This study examined the perceptions of undergraduate women in male-dominated academic areas. First-year and finalyear female undergraduates in a male-dominated academic area (i.e., math, science, or engineering) reported higher levels of discrimination and stereotype threat than women in a female-dominated academic area (i.e., arts, education, humanities, or social science), and men in either a male-or female-dominated academic area. Moreover, women in a male-dominated academic area were most likely to report thinking about changing their major. These findings suggest that female college students majoring in math, science, and engineering continue to perceive additional gender-based obstacles in their field.

The news that the early retirement trend has been reversed and current older workers plan to work past conventional retirement ages has been widely heralded. Managers have been encouraged to make adjustments to differences in job conditions that are important to older workers. We use social exchange theory and the norm of reciprocity as a framework for examining six dimensions of job quality for their impact on employee engagement among several groups of older and younger workers at different points in the cycle of their careers in a large retail setting. Employees (N ¼ 6047) were surveyed as part of a large-scale research project. Exploratory factor analyses identified commonalities among 27 job quality variables and four reliable factors. Regression analyses estimated the relationship between four job conditions and employee engagement. Although the relative weights of the factors differed by career stage, the same factors: (1) Supervisor Support and Recognition; (2) Schedule Satisfaction; and (3) Job Clarity were significant predictors of employee engagement for all age groups; (4) Career Development was a predictor for all but the retirement-eligible employees. Findings reveal the importance of recognizing age diversity among both young and old employees. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

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Findings suggest that one's experience of an activity plays an important role in the extent to which involvement is associated with positive outcomes. Recommendations for enhancing role quality to promote psychological well-being in middle and later life are discussed.

Adults with histories of childhood sexual abuse were categorized as being either resilient or nonresilient on the basis of current levels of depression and self-esteem. Characteristics of both the individual and the early family environment distinguished resilient from nonresilient abuse survivors, as did the physically coercive nature of the abuse experience.

Ego integrity, Erik EriksonÕs (1963) concept of psychological maturity in later life and the pinnacle of eight stages, has been one of the least studied of all his stage constructs. This paper explores the meaning of ego integrity (as assessed by Ryff and Heincke, 1983) in the lives of a sample of older women by examining its predictors and concomitants, using data from interviews conducted with the same women in 1951 and 1996 and a questionnaire administered/in 1996. A 3-stop regression model revealed that ''Identity'' assessed in 1951 predicted generativity in 1996; the level of educational attainment and marital status were also significant predictors. In step 2, generativity alone predicted ego integrity, which in turn predicted depression. Ego integrity was associated with higher marital satisfaction in the mothersÕ lives, both in the past and in the present; it was implicated in better relationships with their adult children, in the mothersÕ willingness to both give and receive help, and in several dimensions of psychological well-being.

The current study tests the indirect effect of activity-related physical activity, cognitive activity, social interaction, and emotional exchange on the relationship between activity involvement and health (physical and emotional) in later life. Longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (N = 5,442) were used to estimate a series of linear regression models. We found significant indirect effects for social interaction and benefit to others (emotional exchange) on emotional health (depressive symptoms) and indirect effects for use of body and benefit to others (physical) on physical health (frailty). The most potent indirect effect associated with emotional and physical health was experienced by those engaged in all four domains (use of body, use of mind, social interaction, and benefit to others). While effect sizes are small and results should be interpreted with caution, findings shed light on ways in which public health interventions aimed toward increasing role engagement in later life could be improved.