Gender ideologies across the transition to adulthood in Germany: How early romantic relationships slow down the egalitarian trend

This study explores the development of gender ideologies across adolescence and the transition to adulthood in Germany and investigates the relevance of first romantic relationship experiences in shaping gender beliefs. Integrating the life course perspective with the theoretical framework of gender as a social structure and psychological theories, we extend the literature by following adolescents from age 15 to about age 20 across the transition to adulthood and by differentiating between young women and men from different immigrant and non-immigrant backgrounds, who may be affected differently by gender-related expectations. Using the representative and ethnically diverse German sample of the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries, we conducted fixed-effects regression analyses (n = 1474). First, our findings show that young people become increasingly egalitarian during adolescence, irrespective of gender and immigrant origin. Second, for young women, romantic relationship experiences of moderate and longer durations are significantly associated with slower increases in egalitarianism. For most young men, romantic relationship experiences do not affect their gender ideologies. One exception is the group of Turkish-origin men, who change their gender ideologies less towards egalitarianism with increasing relationship durations than other groups of young men. The findings suggest that, especially for young women, early romantic relationships may be crucial in shaping their gender beliefs, which subsequently predict important educational, occupational, and family choices.

A Time of Great Change: How Parents, Friends, and Classmates Shape Adolescents' Attitudes towards the Gender Division of Labor

Parents are crucial in the construction of their children's attitudes towards the gender division of labor. However, little is known about the extent to which parents' influences on their children's attitudes weaken in favor of peers during adolescence. This study explores how gender beliefs of parents, friends, and classmates shape adolescents' attitudes towards the gender division of labor in Sweden, Germany, England, and the Netherlands. It extends previous research which predominantly examined parent-child transmission. The analysis draws on 4645 children (at wave 1: M_age = 14.9, SD_age = 0.67, females = 50%) of the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries. Regression analyses of within-person changes in attitudes show that adolescents on average become more egalitarian from age 15 to 16 and significantly adapt their own beliefs to those of their parents, friends, and classmates. In cases of opposing beliefs, adolescents tended to adapt more strongly to whoever held more egalitarian views, possibly aligning with more widespread norms of egalitarianism. The findings show great similarity in adaptation processes across countries and align well with a multi-layered conceptualization of gender as a social structure that shapes gender attitudes.

On the Link Between Benevolent Sexism and Orgasm Frequency in Heterosexual Women

Previous research on subclinical orgasmic difficulties among women has focused on intrapsychic and interpersonal variables, but little attention has been paid to the more distal ideological factors that might indirectly constrain sexual pleasure. We hypothesized that women's endorsement of a benevolently sexist worldview would be negatively associated with orgasm frequency. Specifically, we predicted that benevolent sexism would be associated with increased perceptions of male sexual selfishness. This perception of men as interested in their own sexual pleasure would then predict decreased willingness to ask a partner for sexual pleasure, which in turn would be associated with less frequent orgasms. We found support for our model across two studies (Study 1: N = 339; Study 2: N = 323). We did not, however, find a direct effect of benevolent sexism on orgasm frequency. We discuss possible additional variables linking benevolent sexism with orgasm frequency, implications, and future directions.