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In this edition of EmpowHER's "HER Week in Health" for the week of August 19, 2011 Bailey Mosier discusses a study on how women may be conditioned to shy away from typically male dominated areas of study in order to seem more attractive, she also talks about a study that says that nurturing does come into play for children of depressed mothers, and finally she covers how the cost of health care may vary depending on where you live.
Hi, I’m Bailey Mosier and this is EmpowHER’s HER Week in Health.
Women have made tremendous advancements in education and the workplace over the past few decades, yet continue to be underrepresented in fields that are more traditionally masculine. In this week’s edition we’ll find out why that is. We’ll also learn that nurture does come into play for children of depressed mothers. And lastly, the cost of health care may vary depending on where you live.
Researchers at the University at Buffalo have found that when a woman’s goal is to be romantically desirable, she distances herself from academic majors and activities related to science, technology, engineering and math and instead, shows more interest in stereotypically feminine fields such as the arts, languages and English.
The study’s author notes that women are socialized from a young age to be romantically desirable and that women in Western cultures are taught that these more traditionally masculine fields make women less desirable overall.
The research shows that women’s romantic goal strivings have important implications for the gender gap in attitudes and interest in math and science, and that getting more women into these fields may require a change in both environment and female’s personal choice.
A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences tells us that the quality of childcare has an affect on brain formation, especially during early childhood development.
Specifically, scientists worked with ten year olds whose mothers exhibited symptoms of depression throughout their lives and discovered that the children’s part of the brain linked to emotional responses was enlarged.
Researchers say the long-term consequences of this increased reactivity to stress is unknown and that further studies can provide insight as to how this occurs, why and how it can be prevented.
Individual health care plans in the U.S. are costly for everyone, but according to researchers from the Kaiser Family Foundation, some states are more expensive than others.
The Foundation found nationwide insurance premiums in 2010 cost $215 per person, but in states such as Vermont and Massachusetts, premiums cost more than $400 each month.
This huge discrepancy in premiums is based on several factors according to the Foundation including an area's cost of living, health care costs, regulatory requirements and demographics.
The Foundation hopes its findings serve as a guideline for consumers as well as policymakers in determining the affordability of health insurance.
That wraps up your EmpowHER HER Week in Health. Join me here at EmpowHER.com every Friday as we recap the latest in women’s health.
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