title: Ashton-Warner, Sylvia Constance

authors: Middleton, Sue

abstract: An overview of the life and career of Educationalist, teacher, writer Sylvia Constance Ashton-Warner.

text: Ashton-Warner, Sylvia Constance An overview of the life and career of Educationalist, teacher, writer Sylvia Constance Ashton-Warner.

year: 2012

title: The effects of sex and sex-role typing behaviour on children’s problem-solving behaviour and outerdirectedness

authors: Ho, Robert

abstract: The effects of sex and sex-role typing behaviour on children’s problem solving ability and glancing behaviour (outerdirectedness) were investigated. Two hundred and fifty five subjects were tested in a series of six experiments. 
Experiment I was a pilot study involving adult student subjects whose glancing behaviour and problem solving skills were tested in three experimental tasks - the Rod and Frame Test, the object assembly tasks and the card game. In Experiments II and III, children were categorized into various sex roles by means of the Children’s Androgyny Scale (C.A.S.), and the effects of sex and sex role typing behaviour on their problem solving ability and glancing behaviour were studied using the RFT and object assembly tasks. In Experiments IV and V, the effects of sex and sex role typing behaviour were investigated under the more ‘social’ condition of the concept identification task. In Experiment VI, the learning strategies utilized by different types of subjects were investigated by means of the discrimination task. 
The findings from Experiment I revealed that adult student subjects, regardless of sex, engaged in very little glancing behaviour and its restricted range resulted in the non-significant difference in glancing behaviour between male and female subjects. As a result of this failure to demonstrate this important difference between the sexes, it was decided to abandon the use of adult subjects and to utilize children as subjects for the remainder of the research. 
The findings from Experiment II failed to demonstrate any effects of sex role typing behaviour on subject’s performance on the RFT. The introduction of external cues in the experimental procedure in Experiment III yielded results that partially supported the hypotheses that children’s problem solving ability and glancing behaviour can be differentially affected by their sex role typing behaviour. In Experiments IV and V, the subjects were tested with task problems that included ‘social’ cues, and the results supported the hypothesis that children’s problem solving ability can be differentially affected by their sex role typing behaviour by demonstrating both the adaptability of the androgynous subjects and the behavioural restriction of the sex typed subjects in their performance on the experimental tasks. No effect of sex role typing behaviour on subject’s glancing behaviour was demonstrated. The results also indicated that subjects of different sex and sex role orientation have different problem solving strategies. From the results, it appears that the female feminine subject’s task approach orientation was characterized by a cue learning (reliance on external cues) strategy while the male masculine subject’s task approach orientation was characterized by the problem learning (task oriented) strategy. The androgynous subject’s task approach orientation appeared to be more flexible, varying between cue learning and problem learning depending on the nature of the situation. Experiment VI was designed to investigate these different learning strategies utilized by different types of subjects, and the findings corroborate the findings from Experiments IV and V that female feminine subjects do indeed use a cue learning strategy in their problem solving. The performance of the androgynous subjects of both sexes indicated that they were able to use either strategy effectively.
Overall, the results of the research supported the hypothesis that sex and sex role typing behaviour by children do result in differential problem solving skills, with androgynous subjects being better problem solvers than sex typed subjects at tasks designed specifically to elicit masculine or feminine responses. The findings were attributed to the differential socialization process for males and females. Implications of the findings were discussed.

