Gender Differences in Emotion Expression in Children: A Meta-Analytic Review
01 Jan 2013-Psychological Bulletin (American Psychological Association)-Vol. 139, Iss: 4, pp 735-765
TL;DR: The present study constitutes a comprehensive meta-analytic review of gender differences and moderators of differences in emotion expression from infancy through adolescence, underscoring the importance of contextual factors in gender differences.
Abstract: Emotion expression is an important feature of healthy child development that has been found to show gender differences. However, there has been no empirical review of the literature on gender and facial, vocal, and behavioral expressions of different types of emotions in children. The present study constitutes a comprehensive meta-analytic review of gender differences and moderators of differences in emotion expression from infancy through adolescence. We analyzed 555 effect sizes from 166 studies with a total of 21,709 participants. Significant but very small gender differences were found overall, with girls showing more positive emotions (g –.08) and internalizing emotions (e.g., sadness, anxiety, sympathy; g –.10) than boys, and boys showing more externalizing emotions (e.g., anger; g .09) than girls. Notably, gender differences were moderated by age, interpersonal context, and task valence, underscoring the importance of contextual factors in gender differences. Gender differences in positive emotions were more pronounced with increasing age, with girls showing more positive emotions than boys in middle childhood (g –.20) and adolescence (g –.28). Boys showed more externalizing emotions than girls at toddler/preschool age (g .17) and middle childhood (g .13) and fewer externalizing emotions than girls in adolescence (g –.27). Gender differences were less pronounced with parents and were more pronounced with unfamiliar adults (for positive emotions) and with peers/when alone (for externalizing emotions). Our findings of gender differences in emotion expression in specific contexts have important implications for gender differences in children’s healthy and maladaptive development.
Citations
More filters
TL;DR: This review summarizes major theories designed to explain gender differences: evolutionary theories, cognitive social learning theory, sociocultural theory, and expectancy-value theory, plus applications of intersectionality and directions for future research.
Abstract: Whether men and women are fundamentally different or similar has been debated for more than a century. This review summarizes major theories designed to explain gender differences: evolutionary theories, cognitive social learning theory, sociocultural theory, and expectancy-value theory. The gender similarities hypothesis raises the possibility of theorizing gender similarities. Statistical methods for the analysis of gender differences and similarities are reviewed, including effect sizes, meta-analysis, taxometric analysis, and equivalence testing. Then, relying mainly on evidence from meta-analyses, gender differences are reviewed in cognitive performance (e.g., math performance), personality and social behaviors (e.g., temperament, emotions, aggression, and leadership), and psychological well-being. The evidence on gender differences in variance is summarized. The final sections explore applications of intersectionality and directions for future research.
743 citations
Cites background from "Gender Differences in Emotion Expre..."
...One meta-analysis examined gender differences in emotion expression in children from birth to adolescence (Chaplin & Aldao 2013)....
[...]
TL;DR: This article investigated Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) in the classroom and found that levels of FLE were significantly higher than those of FLCA.
Abstract: The present study investigates Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) in the classroom. Participants were 1746 current FL learners from around the world. We used a measure of FLE, based on Likert scale ratings of 21 items (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014), and a measure of FLCA based on 8 items extracted from the FLCAS (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986). Statistical analyses revealed that levels of FLE were significantly higher than those of FLCA. FLE and FLCA were linked to a number of independent variables: participants’ perception of their relative level of proficiency within the FL classroom, number of languages known, education level, number of FLs under study, age group and general level of the FL (ranging from lower-intermediate to advanced). Female participants reported both more FLE and more FLCA. Cultural background of participants also had a significant effect on their scores. Participants’ views on episodes of enjoyment in the FL class revealed the importance of teachers’ professional and emotional skills and of a supportive peer group. Many participants mentioned the moment at which they realised that their long effort in mastering an aspect of the FL paid off.
645 citations
TL;DR: Examinations of the neurobiological underpinnings of empathy reveal important quantitative gender differences in the basic networks involved in affective and cognitive forms of empathy, as well as a qualitative divergence between the sexes in how emotional information is integrated to support decision making processes.
