Sex differences in intellectual and ego development in late adolescence

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Cognitive Development

Background:

• Examined Perry's scheme of intellectual and ethical development.
• Investigated potential sex differences in identity concerns: occupational choice, interpersonal relationships, and sexual identity.
• Included religion and ego development (Loevinger's Sentence Completion Test - SCT) as content areas.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze sex differences in Perry's model of intellectual and ethical development.
• To explore sex differences in specific identity concern areas.
• To investigate the relationship between ego development and intellectual development across sexes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an interview format based on Perry's unstructured approach.
• Administered Loevinger's Sentence Completion Test (SCT).
• Conducted blind structural and content analyses on transcribed interviews and SCTs with 31 females and 29 males.

Main Results:

• No significant overall sex differences in structural analysis of intellectual development.
• Regression analyses revealed distinct patterns: males focused on occupational issues, females on interpersonal and sexual issues.
• Ego development correlated with intellectual development for males but not females; women focused on trust, men on rightness in interpersonal relationships.

Conclusions:

• While structural development showed no sex differences, content analysis revealed distinct developmental focuses for males and females.
• Findings suggest differing interpersonal world constructions and varying correlations between ego and intellectual development based on sex.
• Results align with theories on sex differences in development, particularly Gilligan's work.