Ugandan Adolescents’ Descriptive Gender Stereotypes About Domestic and Recreational Activities, and Attitudes About Women

In Eastern Uganda, 201 adolescents aged 11- to 17-years old (48% girls; Mage = 14.62) answered close- and open-ended questions about gender stereotypes of domestic and recreational activities and gender-role attitudes about women’s behavior, rights, and roles. Adolescents answered questions such as “who is more likely to . . .?” assessing descriptive stereotypes (i.e., stereotype knowledge) and questions such as “is it ok for women to . . .?” assessing prescriptive stereotypes (i.e., stereotype endorsement) about gender roles. Data were analyzed via descriptive statistics, correlations, and thematic coding. Findings indicate that Ugandan adolescents were fairly egalitarian in some domains (e.g., leisure and recreation) but were non-egalitarian in other domains (e.g., marital and domestic roles). Adolescents held a mix of gender-stereotyped and non-stereotyped views about domestic and recreational activities as well as attitudes about women. Findings present reasons for hope and for continued work toward gender equality in Uganda. Results may inform interventions that foster gender egalitarian attitudes in youth

Ugandan adolescents’ gender stereotype knowledge about jobs

Ugandan adolescents ages 11- to 17-years-old (N = 201; 48% girls; M age = 14.62) answered closed- and open-ended questions about occupational gender segregation, allowing researchers to assess their gender stereotype knowledge. Adolescents answered 38 closed-ended questions such as ‘who is more likely to be a doctor?’ and were asked to list masculine, feminine, and gender-neutral jobs. Data were analyzed via descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, t-tests, and thematic coding. Findings indicated that adolescents were fairly egalitarian about jobs and there were no differences in occupational stereotype knowledge between males and females. Findings present reasons for hope and for continued work toward gender equality in Uganda. Results may inform interventions that foster egalitarian gender attitudes. Future work could explore adolescents’ stereotype endorsement and occupational aspirations

Karamojong adolescents in Tororo District, Uganda: Life events, adjustment problems, and protective factors

The Karamojong people of Uganda are marginalized and likely to have difficult lives. Research is needed to understand Karamojong children’s challenges, adjustment, and resiliency to help guide interventions and policies to improve their lives. Thus, 18 Karamojong 10–16-year-olds (10 girls; M = 13.33 years; SD = 1.81) were recruited from a nongovernmental organization in Tororo District, Uganda, and interviewed about their life events, coping strategies, social support, and hope. Adolescents also were verbally administered questionnaires about their life events and adjustment problems. Participants reported many negative life events (M = 9.28 of 16). The number of negative life events was positively correlated with internalizing, but not with externalizing, problems. Participants described a variety of coping strategies. Most participants received emotional or instrumental social support, and were hopeful about their futures. Hardships were often alcohol- or poverty-related events, whereas hope was often centered on education

Ugandan Adolescents\u27 Attitudes Toward, and Shared Activities with, Same and Other-Gender Peers and Friends

Ugandan adolescents (n = 202, 54% girls; Mage = 14.26) answered closed- and open-ended questions about the gender composition of friends and attitudes about, and activities with, same- and other-gender peers and friends. Adolescents’ friendships were somewhat gender segregated, although other-gender friendships were present. Positive attitudes about same- and other-gender peers and friends were prevalent. Girls and boys displayed similar attitudes about same- and other-gender peers, with the exception of boys reporting more positive attitudes toward boys. Adolescents enjoyed the following aspects of same- and other-gender friendships: talking about problems, receiving help, sharing items and activities, receiving advice about romance and puberty, and receiving help with schoolwork. Adolescents engaged with mixed-gender peers for most shared activities, although gender segregation was present for certain activities (e.g., playing sports). Results may inform programs that support positive peer interactions among youth in sub-Saharan Africa

Children’s Shyness, Peer Acceptance, and Academic Achievement in the Early School Years

In this two-wave longitudinal study, concurrent and longitudinal relations among teacher-reported shyness, peer acceptance, and academic achievement were examined (Ns = 162 and 155; and Msage = 6.09 and 7.07 years). Concurrently, at both times, shyness was negatively related to peer acceptance and academic achievement, and peer acceptance was positively related to academic achievement. Longitudinally, shyness was negatively related to peer acceptance, and peer acceptance was positively related to academic achievement in zero-order correlations, but the relations were no longer significant when accounting for the stability of the constructs. Longitudinal relation between shyness and academic achievement was nonsignificant; however, shyness was indirectly linked to concurrent and later academic achievement through peer acceptance according to bias-corrected bootstrapped confidence intervals. Sex differences in the relations were mixed. These results suggested that a lack of peer acceptance may be a mechanism through which shyness contributed to poor academic achievement in the early school years