Gender-Typed Play Behavior in Early Childhood: Adopted Children with Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Parents

Sibling and peer bullying victimization in adolescence: Masculinity, femininity, and the moderating role of sex and popularity

INTRODUCTION

We investigated whether gender-typed traits (masculinity and femininity) contemporaneously predicted self-reported peer victimization, peer-reported peer victimization, and sibling victimization. We also tested the moderating role of sex and popularity.

METHODS

A sample of 2782 British pupils aged 11-16 from Central England, UK was screened for bullying involvement and popularity using self-report and peer nominations, and a subsample of 704 (52.7% girls) completed a measure of gender-typed traits (masculinity and femininity).

RESULTS

Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that low levels of masculine traits were associated with greater risk of self-reported peer victimization, there were no associations with peer-reported peer victimization, and low levels of feminine traits were associated with greater risk of self-reported sibling victimization. The effects were not moderated by sex, while popularity decreased the risk of self- and peer-reported peer victimization.

CONCLUSIONS

Bullying prevention interventions could benefit from including the positive facets of feminine and masculine traits.

“I Think It’s Too Early to Know”: Gender Identity Labels and Gender Expression of Young Children With Nonbinary or Binary Transgender Parents

Little is known about gender expression among children with transgender parents. In the United States, we surveyed 64 nonbinary or binary transgender parents of children aged 18 to 71 months. Most parents reported a marginalized sexual identity and a White racial identity. Many declined to label their child’s gender identity, and this was particularly true among those with younger children. Scores indicated that, on average, children’s play was conventionally gendered. However, scores indicated significantly more gender-expansive play in the present sample than in normed samples, particularly among children assigned male at birth. Findings support transfamily theory (McGuire et al., 2016) and illustrate differences among families with nonbinary and binary transgender parents.

Transgender and cisgender children's essentialist beliefs about sex and gender identity

Children essentialize gender from a young age, viewing it as inborn, biologically based, unchanging, and predictive of preferences and behaviors. Children's gender essentialism appears to be so pervasive that it is found within conservative and liberal communities, and among transgender and cisgender children. However, it remains unclear what aspect of gender the children participating in past studies essentialized. Such studies used labels such as "girl" or "boy" without clarifying how children (or researchers) interpreted them. Are they indicators of the target's biological categorization at birth (sex), the target's sense of their own gender (gender identity), or some third possible interpretation? This distinction becomes particularly relevant when transgender children are concerned, as their sex assigned at birth and gender identity are not aligned. In the present two studies, we discovered that 6- to 11-year-old transgender children, their cisgender siblings, and unrelated cisgender children, all essentialized both sex and gender identity. Moreover, transgender and cisgender children did not differ in their essentialism of sex (i.e., whether body parts would remain stable over time). Importantly, however, transgender children were less likely than unrelated cisgender children to essentialize when hearing an ambiguous gender/sex label ("girl" or "boy"). Finally, the two studies showed mixed findings on whether the participant groups differed in reasoning about the stability of a gender-nonconforming target's gender identity. These findings illustrate that a child's identity can relate to their conceptual development, as well as the importance of diversifying samples to enhance our understanding of social cognitive development.

Gender Development in Children with Gay, Lesbian, and Heterosexual Parents: Associations with Family Type and Child Gender

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether the gender development of 120 Italian children (40 born to gay fathers [GFs] through surrogacy, 40 born to lesbian mothers [LMs] through sperm donation, and 40 born to heterosexual parents [HPs] through sexual intercourse) aged 3 to 9 years differed as a function of family type and/or child gender.

METHODS

Children took part in observed free-play sessions while primary caregivers and nonparent caregivers were administered standardized interviews. Hierarchical linear modeling, analysis of covariance, simple effects analysis, and bootstrapping were conducted.

RESULTS

Boys and girls of GFs and HPs were reported to show less gender flexibility in their activities and characteristics than boys and girls of LMs. They also received higher scores of gender conforming dress-up play and spent more time playing with gender-conforming toys. In all family types, boys and girls were reported to show low levels of gender-nonconforming dress-up play and observed to spend less time playing with gender-nonconforming toys. Overall, comparisons within genders indicated that boys and girls of GFs and HPs were considered more masculine and feminine, respectively, in their behavior and play, relative to boys and girls in LM families. Age was not a significant covariate in any analysis.

