Poster #71 - Parents’ behaviors (but not traits) affect children’s gender stereotyping and play preferences

• In Event: Poster Session 20

Abstract

By three years of age, children often prefer to play with same-gender peers, value conformity to gender-typical norms (Perry et al., 2019), and hold gender-stereotypical beliefs (Cox, 2012). These early gender-related behaviors and beliefs are of such significance that they even predict occupational interests into adolescence (Kung, 2021). Gender-typed play preferences have been related to sociocognitive development, biological predispositions, and environmental influences—but less focus has been given to how they might be shaped by specific factors in the family environment. While we know that gender-differentiated parenting (Morawska, 2020) and parents’ gender schemas (Tenenbaum & Leaper, 2002) have effects on children, we know less about potential effects of parents’ gendered behaviors (e.g., household work, hunting) and gendered traits (e.g., caring, dominant). Moreover, authoritarian parenting style has also been suggested to play a mediating role in effects of parental behaviors or traits on children’s behaviors in various contexts (e.g., Wong et al., 2020; Zhong et al., 2019). Thus, the aim of the current study was to see if parents’ gender-typed activities and/or traits were associated with their children’s gender-typed play preferences and stereotypical beliefs—and whether such effects interact with authoritarian parenting style.

We collected preschool children’s (N=106 children; 45 % girls; M_age= 41 months; range 28-62 months) ratings of stereotypical beliefs about other children’s play preferences and characteristics, and about adults’ professions. We also collected parents’ ratings of their children’s play preferences, their parental traits and activities (Liben et al., 2002), and their parental style (Robinson et al., 1995).

Play preferences. We found group-level differences between boys’ and girls’ play activity preferences, with effect sizes (d’s=1.27-2.03) comparable to Davis and Hines’ (2020) finding on gendered toy preferences. Linear modelling showed several associations between parents’ self-reported activities and their children’s play behaviors. Firstly, the more traditionally-feminine activities (e.g., household work) mothers and fathers engage in—the more both boys and girls engaged in household-related play (e.g., play “house” or with dolls, caring and traditionally-feminine pretend play; p<.05). Secondly, mothers’ time spent doing such traditionally-feminine activities was differentially associated with aggressive and weapons play for boys and girls (Figure 1), and negatively with vehicle and tool play for girls (Figure 2). No relationships were found between parents’ traits and children’s play preferences or authoritarian parenting.

Children’s stereotyping. There were no group-level differences between boys’ and girls’ levels of stereotyping. A main effect revealed that fathers’ authoritarian parenting predicted more stereotyping overall by children (p=.01) and a further interaction (p=.04) showed that fathers’ high authoritarian parenting together with low feminine activities also predicted more stereotyping by children. We found no significant associations or interaction effects between children’s stereotyping and their play preferences.

Overall, our data suggest that it is what parents do, and not what they are like, that affects children’s play and stereotyping. Like Meyer and Gelman (2016), we did not observe that children’s play preferences were related to their stereotyping, suggesting a decoupling between their own beliefs and behaviors.

Authors

• Kahl Hellmer, Uppsala universitet
  Presenting Author

• Christine Fawcett, Stockholm University