text: The effects of sex and sex-role typing behaviour on children’s problem-solving behaviour and outerdirectedness The effects of sex and sex-role typing behaviour on children’s problem solving ability and glancing behaviour (outerdirectedness) were investigated. Two hundred and fifty five subjects were tested in a series of six experiments. 
Experiment I was a pilot study involving adult student subjects whose glancing behaviour and problem solving skills were tested in three experimental tasks - the Rod and Frame Test, the object assembly tasks and the card game. In Experiments II and III, children were categorized into various sex roles by means of the Children’s Androgyny Scale (C.A.S.), and the effects of sex and sex role typing behaviour on their problem solving ability and glancing behaviour were studied using the RFT and object assembly tasks. In Experiments IV and V, the effects of sex and sex role typing behaviour were investigated under the more ‘social’ condition of the concept identification task. In Experiment VI, the learning strategies utilized by different types of subjects were investigated by means of the discrimination task. 
The findings from Experiment I revealed that adult student subjects, regardless of sex, engaged in very little glancing behaviour and its restricted range resulted in the non-significant difference in glancing behaviour between male and female subjects. As a result of this failure to demonstrate this important difference between the sexes, it was decided to abandon the use of adult subjects and to utilize children as subjects for the remainder of the research. 
The findings from Experiment II failed to demonstrate any effects of sex role typing behaviour on subject’s performance on the RFT. The introduction of external cues in the experimental procedure in Experiment III yielded results that partially supported the hypotheses that children’s problem solving ability and glancing behaviour can be differentially affected by their sex role typing behaviour. In Experiments IV and V, the subjects were tested with task problems that included ‘social’ cues, and the results supported the hypothesis that children’s problem solving ability can be differentially affected by their sex role typing behaviour by demonstrating both the adaptability of the androgynous subjects and the behavioural restriction of the sex typed subjects in their performance on the experimental tasks. No effect of sex role typing behaviour on subject’s glancing behaviour was demonstrated. The results also indicated that subjects of different sex and sex role orientation have different problem solving strategies. From the results, it appears that the female feminine subject’s task approach orientation was characterized by a cue learning (reliance on external cues) strategy while the male masculine subject’s task approach orientation was characterized by the problem learning (task oriented) strategy. The androgynous subject’s task approach orientation appeared to be more flexible, varying between cue learning and problem learning depending on the nature of the situation. Experiment VI was designed to investigate these different learning strategies utilized by different types of subjects, and the findings corroborate the findings from Experiments IV and V that female feminine subjects do indeed use a cue learning strategy in their problem solving. The performance of the androgynous subjects of both sexes indicated that they were able to use either strategy effectively.
Overall, the results of the research supported the hypothesis that sex and sex role typing behaviour by children do result in differential problem solving skills, with androgynous subjects being better problem solvers than sex typed subjects at tasks designed specifically to elicit masculine or feminine responses. The findings were attributed to the differential socialization process for males and females. Implications of the findings were discussed.

year: 1978

title: Mental health of people of diverse genders and sexualities in Aotearoa/New Zealand: Findings from the New Zealand Mental Health Monitor

authors: Tan, Kyle K. H.

subjects: Science & Technology

abstract: Issues addressed: To examine mental health inequities, and social exclusion and isolation and protective factor differences between people of diverse genders and sexualities (lesbian/gay, bisexual, gender diverse, and takatāpui) and cisgender and heterosexual people in Aotearoa/New Zealand.  Methods: We employed data from the pooled probability sample of 2016 and 2018 New Zealand Mental Health Monitor. The sample comprised of 2,938 people at least 15 years old, of which 93 had diverse gender and sexuality identities. Generalised linear models were used to test for differences in mental health (current and lifetime mental distress, depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide), social exclusion and isolation, and friend and family support for people of diverse genders and sexualities. We also conducted exploratory linear regression analyses to examine whether mental health difficulties were associated with social exclusion and isolation and friend/family support.  Results: People of diverse genders and sexualities had high rates of mental health difficulties across all variables we examined. For example, people identifying as diverse genders and sexualities had three times the risk of considering self-harm and suicide than their cisgender and heterosexual counterparts (22% vs 5%; RR = 3.12). People of diverse genders and sexualities also scored an average of 6.08 points higher on the 27-point PHQ-9 depression scale when they had experienced social isolation, and 4.01 points higher when they experienced social exclusion. Conclusion: Our results are consistent with current literature on the large mental health inequities faced by people of diverse genders and sexualities.  So what?: Policy makers and healthcare providers in Aotearoa/New Zealand should consider the negative mental health consequences of social exclusion and isolation for people of diverse genders and sexualities.

text: Mental health of people of diverse genders and sexualities in Aotearoa/New Zealand: Findings from the New Zealand Mental Health Monitor Issues addressed: To examine mental health inequities, and social exclusion and isolation and protective factor differences between people of diverse genders and sexualities (lesbian/gay, bisexual, gender diverse, and takatāpui) and cisgender and heterosexual people in Aotearoa/New Zealand.  Methods: We employed data from the pooled probability sample of 2016 and 2018 New Zealand Mental Health Monitor. The sample comprised of 2,938 people at least 15 years old, of which 93 had diverse gender and sexuality identities. Generalised linear models were used to test for differences in mental health (current and lifetime mental distress, depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide), social exclusion and isolation, and friend and family support for people of diverse genders and sexualities. We also conducted exploratory linear regression analyses to examine whether mental health difficulties were associated with social exclusion and isolation and friend/family support.  Results: People of diverse genders and sexualities had high rates of mental health difficulties across all variables we examined. For example, people identifying as diverse genders and sexualities had three times the risk of considering self-harm and suicide than their cisgender and heterosexual counterparts (22% vs 5%; RR = 3.12). People of diverse genders and sexualities also scored an average of 6.08 points higher on the 27-point PHQ-9 depression scale when they had experienced social isolation, and 4.01 points higher when they experienced social exclusion. Conclusion: Our results are consistent with current literature on the large mental health inequities faced by people of diverse genders and sexualities.  So what?: Policy makers and healthcare providers in Aotearoa/New Zealand should consider the negative mental health consequences of social exclusion and isolation for people of diverse genders and sexualities.

year: 2021-10-03