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The purpose of this study is to explore gender differences in adult perceptions of sexual abuse encounters between an adult male and children of both genders and of various ages. Subjects were four hundred and fifty three students from a northwestern university. They were recruited from a lower-level human development course and from introductory courses in the arts and humanities department. One hundred and seventy-nine males and 274 females participated in the study. Participants were randomly given one of four vignettes that contained a scenario describing an "ambiguous" sexual encounter between a neighbor man and a child. The age of the child (5 or 13) and the child's gender differed between the scenarios. Results showed that female respondents were more likely than their male counterparts to perceive that the encounter was serious in nature (p=.022) and to expect the child in the scenario to be negatively impacted by the encounter (p=.001). Other results indicated that female respondents perceived the encounter with the older child, regardless of the child's gender, as more serious in nature (p=.008) and would have more negative outcomes (p=.002) than the encounter with the younger child. Male respondents also perceived that the encounter with the older child would have more negative outcomes for the child (p=.003) than the encounter with the younger child. Gender of child in the scenario was not predictive of perceived seriousness of the encounter nor of the negative impact of the encounter for either male or female respondents. Conclusions and implications are discussed. / Graduation date: 1998

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The present study examined the discrepancy in the literature regarding the absence of gender differences in the stability of same-sex close friendships. One hundred and twenty children and adolescents (60 females and 60 males) from three grade levels (5, 7, and 9) participated in the study. An interview measure was developed to assess for the level of intimacy, the social context in which the friendship occurred (dyad vs. group), and perceptions of equality of achievement for both current and former same-sex close friendships. Intimacy and equality are features most closely associated with the social context of girls' same-sex friendships. It was theorized that the more intimate, dyadic nature of girls' friendships would contribute to interpersonal difficulties within their friendships. Individual interviews were conducted with each participant. It was hypothesized that girls' close friendships would be more unstable than those of boys and that girls' friendships would show more signs of vulnerability to dissolution. Statistically significant gender differences were obtained, that were consistent with the hypothesis, when only the very closest same-sex friend for both genders was included in the analyses. Girls' current same-sex closest friendships were shorter in duration compared to boys, girls' were more likely than boys to report that their current closest friends had already done something to threaten their friendship, and girls' were more likely to report a history of break ups with former same-sex close friends. Girls were also more likely to report greater distress when asked to imagine the potential dissolution of their current friendships and more likely to both anticipate and to have experienced a greater life change following the imagined and actual dissolution of their current and former friendships, respectively. The results are discussed in terms of the possible reasons behind the greater fragility of girls' friendships rela

The hypothesis that self-handicapping is used differentially by men and women was examined in a naturalistic setting. It was expected that the importance of an exam would be a better predictor of self-handicapping for men, whereas stress was predicted to be a better indicator of self-handicapping for women. College students were assessed the class period prior to a mid-term exam. Participants completed a packet of questionnaires that assessed level of stress, self-handicapping tendencies, anticipated handicaps, perceived importance of the exam, the consequences of their performance (i.e. success or failure), and expected performance. The results did not support the hypotheses. However, there is some evidence that the process of self-handicapping is different for men and women. Discussion focuses on explanations for the lack of hypothesized gender interactions, the self-protective utility of self-handicapping and construct validity of the Self-Handicapping Scale (SHS). / Department of Psychological Science