CONCLUSION

Our findings do not support the idea that children of gay or lesbian parents show greater gender nonconformity relative to children of HPs. The findings are informative to those concerned with the effects of the absence of a male or female live-in parent on child gender development.

Adults' Responses to Children's Crying after a Moral Transgression

This study investigated how adults respond to a moral transgression committed by a child offender, by examining the role of the child's sex, emotions, and crying behavior when caught committing a moral transgression on adults' forgiveness, trust, and disciplinary behaviors. An experimental survey manipulated the children's sex, crying, and their emotional expressions (fear, sadness, shame, and crying). Participants (N = 847) reported how they would feel, their willingness to forgive (immediately and a week after the event) and to trust the child, estimated recidivism, and the use of disciplinary behaviors. Results showed that participants in the crying conditions reported significantly higher levels of intention to trust and forgive the child a week after the event, and a lower estimation of the child committing a similar act in the future than participants in the non-crying conditions (ps < .05). Compared to men, women anticipated higher intentions to forgive (ps < .05), and more inductive behaviors, less overreactivity and warmth removal towards the child (ps < .001). Overall, the results suggest the functional value of crying in children-adults relations and the importance of the gender of both child and adults in a context of a moral transgression committed by a child.

Recalled pre-school activities among adults with gender dysphoria who seek gender confirming treatment-An Iranian study

Preschool play behaviors have been frequently shown to be associated with prenatal androgens. It has also been proposed that incongruent sex-typed play behaviors in childhood is associated with gender dysphoria in adulthood in both men and women. Most of these studies, however, have been conducted in western countries. In this study, we investigated the recalled childhood play behavior among a total number of 339 Iranian participants (n = 72 transwomen, n = 92 transmen, n = 75 cisgender men and n = 100 cisgender women) using Preschool Activity Inventory (PSAI). We found that PSAI mean scores of the four groups were significantly different (F(3,335 = 223.5, p < 0.001)). Both transmen and cisgender men scored significantly more masculine than transwomen and cisgender women but had no different with each other. Transwomen scored significantly more feminine than cisgender men and cisgender women. Our findings are in line with previous studies that suggest gender nonconforming play behaviors may be associated with gender dysphoria in adulthood. It also emphasizes the importance of this finding for in non-western clinical context and its implications.

Parents' Influence on Infants' Gender-Typed Toy Preferences

Gender socialization influences children at early ages, shaping their developing identities. The toys provided by parents deliver some of the earliest gender-based messages by encouraging children to engage in activities associated with, for example, dolls and trucks. In the current study, we measured the influence of parental socialization by assessing 5- and 12 ½-month-old infants' exposure to dolls and trucks and by experimentally manipulating parents' encouragement to play with these toys. We found that infants displayed gender-typical toy preferences at 12 ½, but not 5 months, a pattern characteristic of previous studies. However, brief encouragement by a parent to play with toys from each category was ineffective in altering infants' preferences. Rather, the types of toys present in the home predicted preferences, suggesting that at-home exposure to toys may be influential in the development of toy preferences. These findings reveal that socialization processes may indeed play a role in the formation of early gender-typical toy preferences and highlight the importance of equal toy exposure during infancy to ensure optimal development.

Are the Fathers Alright? A Systematic and Critical Review of Studies on Gay and Bisexual Fatherhood

The purpose of the present systematic and critical review was to assess the findings and to identify the gaps in the literature concerning gay and bisexual fathers. A comprehensive search of relevant literature using electronic databases and reference lists for articles published until December 2016 was conducted. A total of 63 studies, spanning from 1979 to 2016, were collected. More than half of the studies were published after 2011 and the overwhelming majority were conducted in the United States. Nine themes were identified in the studies reviewed: (1) Pathways to fatherhood; (2) Motivations for fatherhood; (3) Parenting experiences and childrearing; (4) Family life and relationship quality; (5) Gender and father identities and gender-role orientation; (6) Disclosure of sexual identity; (7) Social climate; (8) Father's psychosocial adjustment; and (9) Children's psychosocial adjustment. It was found that research on gay fatherhood appears to be more heterogeneous than on lesbian motherhood, perhaps because of the variety of pathways to parenthood (via co-parenting, adoption, fostering, or surrogacy). Two-father families are becoming more visible in research on sexual minority parenting and gradually transforming the conceptualization of parenting in family research.

