Sex and national differences in internet addiction in Egypt and Saudi Arabia

Background: Understanding individual differences in psychology, and how they relate to specific addictions, may allow society to better identify those at most risk and even enact policies to ameliorate them. Internet addiction is a growing health concern, a research focus of which is to understand individual differences and the psychology of those most susceptible to developing it. Western countries are strongly overrepresented in this regard. Method: Here, sex and national differences in internet addiction are measured, using Young's ‘Internet Addiction Test,’ in two non-Western countries, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. >800 students aged 18 and 35 years (M = 20.65, SD = 1.48) completed a multidimensional internet addiction instrument. The instrument measures traits such as Withdrawal and Social Problems, Time Management and Performance and Reality Substitute. Results: Analyses revealed that males scored higher than females and Saudis higher than Egyptians on nearly all scales, including the total score. Factor analysis of the 20-item instrument revealed three factors, all exhibiting sex and culture differences. Conclusions: These findings add to the body of evidence that males are higher than females in problematic internet use, as they are in addictive behaviors in general. Our findings may also imply that restrictions on male-female interaction, which are more pronounced in Saudi Arabia, may elevate the prevalence of internet addiction. The internet is also easier and cheaper to access in Saudi Arabia than in Egypt

Decreases in divergent thinking across age groups from 2005 to 2018 amongst school children in Sudan

Performances on tests of creativity have been found to be in decline in the USA. Here, we explore scores on divergent thinking tests in private schools in Khartoum State in Sudan by comparing a 2005 and a 2018 administration of the Torrance Standardized Circles test to 8- to 12-year-olds of both sexes. We find a decline across the period in all three dimensions of the test (Fluency, Flexibility and Originality), as well as in the overall index of divergent thinking. In line with much previous research, females consistently outperform males. Examining previous studies that report Negative Flynn Effects on IQ in Arab countries, we conclude that our results most likely reflect highly localized and exclusively environmental causes, and caution against assuming that the same processes that underlie Negative Flynn Effects in the West, whether on IQ or any trait correlated with it, also underlie it in the Arab World

Sex and Culture Differences in Cultural Intelligence: A Study Comparing Saudi Arabians and Egyptians

Cultural Intelligence (CI) refers to the motivation and ability to understand and deal with cultural differences. As such, it is assumed to play a role in the effectiveness of social contact and communication between people from different cultures. Given its relevance to international relations, it is imperative to test which individual and group factors are associated with CI. Therefore, in the present study we examine cross-cultural and gender differences in CI. In one of their classes at their university, students (N = 829) from Egypt and Saudi Arabia completed a multidimensional measure of CI. The results showed an interesting pattern of interactions between country and gender, which indicated that Egyptian men did not significantly differ from co-national women, but Saudi men scored significantly lower than women. We suggest that the different patterns of results in the two countries may partly arise from different levels of exposure to different cultures and partly from subtle differences in the constitution of the samples. Knowledge of individual and group differences in cultural intelligence may potentially contribute to explaining differential levels of success in individuals or countries in dealing with cultural differences

Sex and Culture Differences in Cultural Intelligence: A Study Comparing Saudi Arabians and Egyptians

Cultural Intelligence (CI) refers to the motivation and ability to understand and deal with cultural differences. As such, it is assumed to play a role in the effectiveness of social contact and communication between people from different cultures. Given its relevance to international relations, it is imperative to test which individual and group factors are associated with CI. Therefore, in the present study we examine cross-cultural and gender differences in CI. In one of their classes at their university, students ( N  = 829) from Egypt and Saudi Arabia completed a multidimensional measure of CI. The results showed an interesting pattern of interactions between country and gender, which indicated that Egyptian men did not significantly differ from co-national women, but Saudi men scored significantly lower than women. We suggest that the different patterns of results in the two countries may partly arise from different levels of exposure to different cultures and partly from subtle differences in the constitution of the samples. Knowledge of individual and group differences in cultural intelligence may potentially contribute to explaining differential levels of success in individuals or countries in dealing with cultural differences