Gender and contextual variations in self-perceived cognitive competence

School performance and cognitive competence can be conceptualized as social and relational constructs. Thus, we expect their association to vary as a function of other socially-embedded variables which have proven meaningful in the academic domain. The present study takes a critical theory approach to assess gender-related and contextual variability in the association between peer-assessed school performance and self-perceived cognitive competence. The sample consisted of 719 preadolescents (M age = 9.5 years, range = 9 to 12.5 years) living in lower- and upper-middle-class neighborhoods in Montreal, Canada and Barranquilla, Columbia. Multigroup comparisons revealed that (a) peer-assessed school competence was more strongly associated with self-perceived cognitive competence for upper-middle-class than lower-middle-class participants from Barranquilla, whereas the opposite pattern was observed with Montreal participants, and (b) that the association between communal orientation and self-perceived cognitive competence was stronger for girls than for boys across the sample, especially in the upper-middle-class school in Montreal. These findings highlight the nuanced degree of gender differences in preadolescents’ perceived academic competence and emphasize the role of SES in shaping self-perceptions.

Perceived Similarity to Gender Groups Scale: Validation in a Sample of Italian LGB + and Heterosexual Young Adults

INTRODUCTION

The present article describes two interrelated studies that examine gender typicality in young adulthood using a new dual-identity approach.

METHODS

Participants were recruited online from March 2020 to February 2021 and reported their perceived similarity to own- and other-gender peers as a way to assess their gender typicality. In study 1, the authors conducted an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test and validate the Perceived Similarity to Gender Groups Scale in a sample of Italian young adults (n = 571; M _age = 23.9; SD = 3.60). The authors documented the configural, metric, scalar measurement invariance, and validity. In study 2, the Perceived Similarity to Gender Groups Scale adopted in study 1 was used to assess the distribution of different typologies of gender typicality in another sample of Italian young adults who vary in gender and sexual orientation (n = 1126; M _age = 24.3; SD = 3.51).

RESULTS

Results confirmed the structural validity of the Perceived Similarity to Gender Groups Scale, revealing the two-factor structure of the scale. Moreover, results of cluster analysis found different typologies of self-perceptions of gender typicality.

CONCLUSION

Both studies emphasize the relevance of studying gender typicality in young adulthood through a dual-identity approach, highlighting the relevance of gender and sexual orientations.

POLICY IMPLICATIONS

The use of the dual-identity approach has significant social and clinical implications as it represents a more flexible and representative model of the complexity of gender typicality.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13178-021-00631-5.