Eva M. Pomerantz - US grants

Considerable evidence suggests that women are almost twice as likely as men to experience depression. There is little evidence, however, as to how this sex difference develops. Because a number of studies have shown that the sex difference in depression first occurs during adolescence, it has been assumed that the difference reflects changes occurring at this time. Yet, there is evidence to suggest that the difference may emerge prior to adolescence. As early as elementary school, girls evaluate themselves more negatively than do boys, especially in the face of failure. This may lead to depression during adolescence when children make the transition from elementary to junior high school and when failure is often more common. Consistent with this proposal, depression does appear to increase among girls, but not boys, following such transitions. The major goal of the proposed research is to examine the social factors that cause girls to evaluate themselves more negatively than boys, and consequently to be more vulnerable to depression. To this end, the research investigates whether parents' gender stereotypes cause parents to exert more control over their daughters than over their sons. Importantly, the research also investigates the role that such a gender socialization plays in the development of sex differences in self-evaluation and consequent depression. The proposed study employs a longitudinal design in which children's reaction to a school transition both before and after adolescence is examined. The results yielded by the proposed research will elucidate the social underpinnings of the development of sex differences in self-evaluation and consequent depression as well as the development of these phenomena in general. Hence, the research will provide basic knowledge which may ultimately be used to develop intervention programs to prevent depression in children of both sexes.

As early as elementary school, girls are more likely than boys to possess self-evaluative mechanisms that may heighten vulnerability to depressive and anxiety symptoms. Consequently, sex differences in these mechanisms during elementary school may play a key role in sex differences in depressive and anxiety symptoms. There is little empirical evidence, however, as to development of these mechanisms. The major goal of the proposed research is to examine the distal and proximal social-psychological processes involved in the development of sex differences in self-evaluative mechanisms. Of central concern is the role of parental gender socialization. Based on several lines of research, it is hypothesized that culturally-held gender stereotypes may cause parents to be more controlling in certain behavioral domains with girls than with boys. This pattern of gender socialization is expected to lead girls to be more likely than boys to possess self-evaluative mechanisms that heighten vulnerability to depressive and anxiety symptoms. These hypotheses, as well as hypotheses about the role of social-cognitive developmental factors in the development of sex differences in self-evaluative mechanisms and consequent depressive and anxiety symptoms, will be addressed in two study sets using a combination of correlational and experimental methods as well as cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. The results of the proposed research will elucidate the development of not only sex differences in self-evaluative mechanisms and consequent depressive and anxiety symptoms but also these phenomena in general. Hence, the research will provide knowledge which may be used to create intervention programs that prevent depressive and anxiety symptoms in children of both sexes.

Women are almost twice as likely as men to experience depressive symptoms, yet little is known about how this difference develops. Because the difference first occurs during adolescence, it has been assumed that it is due to changes that occur at that age. However, evidence suggests that the precursors are in place prior to adolescence. In this project, the possibility that parents may socialize these precursors is investigated. The major focus is on parents' use of control with daughters and sons. Parents are expected to push or guide their daughters more than they do their sons to meet externally set standards. Such differential treatment may cause girls to be more vulnerable than boys to challenge. Because adolescence is accompanied by a variety of challenges, such as the transition from elementary school to junior high school, parents' differential use of control may put girls at greater risk than boys for depressive symptoms at these ages. These hypotheses are examined by following elementary school children and their parents over the course of a year. Because exposure to challenge may be critical to the emergence of the sex difference in depression, half of the participating children encounter challenge in the form of a transition from one school to another, whereas the other half do not. Guided by multiple theoretical perspectives in psychology, the research will contribute to basic scientific knowledge in psychology, and offers strong potential for gaining new insight into a troubling and costly social problem.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The question of how to promote children's well-being is one of the most critical questions facing society. Key to answering this question is elucidating the factors that lead children to internalize valued goals. The guiding premise of the proposed research is that children's inclusion of their relationships with their parents in their self-construals plays an important role. Such self-construals are expected to motivate children to nurture their relationships with their parents. This may heighten children's responsiveness to their parents' goals, which in turn may influence children's well-being as they internalize valued goals. Children's inclusion of their relationships with their parents in their self-construals will be examined in five studies using a variety of methods (e.g., daily checklists and behavioral observations). In Study 1, the implications of children's self-construals for their responsiveness to their parents' socialization attempts will be investigating by examining how sensitive children are to parents' daily practices among families of European, Chinese, and Mexican descent. The direct effects on children's well-being will be examined in Studies 2, 3, and 4. In Study 2, the role of children's self-construals in their investment in valued goals and consequent well-being will be studied in the United States, China, and Brazil. Study 3 investigates whether children's inclusion of their relationships with their parents in their self-construals promotes harmony in their interactions with their parents, thereby fostering well-being. Study 4 focuses on children's self-construals among African American children whose mothers were adolescents when they were born. The goal of Study 5 is to investigate how children come to construct views of themselves that include their relationships with their parents. The role of culture, parents, and children will be explored. Over the last several decades, great strides have been made in understanding the development of ill-being, such as depression. No doubt this has been important in designing prevention programs to protect children against the downward spiral that may be fostered by ill-being. If children's potential is to be maximized, however, more still needs to be learned about the development of well-being in children, particularly in diverse cultural contexts. The proposed research will add substantially to the endeavor of creating environments for children that promote their well-being and the upward spiral that may ensue.

