Exploring gender differences in multidimensional social-emotional competence from developmental and cross-cultural perspectives

Abstract

Children and adolescents develop social-emotional competence (SEC) over time under the influence of gender-based cultural practices, though evidence is limited on how patterns of gender differences in multiple dimensions of SEC vary across developmental stages and cultural contexts. The current study first examined measurement invariance of an international SEC assessment, the OECD Survey of Social and Emotional Skills, then compared patterns of gender differences in multidimensional SEC across age cohorts and cultural regions. Using self-reported data collected from China, South Korea, Canada, and the United States (N = 25,454), our analysis identified 48 items measuring six domains of SEC that were invariant across gender, age cohorts, and cultural regions. Interaction analysis with bias-adjusted estimates suggested that each SEC domain showed different patterns of gender difference depending on age cohorts and cultural regions: (1) boys had higher Emotional Control and Optimism, particularly in age 15 cohort, (2) girls had higher Task Performance and Prosociality, particularly in the North American sample, and (3) boys had higher Open-mindedness and lower Leadership in East Asia, but girls had higher Open-mindedness and lower Leadership in North America. We discuss these findings, calling for more research to further explain gender differences in SEC from developmental and cross-cultural perspectives.