Differential Perceptions of Health among Eighth-Grade Girls and Boys in Amman, Jordan

Abstract

Controlling for age, education, socio-economic background, and residential location, sex differences were investigated between male and female pupils' perception of health. A twenty-item multiple response questionnaire was given to 190 girls and 181 boys studying in the eighth grade in well-to-do area city schools. Tests of significance for independent sample proportions were used to determine differences in the proportions of girls and boys endorsing each item. Nine out of twenty differences were statistically significant ( p < .05 or p < .01). Twenty items were rank ordered separately for girls' and boys' samples and Spearman rank order correlation was calculated to test for the degree of similarity of ordered preferences of girls and boys. A relatively high value of rho .924 indicated close similarity between the preferential patterns of girls' and boys' perceptions of health. Possibility of reaching alternative conclusions from different analyses of the same data is indicated and implications for health education curriculum development are suggested.