Chinese children are more engaged in school than are American children. It is thus not surprising that they outperform American children in the academic arena. This edge has led to recommendations that American parents adopt Chinese parents' learning-related practices. Caution is warranted, however, because Chinese children perceive their competence more negatively than do their American counterparts, which may contribute to their heightened vulnerability to poor emotional functioning as they move into adolescence. Focusing on this phase of development in China and the United States, this project has three major aims: (1) Identify whether the heightened academic and dampened emotional functioning of Chinese (vs. American) children is due, in part, to the heightened reactivity of the glucocorticoid hormone cortisol in the face of challenge; (2) elucidate the role of parents' learning-related socialization practices in the differences between Chinese and American children's academic and emotional functioning; (3) determine why Chinese and American parents use different learning-related socialization practices, with attention to the effect of parents' learning-related beliefs. To investigate these aims, children entering adolescence and their mothers in China and the United States will participate in a three-wave project spanning a one-year period. A key strength of the project is its use of observations, self-reports, and biological assessments in different contexts (e.g., before and after challenge).

Effective policies and programs aimed at what has been labelled America's "vanishing potential" require a sophisticated understanding of the forces that contribute to children's learning. This project will be informative as to whether and how best practices from China and the United States may be combined to optimize academic and emotional functioning among children. It will be the first to examine whether Chinese children's academic edge over American children may come at an emotional cost due to heightened biological reactivity to challenge. Moreover, the concern with elucidating the role of parents' learning-related practices in the differences in Chinese and American children's academic and emotional functioning moves beyond the largely descriptive research in this area to identifying underlying mechanisms. Because there is variability among parents within China and the United States in their learning-related practices, the project will provide insight into the effects of such practices within the two countries. In doing so, it will allow for an evaluation of the similarity of the socialization process in the two, an issue over which there is controversy. Together these advances will shape models of socialization which have an almost exclusively American foundation. Despite the import of research efforts involving multiple countries, such efforts are relatively rare. Thus, the proposed research will provide unique training opportunities.

This project examines the development of a key factor leading to women's underrepresentation in science and technology. Specifically, it examines the development of the cultural stereotype that links males but not females with intellectual brilliance and genius. Previous research has found that academic disciplines that are believed to require a "spark of genius" tend to have the largest gender gaps. Because many science fields are portrayed in such terms, the "brilliance = males" stereotype may be an important factor in explaining the persistent gender gap in these disciplines. The primary goal of this research is understanding how this stereotype is acquired over the course of development. Investigating the development of this stereotype will inform how the stereotype might steer capable young women away from pursuing careers in science and technology and may also inform the optimal timing of potential interventions to block its adverse effects.

This project consists of three studies to examine three crucial developmental issues. First, it investigates the development of children's knowledge of the cultural stereotype that males are more likely to be brilliant than females. Second, it investigates the development of gender differences in children's motivation to engage in activities portrayed as requiring high levels of intellectual aptitude. Finally, it investigates longitudinally whether internalizing the stereotype against females' intellectual abilities undermines young girls' subsequent motivation to engage in activities that are said to require brilliance and giftedness. This research explores the development of a set of processes that ultimately limit opportunities for women. As such, these studies will improve parents', educators', and policy-makers' ability to intervene at the root of the problem to promote greater gender equity in those domains of academia and industry in which women have traditionally been underrepresented.

This proposal is being co-funded by Developmental and Learning Sciences, Social Psychology, and Science of Broadening Participation within the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate and by the Education and Human Resources Directorate's Core Research program and the Research on Gender in Science and Engineering program.

Many people believe that mathematics ability is a fixed trait. However, research indicates instead that mathematics ability is malleable, that it can be improved with effort and persistence, a belief system known as "growth mindset". There has been much attention to enhancing children's mathematics learning in the classroom. Although this is critical, it does not take into account that children spend a large proportion of their time outside of school, frequently with at least one of their parents. Consequently, parents are an important but underutilized resource in the effort to improve children's mathematics learning. It is clear that parents' practices play a role in the development of children's mathematics skills, but little is known about how to optimize parenting practices. This research project will study how growth mindsets about mathematics ability can lead to parenting practices that enhance children's mathematics learning. A central endeavor of the project will be to test the efficacy of helping parents to hold a growth mindset. Along with the research findings, the project will also translate to a cost- and time-efficient intervention that can be implement in a variety of settings.

The project will investigate the impact of the intervention on parents' mindsets, their ensuing parenting practices related to mathematics learning, and the impact of those practices on children's motivation and achievement in mathematics. The project will employ an experimental intervention in which parents and children are followed over time using a variety of assessments (e.g., observations, daily reports, and standardized tests). The research will test the extent to which exposing parents to information that mathematics ability is malleable leads to a growth mindset, thereby optimizing parenting practices around mathematics with enduring benefits for children's mathematics learning. Given demographic disparities in children's mathematics achievement, a socioeconomically diverse group of European American and African American families will be recruited. This design will permit study of the extent to which the growth mindset induction along with the scaffolding activities can reduce socioeconomic and ethnic disparities. A major innovation of the project is that it will examine whether scaffolding activities (e.g., mathematics games and books) support parents in implementing their growth mindsets in a variety of situations in which they interact with children around mathematics on a daily basis.