In Brief: Feb. 25, 2002

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NO GENDER GAP Researchers at UNC Chapel Hill who set out to discover why boys do better in math than girls were surprised to find that the gender gap doesn't add up. Previous studies had concentrated on small groups of gifted teenagers, but the UNC study looked at a broader sample of students. Among the findings were that girls had higher average scores than boys until about age 11 and higher reasoning scores from 11 to 13. While boys do show a faster acceleration in math skills as they get older, the largest difference between boys and girls was late in high school, and it was only 1.5%

BREADWINNING BLUES Being the main financial provider in a family is still important to the psychological well-being of many men. A study published in the Journal of Marriage and the Family reports that the larger the percentage a wife contributes to the total family income, the more likely a husband is to report feelings of depression and dissatisfaction.

R-RATED BEHAVIOR According to a study published in Effective Clinical Practice, tweens whose parents restrict them from watching R-rated movies are one-third as likely to smoke or drink than kids who have no such restrictions. R-rated films are more likely to feature characters who smoke or drink, a fact that can influence young viewers.

--By Lisa McLaughlin