Thus, the peer culture and attitudes also seem to share some responsibility for crushing girls' spirit. There is no known evidence, yet, that unhappy or psychological dysfunctional families are a major cause of these puberty related deficits, although a child's general adjustment and happiness is generally correlated with family adjustment. Considering the divorce rate, abuse rate, crime rate, and the frequency of aggression and wars, one would think we humans would demand research to clarify these fascinating and critical aspects of our children's sex role development. In my opinion, one of the most beneficial areas of research has been the studies of conversations between males and females. Men and women operate in two very different social worlds.
Men are in an ongoing contest, competing with everyone by displaying their competence and skill.
The women are interacting to get support, not solutions. Many men relish getting into lively arguments about politics, sports, or a professional issue. Like boys at play, men are establishing their place in the pecking order. This is a serious communication problem. Women start more conversations than men, ask more questions, attempt to put the other person at ease more, are more supportive of the talker, and generally take more responsibility for the overall social situation.