Browsing by Author "Barbara J. Risman, Committee Member"

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    Decision-making, Gender and Field of Academic Major Choice
    (2004-06-07) Hambourger, Lynda Horhota; George B. Vaughan, Committee Chair; Barbara J. Risman, Committee Member; Carol E. Kasworm, Committee Member; Marilee J. Bresciani, Committee Co-Chair
    The purpose of this study was to explore the elationship of career decision-making to academic major choice in undeclared, full-time, first-year undergraduate students. The study used career decision-making survey data gathered by the Career Decision Profile (Jones, 1989), as well as major decidedness, bio-demographic, and academic ability data. Bivariate correlations of decision-making variables and gender showed that gender was not significantly related to decision-making, with two exceptions: Men were significantly more decisive than women and women were significantly more career-salient than men. A multiple linear regression predicting major decidedness found career decidedness to be the strongest predictor of major decidedness. Other decision-making variables, SATV, and college GPA were also significant predictors. Differences depending on GPA level were found; differences depending on gender were not found. The equation predicting major decidedness left approximately 60% of the variance in major decidedness unaccounted for. Two descriptive discriminant analyses, one for women and one for men, examined the behavior of students who had chosen a major by the end of the first semester sophomore year. These students were placed into one of six curriculum groups (applied sciences, business, engineering/physical sciences, humanities, life sciences, and social sciences), which comprised the independent variable of the descriptive discriminant analyses; decisionmaking and academic ability variables were the criterion variables in the analyses. For both men and women, differences among curriculum groups were most strongly characterized by differences in academic ability variables, while decision-making variables played significant but weaker roles. The curriculum group most clearly distinguished by the descriptive discriminant analyses for both genders was engineering/physical sciences; the group least clearly distinguished for both genders was business. Greater clarity was found for men than for women. The descriptive discriminant analyses revealed academic major choice to be a complex process involving academic ability, decision-making characteristics, and gender in different ways among students in different curriculum groups. The study's results challenge the assumption of rationalistic models of academic advising that choice of major is based primarily on career decision-making.
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    Gendered Social Bonds and Gender Ideologies: Understanding the Gender Gap in Delinquency
    (2004-12-14) Cooper, Danielle Jamilla; Barbara J. Risman, Committee Member; Stacy De Coster, Committee Chair; Catherine Zimmer, Committee Member
    The purpose of the research is to evaluate whether a simple 'add gender and stir' approach with Hirschi's social control theory can help explain gender differences or the gender gap in delinquency. I propose that incorporating traditional gender ideologies into the traditional 'add gender and stir' approach can help extend the theory and lead to a better understanding of the gender gap. Using data from the National Youth Survey, I empirically assess the differences in the levels (means) and the effects that attachment to family, commitment to school and/or a future career, and acceptance of traditional gender ideologies have on delinquency. The findings suggest that although Hirschi's theory offers insight into why males and females engage in delinquent behavior, it does little to explain the gender gap in delinquency. Specifically, having 'stakes in conformity' curbs delinquency among both males and females. However, the data shows that these stakes in conformity do not help understand the gender gap per se. The findings also suggest that the acceptance of traditional gender ideologies play an important part in understanding the gender gap in delinquency because these ideologies promote delinquency among males but control female delinquency. These findings underscore arguments that the 'add gender and stir' approach to understanding the gender gap in delinquency is insufficient. Future research should continue to explore broad gender arguments derived from gender studies.