A Review and Critique of Research on Same-Sex Parenting and Adoption

Are the outcomes for children of gay, lesbian, or bisexual parents in general the same as those for heterosexual parents? That controversial question is discussed here in a detailed review of the social science literature in three parts: (1) stability of same-sex parental relationships, (2) child outcomes, and (3) child outcomes in same-sex adoption. Relationship instability appears to be higher among gay and lesbian parent couples and may be a key mediating factor influencing outcomes for children. With respect to part 2, while parental self-reports usually present few significant differences, social desirability or self-presentation bias may be a confounding factor. While some researchers have tended to conclude that there are no differences whatsoever in terms of child outcomes as a function of parental sexual orientation, such conclusions appear premature in the light of more recent data in which some different outcomes have been observed in a few studies. Studies conducted within the past 10 years that compared child outcomes for children of same-sex and heterosexual adoptive parents were reviewed. Numerous methodological limitations were identified that make it very difficult to make an accurate assessment of the effect of parental sexual orientation across adoptive families. Because of sampling limitations, we still know very little about family functioning among same-sex adoptive families with low or moderate incomes, those with several children, or those with older children, including adolescents or how family functioning may change over time. There remains a need for high-quality research on same-sex families, especially families with gay fathers and with lower income.

Gender-typed behavior over time in children with lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents

The current longitudinal study examined patterns and predictors of parent-reported gender-typed play behavior in adopted boys and girls in lesbian, gay, and heterosexual 2-parent families, across early childhood (Mage = 2.82 to 6.06 years). Specifically, using a sample of 181 couples (56 lesbian couples, 48 gay male couples, and 77 heterosexual couples), we examined parent reports of children's gender-typed play behavior on the Pre-School Activities Inventory (PSAI; Golombok & Rust, 1993) at 3 time points (mean age = 2.82 years at T1, 3.93 years at T2, and 6.06 years at T3). Family structure variables (i.e., parents' gender and sexual orientation; children's gender and sibling status) were included as predictors. At T1, according to parent reports, children in lesbian-parent families had less gender-differentiated behavior (boys were less masculine, girls were less feminine) than children in heterosexual- and gay-parent families, whereas the degree of gender differentiation did not differ between heterosexual- versus gay-parent families. Findings from a Common Fate Growth Model (Ledermann & Macho, 2014) revealed that, regardless of family type, the parent-reported gender-typed behavior of boys, but not girls, significantly changed over time (i.e., boys' behavior became more masculine). Our findings have implications for researchers who study gender development in children and adolescents, particularly those who are being raised by 2 mothers or 2 fathers. (PsycINFO Database Record

Estereotipia de Gênero nas Brincadeiras de Faz de Conta de Crianças Adotadas por Casais Homoparentais

Resumo O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar a estereotipia de gênero durante os episódios de brincadeiras de faz de conta entre crianças adotadas por casais homossexuais masculinos. A estereotipia de gênero nas brincadeiras infantis vem sendo constatada em diversos contextos, discutindo-se suas determinações biológica, individual e cultural. Este é um estudo observacional do qual participaram 13 crianças entre 3 a 7 anos, em 16 sessões, em uma sala de brinquedos em um Day Care no Canadá. Foram registrados 123 episódios de brincadeiras, sendo estes categorizados pela formação de grupos (número de participantes e gênero); tipo e tema das brincadeiras; e uso de objetos. Foram encontradas diferenças significativas para todos os critérios que caracterizam as brincadeiras como estereotipada para gênero, corroborando achados de estudos entre crianças educadas por casais heterossexuais. Meninos apresentaram episódios em grupos maiores e temas que exigiam mais uso do espaço, enquanto meninas brincaram em grupos menores e com mais uso de brinquedos.

