Gender Picture Book reading: The unique contribution of parents and children to triadic family conversations

• In Event: Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Topic - Sex, Gender

Abstract

The way in which family members communicate with each other about gender in daily life provides young children with both implicit and explicit messages about which interests, activities, and behaviors are either suitable or unsuitable for boys and girls (Gelman, Taylor, & Nguyen, 2004). Goal of the current study was to unravel the unique contribution of father, mother, and child to family conversations about gender, not only in terms of how much they contribute (quantity), but also in what way (quality). Because family-wide conversations on gender is still uncharted territory, we decided to examine the relative contribution of each family member to the conversation as well as the way family members respond to each other’s gender comments in a descriptive and explorative manner. Further, we hypothesized that (A) mothers would use more implicit forms of stereotypical gender talk than fathers, and fathers would use more explicit forms than mothers; (B) children would use more stereotypical gender talk than both parents; (C) parents’ gender talk would be related to their gender stereotypes. To test these hypotheses, we observed 142 Dutch families, consisting of a father, mother, and their preschooler, at home while reading an adapted version of the Gender Stereotypes Picture Book (Endendijk et al., 2014). The book consists of 13 pictures without text or storyline, with drawings of boys, girls, and gender-neutral children alternately pictured in stereotypically masculine or feminine activities. Further, parents’ implicit gender stereotypes were assessed by a computerized version of the Implicit Association Task (IAT), and their explicit stereotypes were measured with the Child Rearing Sex Role Attitude Scale (CRSRAS). The results show that children contributed most to the conversations, and they used more implicit stereotypical gender talk than their parents. In addition, we found evidence that mother used more implicit stereotypical gender talk than fathers, while no differences in explicit stereotypical messages were found between fathers and mothers. A small group of parents made explicit stereotypical or contra-stereotypical comments, both mainly towards girls, and as a reaction to stereotypical comments from their child. Finally, both fathers and mothers with stronger explicit stereotypes were less positive about counter-stereotypical pictures. The findings of this study emphasize the importance of examining the contribution of both parents and their children in family-wide interactions to more fully understand the way in which gender concepts are co-constructed in the family context.

Authors

• Marleen Groeneveld, Universiteit Leiden
  Presenting Author

• Lotte Bruins van der Pol, Universiteit Leiden
  Non-Presenting Author

• Else de Vries, Leiden University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Judi Mesman, Leiden University
  Non-Presenting Author