Margaretha Timmerman

Sexual harassment and health among male and female police officers.

The aims of this study were to investigate whether sexual harassment is related to mental and physical health of both men and women, and to explore the possible moderating effects of gender on the relation between sexual harassment and health. In addition, we investigated whether women were more often bothered by sexual harassment than men, and whether victims who report being bothered by the harassment experience more health problems compared to victims who did not feel bothered. A representative sample of 3,001 policemen and 1,295 policewomen in the Dutch police force filled out an Internet questionnaire. It appeared that women were more often bothered by sexual harassment than men, but gender did not moderate the relation between sexual harassment and mental and physical health. In addition, victims who felt bothered by the harassing behaviors reported more mental and physical health problems than victims who did not feel bothered. The distinction between bothered and nonbothered victims is important because appraisal is an essential aspect in the operationalization of sexual harassment.

'Soft' pedagogy? The invention of a 'feminine' pedagogy as a cause of educational crises

Every now and then the feminisation of the teaching force is put forth as a barrier to reduce educational equality between the sexes. The feminisation of education is supposed to have a negative impact on boys’ achievement, causing educational as well as behavioural problems. It is not just boys who allegedly suffer; over the years, the feminisation of education has been held responsible for countless other education-related problems and social crises. In the latest parliamentary and public discussions in the Netherlands, the failure of educational reforms in the second half of the twenty-first century is attributed to the feminisation of education. This time it is not too many female teachers, but a so-called ‘female pedagogy’ that is to blame. It is assumed that women teachers have a different (‘soft’) approach to methodology, didactics and pedagogy than their male counterparts. We have sought historical evidence for this assumption by examining the rise and development of pedagogy within the teaching profession, using a content analysis of the professional association journal for the (teaching of) modern languages in secondary schooling.

Interventions aimed at preventing and reducing overweight/obesity among children and adolescents: a meta-synthesis

The prevalence of child and adolescent obesity has been a major worldwide problem for decades. To stop the number of youth with overweight/obesity from increasing, numerous interventions focusing on improving childrens weight status have been implemented. The growing body of research on weight‐related interventions for youth has been summarized by several meta‐analyses aiming to provide an overview of the effectiveness of interventions. Yet, the number of meta‐analyses is expanding so quickly and overall results differ, making a comprehensive synopsis of the literature difficult. To tackle this problem, a meta‐synthesis was conducted to draw informed conclusions about the state of the effectiveness of interventions targeting child and adolescent overweight. The results of the quantitative synthesis of 26 meta‐analyses resulted in a standardized mean difference (SMD) of −0.12 (95%CI: −0.16, −0.08). Several moderator analyses showed that participant and intervention characteristics had little impact on the overall effect size. However, a moderator analysis distinguishing between obesity treatment and obesity prevention studies showed that obesity treatment interventions (SMD: −0.048, 95%CI: −0.60, −0.36) were significantly more effective in reducing body mass index than obesity prevention interventions (SMD: −0.08, 95%CI: −0.11, −0.06). Overall, the results of this meta‐synthesis suggest that interventions result in statistically significant effects albeit of relatively little clinical relevance.

Young people's everyday romance and sexual experiences in relation to sex-related conversations with parents: a diary study in the Netherlands

Abstract This study builds on existing research into how young people’s emergent sexual development is connected to parent–child sex-related communication through avoidance vs. disclosure. Over the course of one year, a total of 21 young people (age range 12–17.5) reported in longitudinal qualitative diaries their (1) everyday sexual experiences and (2) sex-related conversations with their parents. Using a mixed-methods approach, findings show that less sexually experienced participants reported greater avoidance of parent–child sex-related conversations than more experienced participants. The sex-related conversations of more experienced participants mainly concerned overt experiences in the form of everyday issues with their romantic partner, while the conversations of less experienced participants were characterised by more covert experiences such as opinions about romantic relationships in general. These results suggest that the degree to which young people feel comfortable talking about sexuality with their parents partly depends on when the conversation takes place during a young person’s romantic and sexual development.

Hanging Out in the Past: Looking for Trouble or Romance? An Exploration of the Practice and Meaning of Hanging Out for Young Dutch People in 1930–60

Young people’s ‘hanging out’ has had different meanings in the recent and distant past in various countries and cultures, including delinquency or a common social phenomenon. Although there is evidence for hanging out as social behaviour in various countries, Dutch research on hanging out as a common social phenomenon is scarce. This article retrospectively explores the practice and meaning of hanging out for young people in the Netherlands between 1930 and 1960. Semi-structured qualitative interviews (n = 60) were analysed using the Constant Comparative Method, resulting in three key themes: familiarity, features and the meanings assigned to hanging out. Results indicate that hanging out was practised and known by most respondents, and included particular features (time, location, gender and routines). Meet, flirt with and date other young people was the most frequently mentioned meaning associated with hanging out. Accordingly, hanging out can indeed be considered to have been a common social phenomenon.

Young Dutch people’s everyday experiences of romance and sexuality: A mixed-method approach

Abstract Objectives: This exploratory study assessed young Dutch people’s emerging sexual experiences in everyday life, in addition to examine the feasibility of a mixed-methods diary study. Methods: Using one-week diaries, 12- –17-year-olds recorded qualitative reports of their everyday romantic and sexual experiences. Results: The qualitative findings identify “Making Contact” as a profound theme; however, it was expressed differently for each romantic and sexual experience. Contrary to the general idea, girls did not report more about romantic topics than boys did, nor did boys report more about sexual activities than girls did. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the importance of incorporating a broad spectrum of everyday-life romantic and sexual experiences in future research, and have provided valuable support for the implementation of a forthcoming two-year diary study.