, it was predicted that this relationship would be moderated by the temperament and the gender of the child. Mothers where invited to participate in the Babylab at the Leiden University. The Strange Situation Procedure (Ainsworth, 1978) was used to assess attachment quality and temperament was measured by the Dutch version of the Infant Characteristic Questionnaire (Kohnstam, 1984). Contrary to our hypothesis, it was found that infants who spent more than 20 hours of day care were more securely attached than infants who had less than 20 hours of day care. This difference was found not to be moderated by the level of temperamental difficultness or the gender of the infant. In conclusion, the current study takes a more positive view on more hours of day care for babies around 12 months old. Future research should include factors, such as quality of daycare and caregiver sensitivity, to further clarify the relationship between attachment quality and amount of daycare usage.Show less
Due to the rise of the internet and social media in the 21st century, we are seeing a shift in behaviours from the offline to the online world. This has both positive and negative consequences. One...Show moreDue to the rise of the internet and social media in the 21st century, we are seeing a shift in behaviours from the offline to the online world. This has both positive and negative consequences. One of these consequences is a rise in cyberbullying cases, which could lead to negative effects for victims. Therefore, it is important to research ways to prevent cyberbullying. The goal of this research paper was to investigate the relationship between social media use and perpetration of cyberbullying and what role gender plays in this relationship, thereby possibly identifying gender and social media use as possible risk factors for perpetration of cyberbullying. The study assessed self-reported social media use including sexting and cyberbullying experiences and behaviours in a sample of 120 young adults between the ages of 18 to 24 years old (N = 38 males, Mean age = 21.94). Data was analysed with a multiple regression analysis. Results showed that, for women, there was a positive relationship between social media use and the perpetration of cyberbullying. For men no such relationship was found. Our findings are in line with evolutionary and gender socialization theories that suggest women are more inclined to use indirect forms of aggression whereas men are more inclined to use direct forms. These results have implications for future research into risk factors for cyberbullying and for identifying risk factors to prevent perpetration in practice. The focus in research and in practice should not only lie in identifying individual risk factors, but also consider the importance of gender effects.Show less
Gender differences in academic performance have been debated for decades, mainly due to inconsistencies in research findings. It is prevalent that boys achieve higher grades in masculine subjects...Show moreGender differences in academic performance have been debated for decades, mainly due to inconsistencies in research findings. It is prevalent that boys achieve higher grades in masculine subjects and girls perform better in feminine subjects. This study aims to determine how these gender differences in school performance are related to self-perceived abilities. Moreover, it investigates whether the self-perceived abilities differ for boys and girls depending on the subject and whether it could explain the prevalent gender differences in school performance. In this context, self-perceived ability is defined as a judgment of personal capacity to execute given types of educational assignments. To test the hypothesis that gender is related to school performance and corresponding self-perceived ability mediates this relation, Dutch families with teenage children were home visited. In the home visits, among other things, questionnaires were conducted. About 95 families participated and provided information concerning recent school grades of their children and self-perceived abilities. The study chose three academic subjects: mathematics (typically coded masculine), language (typically coded feminine), and geography (neutral) to investigate. Three mediation analyses were performed to examine the relation between gender, self-perceived abilities, and school performance. Self-perceived abilities partly mediated the relation between gender and academic performance in language but not for mathematics and geography. Although not all hypotheses were confirmed, this study is an eye-opener for possibly creating more understanding of the emergence of gender differences in school performance. School performance has been considered a precondition for later academic success and, more generally, pursuing successful life paths. Therefore, the educational system should encourage opportunities in learning regardless of student gender. More future studies on the subject should be engaged.Show less
The Dutch government has called for a “reading offensive” to ensure a drastic change in the reading development of Dutch high school students. This urgent call is a response to the significant drop...Show moreThe Dutch government has called for a “reading offensive” to ensure a drastic change in the reading development of Dutch high school students. This urgent call is a response to the significant drop of students’ reading ability over the past years. The “reading offensive” focuses primarily on making sure that students will read more. However, previous research suggests that reading selfconcept is a crucial aspect of reading ability, next to reading behavior and gender. This research study therefore examined reading behavior and gender in the relationship between reading self-concept and reading ability. Students from the first two grades in high school (N = 158; Mage = 13.11 years; SD = .69) completed online questionnaires and read two maze-texts. To analyze the data several correlations, a Pearsons chi-square test and hierarchical multiple regressions were performed. The correlations showed a relationship between reading self-concept and reading ability, but no gender differences within these two variables. Girls did read more than boys, although this was a small effect. There was no moderating effect of gender on the relationship between reading self-concept and reading ability. However, the relationship between reading self-concept and reading ability was moderated by reading behavior. Students with a low self-concept who considered themselves as ‘leisure readers’ had lower reading ability scores than students with a low self-concept who considered themselves as ‘non-leisure readers’. The difference between leisure and non-readers in regard to their reading abilities corresponds with a Matthew-effect and the “bad is stronger than good”-hypothesis, implying that negative experiences in reading have worse consequences than positive experiences, with self-concept being considered as a crucial counterpart of interventions improving reading ability, before improving reading ability and thereby improving reading behavior. Implications and suggestions for interventions and follow-up research are discussed.Show less