The Relationship between the Second-to-Fourth Digit Ratio and Behavioral Sexual Dimorphism in School-Aged Children

Sexually dimorphic brain development and behavior are known to be influenced by sex hormones exposure in prenatal periods. On the other hand, second-to forth digit ratio (2D/4D) has been used as an indirect method to investigate the putative effects of prenatal exposure to androgen. In the present study, we herein investigated the relationship between gender-role play behavior and the second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D/4D), which has been used as an indirect method to investigate the putative effects of prenatal exposure to androgens, in school-aged children. Among 4981 children who became 8 years old by November 2014 and were contactable for this survey by The Hokkaido Study of Environment and Children's Health, 1631 (32.7%), who had data for 2D/4D and Pre-school Activities Inventory (PSAI) as well as data for the survey at baseline, were available for analysis. Parents sent reports of PSAI on the sex-typical characteristics, preferred toys, and play activities of children, and black and white photocopies of the left and right hand palms via mail. PSAI consisted of 12 masculine items and 12 feminine items, and a composite score was created by subtracting the feminine score from the masculine score, with higher scores representing masculine-typical behavior. While composite scores in PSAI were significantly higher in boys than in girls, 2D/4D was significantly lower in boys than in girls. Although the presence or absence of brothers or sisters affected the composite, masculine, and feminine scored of PSAI, a multivariate regression model revealed that 2D/4D negatively correlated with the composite scores of PSAI in boys, whereas no correlation was found in girls. Although 2D/4D negatively correlated with the masculine score in boys and girls, no correlation was observed between 2D/4D and the feminine score. In conclusion, although social factors, such as the existence of brother or sisters, affect dimorphic brain development and behavior in childhood, the present study revealed that the prenatal hormonal environment was an important factor influencing masculine-typical dimorphic brain development and behavior in school-aged children.

L’homoparentalité et la transparentalité au prisme des sciences sociales : révolution ou pluralisation des formes de parenté ?

Compte tenu des développements rapides tant des progrès scientifiques en matière de procréation que des pratiques sociales, l’homoparentalité et la transparentalité ont cristallisé de nombreuses interrogations portant sur la parenté ainsi que sur les définitions de la paternité et de la maternité dans plusieurs disciplines. L’homoparentalité et la transparentalité remettent en question le modèle biologique et biparental (une mère et un père) dans lequel les parents ont procréé leurs enfants ou peuvent passer pour l’avoir fait, et sont au plus au nombre de deux. Au-delà des inquiétudes concernant le développement psychologique des enfants nés dans ces types de famille, auxquelles de nombreuses études en psychologie ont tenté d’apporter une réponse, les familles homoparentales et transparentales offrent de nouvelles possibilités de questionnements et réflexions – que ce soit en sociologie, anthropologie, en droit de la famille et de la filiation. En effet, ces familles rassemblent dans leur diversité des situations de désintrication de la conjugalité, la procréation, la filiation et la parenté. Cette désintrication, qui met à mal le modèle dans lequel les dimensions procréative (être né de), légale (être fils/fille de) et affective (être élevé par) sont confondues, est aujourd’hui présente également dans plusieurs autres configurations familiales, notamment les recompositions familiales, le recours à la procréation assistée avec tiers donneur ou l’adoption.

Cet article introductif sera l’occasion de rappeler ce qu’on entend par homoparentalité et transparentalité, et fera dialoguer autour des enjeux soulevés par ces thématiques des travaux issus de disciplines différentes. Une revue de la littérature rassemblera ensuite les travaux menés sur l’homoparentalité depuis les années 1990, selon trois approches principales : psychologique, socio-anthropologique et socio-juridique. Enfin, les travaux sur la transparentalité, moins nombreux et plus récents, seront regroupés dans une partie distincte. Cet article s’achèvera par une présentation des articles constituant ce numéro.

