Brent D. Slife, Ph.D.
What follows is a very brief summary of the results of prominent research studies on single-sex schools:
- All-girls schools have been shown to have multiple psychological benefits for students, including stronger identity formation, increased interpersonal skills, less stress, greater well-being, and better adjustment (Brutsaert and Houtte, 2002).
- Multiple studies show that female clients have very different treatment needs and should therefore have distinctive (non-coed) treatment (Ashley et al., 2003).
- Single-sex schools can provide both academic and emotional benefits (Mael, 1998).
- Girls benefit more than boys from single sex education (Lee and Marks, 1990; Brutsaert and Houtte, 2002)
- All-girls therapy groups have proved more effective in reducing psychological problems such as depression (Chaplin, et al., 2006)
References
Chaplin, Tara M., Gillham, Jane E., Reivich, Karen, Elkon, Andrea G. L., Samuels, Barbra, Freres, Derek R., Winder, Breanna and Seligman, Martin E. P. (2006) Depression Prevention for Early Adolescent Girls: A Pilot Study of All Girls Versus Co-Ed Groups. The Journal of Early Adolescence; 26; 110
Ashley, Olivia S., Marsden, Mary E., and Brady, Thomas M. (2003) Effectiveness of Substance Abuse Treatment Programming for Women: A Review. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 19–53.
Mael, Fred A. (1998). Single-Sex and Coeducational Schooling: Relationships to Socioemotional and Academic Development.Review of Educational Research, Summer 1998, Vol. 68, No. 2, pp. 101-129
Brutsaert, H. & Van Houtte, M. (2002). Girls’ and boys’ sense of belonging in single-sex versus co-educational schools. Research in Education No. 68.
Lee, Valerie E. and Marks, Helen M. (1990). Sustained Effects of the Single-Sex Secondary School Experience on Attitudes, Behaviors, and Values in College. Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 82, No. 3, 578-592.