622 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined age differences in seven emotion regulation strategies from early adolescence (age 11) to middle adulthood (age 50) for the three emotions of sadness, fear, and anger, and found specific developmental changes in the use of emotion regulation strategy for each of the three emotion.
Abstract: Despite the growing research on emotion regulation, the empirical evidence for normative age-related emotion regulation patterns is rather divergent. From a life-span perspective, normative age changes in emotion regulation may be more salient applying the same methodological approach on a broad age range examining both growth and decline during development. In addition, emotion-specific developmental patterns might show differential developmental trends. The present study examined age differences in seven emotion regulation strategies from early adolescence (age 11) to middle adulthood (age 50) for the three emotions of sadness, fear, and anger. The results showed specific developmental changes in the use of emotion regulation strategies for each of the three emotions. In addition, results suggest age-specific increases and decreases in many emotion regulation strategies, with a general trend to increasing adaptive emotion regulation. Specifically, middle adolescence shows the smallest emotion regulation...
539 citations
Cites background from "Gender Differences in Emotion Expre..."
...Some authors suggest that gender differences may result from differences in emotional reactivity and regulation based on brain processes (Domes et al., 2010) or expressiveness (Chaplin & Aldao, 2013)....
[...]
...Finally, there is evidence for gender-specific preferences in emotion expression (Chaplin & Aldao, 2013) and emotion regulation that seem not to start before middle childhood or adolescence....
[...]
TL;DR: Methotrexate use increased as it became the preferred first-line agent, while other traditional agents declined, and a significant shorter time between RA diagnosis and DMARD or biological agent initiation in recent years suggests improvements in quality of care.
Abstract: Objectives To evaluate the trends in patterns of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and biological agents use from 1999 to 2009 and to identify patient characteristics associated with different patterns of their use in a national sample of Veterans with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Design A retrospective cohort study. Settings Administrative databases of the USA Department of Veterans Affairs. Participants An incident cohort of 13 254 patients with newly diagnosed RA was identified. Primary outcome measures Trends and choice of DMARDs and biological agents’ usage, and time intervals between RA diagnosis and treatment Results Methotrexate use as first-line agent increased from 39.9% to 57.2% over the study period (p Conclusions Methotrexate use increased as it became the preferred first-line agent, while other traditional agents declined. Dispensation of biologics increased significantly, but the proportion of RA patients eventually given biologics stabilised below 30%. A significant shorter time between RA diagnosis and DMARD or biological agent initiation in recent years suggests improvements in quality of care. There were disproportionately lower use of biologics in certain age and ethnic groups, and further studies will be needed to elucidate these observations.
386 citations
References
More filters
TL;DR: In this paper, an adjusted rank correlation test is proposed as a technique for identifying publication bias in a meta-analysis, and its operating characteristics are evaluated via simulations, and the test statistic is a direct statistical analogue of the popular funnel-graph.
Abstract: An adjusted rank correlation test is proposed as a technique for identifying publication bias in a meta-analysis, and its operating characteristics are evaluated via simulations. The test statistic is a direct statistical analogue of the popular "funnel-graph." The number of component studies in the meta-analysis, the nature of the selection mechanism, the range of variances of the effect size estimates, and the true underlying effect size are all observed to be influential in determining the power of the test. The test is fairly powerful for large meta-analyses with 75 component studies, but has only moderate power for meta-analyses with 25 component studies. However, in many of the configurations in which there is low power, there is also relatively little bias in the summary effect size estimate. Nonetheless, the test must be interpreted with caution in small meta-analyses. In particular, bias cannot be ruled out if the test is not significant. The proposed technique has potential utility as an exploratory tool for meta-analysts, as a formal procedure to complement the funnel-graph.
13,373 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1985
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a model for estimating the effect size from a series of experiments using a fixed effect model and a general linear model, and combine these two models to estimate the effect magnitude.
Abstract: Preface. Introduction. Data Sets. Tests of Statistical Significance of Combined Results. Vote-Counting Methods. Estimation of a Single Effect Size: Parametric and Nonparametric Methods. Parametric Estimation of Effect Size from a Series of Experiments. Fitting Parametric Fixed Effect Models to Effect Sizes: Categorical Methods. Fitting Parametric Fixed Effect Models to Effect Sizes: General Linear Models. Random Effects Models for Effect Sizes. Multivariate Models for Effect Sizes. Combining Estimates of Correlation Coefficients. Diagnostic Procedures for Research Synthesis Models. Clustering Estimates of Effect Magnitude. Estimation of Effect Size When Not All Study Outcomes Are Observed. Meta-Analysis in the Physical and Biological Sciences. Appendix. References. Index.
