The Trouble with Boys: Social Influences and the Gender Gap in Disruptive Behavior

American Economic Journal Applied Economics ◽

10.1257/app.5.1.32 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 32-64 ◽

Cited By ~ 93

Author(s):

Marianne Bertrand ◽

Jessica Pan

Keyword(s):

Disruptive Behavior ◽

Home Environment ◽

Gender Gap ◽

School Environment ◽

Social Influences ◽

Single Mother ◽

School Environments ◽

Early School ◽

Key Features ◽

Home And School

This paper explores the importance of the home and school environments in explaining the gender gap in disruptive behavior. We document large differences in the gender gap across key features of the home environment—boys do especially poorly in broken families. In contrast, we find little impact of the early school environment on noncognitive gaps. Differences in endowments explain a small part of boys' noncognitive deficit in single-mother families. More importantly, noncognitive returns to parental inputs differ markedly by gender. Broken families are associated with worse parental inputs, and boys' noncognitive development, unlike that of girls', appears extremely responsive to such inputs. (JEL I21, J12, J13, J16, Z13)

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Psychosocial determinants of sexual activity and condom use intention among youth in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

International Journal of STD & AIDS ◽

10.1258/095646202760326480 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 13 (10) ◽

pp. 714-719 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

N Taffa ◽

K I Klepp ◽

J Sundby ◽

G Bjune

Keyword(s):

Condom Use ◽

Sexual Activity ◽

Sexual Intercourse ◽

Gender Gap ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Social Influences ◽

Addis Ababa ◽

Sexual Relationships ◽

Prevention Programmes ◽

Out Of School

Determinants of sexual activity and intentions for condom use were examined guided by the Attitude, Social influences, and Self-efficacy (ASE) model as a theoretical framework. A total of 561 in and out-of-school youth (15–24 years) in Addis Ababa completed a self-administered questionnaire. A third of them reported sexual intercourse in the past and half of the sexually active used condoms during recent intercourse. Being out-of-school, male, aged 20–24 years, alcohol use and khat (amphetamine-like substance) consumption predicted the likelihood of engagement in sexual activity. Of these variables, however, male sex was more associated with reported condom use during recent sexual intercourse. Self-efficacy, skills, and barriers predicted 23% of the variance in intentions to use condoms. Self-efficacy was also associated with past condom use. Psychosocial constructs predicted more variations in condom use intention for males than for females. In general, self-efficacy was found to be the strongest predictor of the constructs, whereas attitude and social influences were the weakest. The study implies that HIV/AIDS prevention programmes for young people in Ethiopia need to emphasize building assertive communication skills in sexual negotiations and condom use. Minimizing the gender gap in sexual relationships forms the cornerstone for such educational strategies.

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Exploring the Gender Gap in Referrals for Children With ADHD and Other Disruptive Behavior Disorders

Journal of Attention Disorders ◽

10.1177/1087054710381481 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 101-108 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Erika K. Coles ◽

Janine Slavec ◽

Melissa Bernstein ◽

Elizabeth Baroni

Keyword(s):

Disruptive Behavior ◽

Gender Gap ◽

Behavior Disorders ◽

Disruptive Behavior Disorders ◽

Children With Adhd

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Gender Differences in Context: The Impact of Track Position on Study Involvement in Flemish Secondary Education

Sociology of Education ◽

10.1177/0038040717731604 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 90 (4) ◽

pp. 275-295 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Mieke Van Houtte

Keyword(s):

Gender Differences ◽

Disruptive Behavior ◽

Gender Gap ◽

Representative Sample ◽

Fifth Grade ◽

Future Perspectives ◽

Fifth Grade Students ◽

Academic Tracks ◽

School Misconduct ◽

The Impact

This study examines whether the influence of track position on study involvement is gendered and whether gender differences in study involvement according to track position are associated with school misconduct and rather poor future perspectives. Three-level analyses (HLM 6) of data gathered in 2004-2005 from 11,872 third- and fifth-grade students in 146 tracks in a representative sample of 85 secondary schools in Flanders (Belgium) confirmed the impact of tracking on boys’ as well as girls’ study involvement. Boys are, generally, less involved in studying than girls, and boys are more affected by track position than girls are, enlarging the gender gap in the lower tracks. In these tracks, boys are more prone to misconduct and rather poor future perspectives. Finally, girls in arts tracks are, on average, more involved in studying than girls in academic tracks, but because of their higher tendency for disruptive behavior in school, this does not show.

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