This study investigated whether gender and motivation influence the academic achievement of schoolchildren between the ages of 7 and 12. School achievement was measured using the the “Centraal...Show moreThis study investigated whether gender and motivation influence the academic achievement of schoolchildren between the ages of 7 and 12. School achievement was measured using the the “Centraal Instituut voor ToetsOntwikkeling” (CITO) test for technical reading, spelling and math. Motivation was measured using the “Prestatie Motivatie Test voor Kinderen” (PMT-K). It is a general assumption that girls perform better than boys when it comes to language skills. Boys on the other hand do better in math. This study focused on these differences with an independent t-test. It was also examined with a multiple regression if motivation influenced these differences in school achievement. It was expected that motivation and gender influenced academic achievement. Boys should be better in math and girls in spelling and comprehensive reading. Boys and girls should be evenly motivated. The results showed that boys scored significantly higher on math skills than girls. Surprisingly, no significant differences were found for reading and spelling. Furthermore, no significant differences were found for achievement motivation. However, girls scored higher on the subscales negative social anxiety and social desirability and boys scored higher on positive social anxiety. Social desirability and achievement motivation were significant predictors of spelling and math. This research showed that there is a small difference in achievement between boys and girls and motivation and gender partially influenced these school achievements. This study offers further incentive to investigate gender differences in the school environment.Show less
In dit onderzoek is de relatie onderzocht tussen acculturatiediscrepanties en het welbevinden van 13-17 jarige migrantenjongeren, waarbij het geslacht van de jongeren is meegenomen als mogelijke...Show moreIn dit onderzoek is de relatie onderzocht tussen acculturatiediscrepanties en het welbevinden van 13-17 jarige migrantenjongeren, waarbij het geslacht van de jongeren is meegenomen als mogelijke moderator. Aan het onderzoek hebben 140 middelbare migrantenscholieren met een gemiddelde leeftijd van 15 jaar en een gelijke verdeling van geslacht (70 jongens en 70 meisjes) meegewerkt. Deze migrantenjongeren hebben vragenlijsten ingevuld over hun welbevinden, over hun voorkeur voor een acculturatiestrategie en over hoe de migrantenjongere denkt welke acculturatiestrategie de Nederlandse maatschappij aan de hem/haar toedicht. De hypothese dat de relatie tussen assimilatiediscrepanties en separatiediscrepanties en het welbevinden negatief is voor zowel jongens als voor meisjes is verworpen, aangezien uit de analyses geen relatie bleek te bestaan. Er zijn daarnaast geen verschillen gevonden tussen jongens en meisjes wat betreft de voorkeur voor een acculturatiestrategie en wat betreft de acculturatiediscrepanties.Show less
In the last 100 years sleep duration of children declined with one hour a night. This is alarming, because it has been established that sleep duration has an influence on cognitive functions of...Show moreIn the last 100 years sleep duration of children declined with one hour a night. This is alarming, because it has been established that sleep duration has an influence on cognitive functions of children. To enhance the optimal development of boys and girls, we examined whether gender moderates the association between sleep duration and cognitive functioning. In this study 501 children, 229 boys and 272 girls, with an average age of 10.5 years participated. Parents kept a sleep diary for their child. The child completed various computer tasks which measure cognitive functions attention, inhibition and working memory. These were respectively the PVT, the PVT Go/No-Go and Digit Span. At home, the child did four Word pair tasks to measure declarative memory. Correlation analyses showed that shorter sleep duration was significantly associated with more attention (r = .18), less inhibition (r = .11) and better working memory (r = -.19), but not with declarative memory. Gender did not moderate the relations sleep duration and cognitive functions. However, girls performed significantly better than boys on the cognitive functions inhibition and working memory. Parents, teachers, social workers and children should know that short sleep duration as well as long sleep duration is associated with declined cognitive functioning, so the development of children can be advanced. It is also important to examine the best sleep duration for children of different ages, so they can use their best attention, working memory and inhibition and they can develop optimally.Show less
Objective: The aim of the present study is to research the development of executive functions (EF) over a period of one year in children aged four to seven years old. This study focused on three...Show moreObjective: The aim of the present study is to research the development of executive functions (EF) over a period of one year in children aged four to seven years old. This study focused on three main questions: 1. How is the developmental course of EF over a period of one year?; 2. Are there geslacht differences in this development?; and 3. Does a parent intervention aimed at stimulating EF in children by their parents have an effect on the development of EF? Method: This study uses data from the Curious Mind Project of Leiden University. In 2009 and 2010 Master students administered various neuropsychological tests to elementary school children. The following EF were examined with the Amsterdam neuropsychological tasks (N = 107): alertness and basic attention, frustration, impulsiveness, sustained attention and working memory. Everyday EF was reported by the parents using the Dysexecutive Questionnaire for Children (DEX-C) (N = 240) and planning was assessed with the Behavioural Assesment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome for Children (BADS-C Zoo) (N = 289). Data was analyzed using several repeated measures ANOVA’s. Results: Significant one-year developmental effects were found for basal attention and alertness, impulsiveness, sustained attention, working memory, as well as age effects for alertness and basic attention, planning and inhibition. There were no significant differences between boys and girls for the development of EF over a period of one year. The parent training, aimed at increasing knowledge among parents about EF and social cognitive functioning of their child and encouraging these aspects at home, appeared to have no significant effect on the development of EF. Conclusion: Significant increases in different aspects of EF were detected over a one-year period in four to seven year-old children. However, these changes were not caused by the intervention. It is important to further develop this intervention and to assess its effects on EF over a longer follow-up period.Show less