9,769 citations
"Gender Differences in Emotion Expre..." refers methods in this paper
...Hypothesis 1: Gender Differences in Each Emotion...
[...]
...This allowed us to adjust for differences in precision in samples varying in their size (i.e., larger samples are more precise; Hedges & Olkin, 1985; Hedges & Vevea, 1998; Lipsey & Wilson, 2001)....
[...]
TL;DR: Five studies tested two general hypotheses: Individuals differ in their use of emotion regulation strategies such as reappraisal and suppression, and these individual differences have implications for affect, well-being, and social relationships.
Abstract: Five studies tested two general hypotheses: Individuals differ in their use of emotion regulation strategies such as reappraisal and suppression, and these individual differences have implications for affect, well-being, and social relationships. Study 1 presents new measures of the habitual use of reappraisal and suppression. Study 2 examines convergent and discriminant validity. Study 3 shows that reappraisers experience and express greater positive emotion and lesser negative emotion, whereas suppressors experience and express lesser positive emotion, yet experience greater negative emotion. Study 4 indicates that using reappraisal is associated with better interpersonal functioning, whereas using suppression is associated with worse interpersonal functioning. Study 5 shows that using reappraisal is related positively to well-being, whereas using suppression is related negatively.
8,261 citations
"Gender Differences in Emotion Expre..." refers background in this paper
...For example, suppressing the expression of certain emotions has been linked to diminished well-being and a wide variety of forms of psychopathology in adults (e.g., Gross & John, 2003; for a comprehensive review, see Aldao, Nolen-Hoeksema, & Schweizer, 2010)....
[...]
TL;DR: Quantitative procedures for computing the tolerance for filed and future null results are reported and illustrated, and the implications are discussed.
Abstract: For any given research area, one cannot tell how many studies have been conducted but never reported. The extreme view of the "file drawer problem" is that journals are filled with the 5% of the studies that show Type I errors, while the file drawers are filled with the 95% of the studies that show nonsignificant results. Quantitative procedures for computing the tolerance for filed and future null results are reported and illustrated, and the implications are discussed. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
7,159 citations
"Gender Differences in Emotion Expre..." refers background in this paper
...Meta-analyses are susceptible to the so-called file drawer problem (Rosenthal, 1979), by which published studies are more likely to be those that have found significant effects than those that have not....
[...]
...Boys may be more inclined than girls to express anger-related emotions with peers as part of their greater tendency to engage in rough-and-tumble play (Rose & Rudolph, 2006). Positive and internalizing emotion expressions, which are more common for girls, show the largest gender differences in the presence of an unfamiliar adult. Girls’ more frequent displays of positive emotions may reflect their propensity to engage new persons socially, to foster interpersonal harmony, and to appease adults. This is consistent with Hall and Halberstadt’s (1986) theory that girls and women often smile as a way to ease social tension and relieve another’s discomfort....
[...]
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a model for estimating the effect size from a series of experiments using a fixed effect model and a general linear model, and combine these two models to estimate the effect magnitude.
Abstract: Preface. Introduction. Data Sets. Tests of Statistical Significance of Combined Results. Vote-Counting Methods. Estimation of a Single Effect Size: Parametric and Nonparametric Methods. Parametric Estimation of Effect Size from a Series of Experiments. Fitting Parametric Fixed Effect Models to Effect Sizes: Categorical Methods. Fitting Parametric Fixed Effect Models to Effect Sizes: General Linear Models. Random Effects Models for Effect Sizes. Multivariate Models for Effect Sizes. Combining Estimates of Correlation Coefficients. Diagnostic Procedures for Research Synthesis Models. Clustering Estimates of Effect Magnitude. Estimation of Effect Size When Not All Study Outcomes Are Observed. Meta-Analysis in the Physical and Biological Sciences. Appendix. References. Index.
7,063 citations