Parents' Gender Ideology and Gendered Behavior as Predictors of Children's Gender-Role Attitudes: A Longitudinal Exploration

The current study utilized longitudinal, self-report data from a sample of 109 dual-earner, working-class couples and their 6-year-old children living in the northeastern United States. Research questions addressed the roles of parents' gender ideology and gendered behaviors in predicting children's development of gender-role attitudes. It was hypothesized that parents' behavior would be more influential than their ideology in the development of their children's attitudes about gender roles. Parents responded to questionnaires assessing their global beliefs about women's and men's "rightful" roles in society, work preferences for mothers, division of household and childcare tasks, division of paid work hours, and job traditionality. These data were collected at multiple time points across the first year of parenthood, and during a 6-year follow-up. At the final time point, children completed the Sex Roles Learning Inventory (SERLI), an interactive measure that assesses gender-role attitudes. Overall, mothers' and fathers' behaviors were better predictors of children's gender-role attitudes than parents' ideology. In addition, mothers and fathers played unique roles in their sons' and daughters' acquisition of knowledge about gender stereotypes. Findings from the current study fill gaps in the literature on children's gender development in the family context-particularly by examining the understudied role of fathers in children's acquisition of knowledge regarding gender stereotypes and through its longitudinal exploration of the relationship between parents' gender ideologies, parents' gendered behaviors, and children's gender-role attitudes.

LGB-parent families: the current state of the research and directions for the future

Over the past several decades, lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) parenting has grown more visible. Alongside this enhanced visibility, research on the experiences of LGB parents and their children has proliferated. The current chapter addresses this research, focusing on several main content areas: family building by LGB people, the transition to parenthood for LGB parents, and functioning and experiences of LGB parents and their children. In the context of discussing what we know about LGB-parent families, we highlight gaps in our knowledge and point to key areas that future research should aim to answer, including how race, ethnicity, social class, and geographic factors shape the experiences of LGB-parent families.

Child Well-Being in Same-Sex Parent Families: Review of Research Prepared for American Sociological Association Amicus Brief

Recent legal cases before the Supreme Court of the United States were challenging federal definitions of marriage created by the Defense of Marriage Act and California's voter approved Proposition 8 which limited marriage to different-sex couples only. Social science literature regarding child well-being was being used within these cases, and the American Sociological Association sought to provide a concise evaluation of the literature through an amicus curiae brief. The authors were tasked in the assistance of this legal brief by reviewing literature regarding the well-being of children raised within same-sex parent families. This article includes our assessment of the literature, focusing on those studies, reviews and books published within the past decade. We conclude that there is a clear consensus in the social science literature indicating that American children living within same-sex parent households fare just, as well as those children residing within different-sex parent households over a wide array of well-being measures: academic performance, cognitive development, social development, psychological health, early sexual activity, and substance abuse. Our assessment of the literature is based on credible and methodologically sound studies that compare well-being outcomes of children residing within same-sex and different-sex parent families. Differences that exist in child well-being are largely due to socioeconomic circumstances and family stability. We discuss challenges and opportunities for new research on the well-being of children in same-sex parent families.

Adoptive gay father families: parent-child relationships and children's psychological adjustment

Findings are presented on a U.K. study of 41 gay father families, 40 lesbian mother families, and 49 heterosexual parent families with an adopted child aged 3-9 years. Standardized interview and observational and questionnaire measures of parental well-being, quality of parent-child relationships, child adjustment, and child sex-typed behavior were administered to parents, children, and teachers. The findings indicated more positive parental well-being and parenting in gay father families compared to heterosexual parent families. Child externalizing problems were greater among children in heterosexual families. Family process variables, particularly parenting stress, rather than family type were found to be predictive of child externalizing problems. The findings contribute to theoretical understanding of the role of parental gender and parental sexual orientation in child development.

Adoption: biological and social processes linked to adaptation

Children join adoptive families through domestic adoption from the public child welfare system, infant adoption through private agencies, and international adoption. Each pathway presents distinctive developmental opportunities and challenges. Adopted children are at higher risk than the general population for problems with adaptation, especially externalizing, internalizing, and attention problems. This review moves beyond the field's emphasis on adoptee-nonadoptee differences to highlight biological and social processes that affect adaptation of adoptees across time. The experience of stress, whether prenatal, postnatal/preadoption, or during the adoption transition, can have significant impacts on the developing neuroendocrine system. These effects can contribute to problems with physical growth, brain development, and sleep, activating cascading effects on social, emotional, and cognitive development. Family processes involving contact between adoptive and birth family members, co-parenting in gay and lesbian adoptive families, and racial socialization in transracially adoptive families affect social development of adopted children into adulthood.