Are we there yet? A review of gender comparisons in three behavioral journals through the 20th century.
Despite overwhelming evidence that gender plays a significant role in the course of numerous psychological disorders, researchers have historically neglected to address gender similarities and differences in their research. Previous reviews of the psychological literature have indicated that personality, psychotherapy, and behavioral psychology journals have published few studies that focus on gender comparisons. The current review examined published articles in three prominent behavioral psychology journals--Behavior Therapy, Behavior Modification, and Behaviour Research and Therapy--from their inception through 2001. Raters coded each article (N=4,635) for gender content in the title or abstract, analyses of gender differences, and discussion of gender. Overall, very few articles focused on gender content in the title, abstract, or discussion or analyzed data by gender. Implications of these results and suggestions for enhancing attention to gender comparisons are discussed.
Sigmon
Sandra T
ST
University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA. sandra.sigmon@umit.maine.edu
Pells
Jennifer J
JJ
Edenfield
Teresa M
TM
Hermann
Barbara A
BA
Schartel
Janell G
JG
Lamattina
Stephanie M
SM
Boulard
Nina E
NE
D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D011643:Publishing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends*; D012737:Sex Factors