Beverly I. Fagot

Consequences of Moderate Cross-Gender Behavior in Preschool Children.

FAGOT, BEVERLY I. Consequences of Moderate Cross-Gender Behavior in Preschool Children. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1977, 48, 902-907. The reactions of peers and teachers to sex-typed behaviors of 106 boys and 101 girls in preschool classrooms were examined. Boys received significantly more peer and teacher criticism for engaging in stereotypic feminine behaviors, but more favorable reactions when engaging in task behaviors. Girls received more teacher criticism when they played in role activities with groups of boys. Boys who showed cross-gender preferences were given significantly more peer criticism and fewer positive reactions. Girls with cross-gender preferences did not receive differential peer reaction.

Chronic stress and coping styles: a comparison of male and female undergraduates.

Male and female coping behaviors were compared in order to test the theory that men use instrumental coping strategies more frequently than women, who are thought to use emotion-focused coping solutions. We interviewed 51 female and 39 male first-year undergraduates by telephone three times a week for 8 weeks, using an inventory developed for 28 chronic stressors. Analyses of variance were used to test gender differences in frequency of daily stressors, concomitant perceptions of stress, and utilization of problem-solving behaviors. The majority of analyses showed no gender differences. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of cultural expectations.

Becoming an adolescent father: Precursors and parenting.

Precursors and outcomes of adolescent pregnancy receive considerable research attention; however, most studies deal with adolescent mothers. This study examined whether risk factors that are precursors to adolescent fatherhood would be consistent with the family coercion model (G. R. Patterson, 1976) of the development of antisocial behavior in childhood. Hypotheses were tested in the Oregon Youth Study (OYS) sample of 206 at-risk boys who were first seen at 9 or 10 years of age. At 18-20 years of age, the profiles for the 35 adolescent fathers included more arrests and substance use than the other OYS participants. At around 2 years of age, 40% of the children had no contact with their fathers. The children, compared with a normative control sample, had somewhat greater health risks. The at-risk parents, compared with a control sample, were observed to show higher levels of negative reactions when their children were working on a puzzle task.

Coercive family processes: A replication and extension of Patterson’s coercion model

Patterson hypothesized that aggressive behavior develops in families when parents use coercion as the primary mode for controlling their children. The model has been tested with boys and older children. In this paper, through confirmatory factor analysis, we examine how well the coercion model generalizes to 5-year-old children (boys and girls). Our results suggest that the model fits the data similarly for boys and girls. Few sex differences in child antisocial behavior were found on observed or parent-rated measures, nor were differences found in observed parent aversive responses to child behavior. This implies that similar coercion processes apply to both boys and girls. Aggr. Behav. 27:14–25, 2001.

Teacher and Peer Reactions to Boys' and Girls' Play Styles.

Seventy children (35 boys and 35 girls) aged 24 to 30 months were observed in play groups consisting of 12–15 2- and 3-year-old children and two teachers. The social interaction was coded using an observation schedule which allowed for coding the childrens behaviors and reactions to that behavior by others in the environment. The behavior scores were factor analyzed, using the complete sample of 180 children with six factors (play styles) resulting. Children who were high and low on each factor were examined to see if play style influenced the type of social reaction received. Children who preferred to work at tasks quietly received positive teacher feedback, but there was no change in peer interaction; children who engaged in active motor play received positive peer feedback, but negative teacher reactions. Children who were passive received less peer reaction and played alone significantly more than other children. Sex differences in reactions did not appear except when the child was engaged in male- and female-typical behaviors when examining scores on one factor only. When combinations of factors are examined (e.g., activity level and task performance), then different patterns of responses start to appear for boys and girls. The implications for differing patterns of social reactions to different play styles are discussed.

Teacher Ratings of Externalizing Behavior at School Entry for Boys and Girls: Similar Early Predictors and Different Correlates

In a test of Pattersons Coercion Theory with young children, 156 children (82 boys and 74 girls) were studied to assess the extent to which parenting and child variables, assessed at 18 months, would predict teacher ratings of externalizing child behaviors at age 5. Child playgroup behavior, parent coercion during home observations, and marital status each emerged as predictors, whereas child temperament, attachment classification, and gender did not. At age 5, the correlates of externalizing behaviors differed for boys and girls. Boys rated higher on externalizing behaviors by the teachers presented many problems in the home and school, whereas externalizing girls did not. In fact, girls rated higher on externalizing behaviors performed better on an intelligence test, yet the girls perceived themselves as less competent.

Attachment, parenting, and peer interactions of toddler children

The relation of parenting variables and attachment classification to peer relations was studied for 156 families with toddler children. Children were observed at 18 months of age in the home with their parents and from 18 to 24 months of age in peer playgroups. Playgroup teachers rated the childrens ability to get along with their peers. Also when children were 18 months, they were assessed with their mothers in the Strange Situation, and an attachment classification was made. There were significant differences in peer reactions to children of different attachment classifications. Insecure-resistant children received fewer positive reactions to their positive behaviors, and both resistant and avoidant children received more negative reactions to their positive behaviors. Hierarchical regressions were computed to examine the contribution of observed parent-child interactions and the attachment classification to peer interactions.

Changes in attachment during the third year: Consequences and predictions

Crittenden has proposed a system for classifying attachment during the preschool years. Ninety-six boys and girls were tested in the Strange Situation at 18 months and 30 months of age. Eighteen-month-olds were coded using the Ainsworth coding system, and the 30-month-olds were coded using Crittendens preschool attachment coding system. When children changed classification categories, it was not random movement but was in accordance with Crittendens predictions of reorganization of the childs capacities. Mothers and children were also observed in the home at 18 and 30 months of age, and children were observed in playgroups from 18 to 30 months of age. The children were rated by their teachers on problem behaviors and peer relations and given achievement tests at age 7 years. Parenting of the children and child behaviors at 30 months differed by attachment classification and predicted both childrens performance on achievement tests and teacher reports of childrens behavior at 7 years. The findings are discussed in terms of reorganization of working models of attachment on the basis of changing child competencies.

Are People's Notions of Maleness More Stereotypically Framed than Their Notions of Femaleness?.

In the present research, 400 undergraduates were asked to describe their various construals of the male and female stereotypes using a modified form of the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ; Spence, Helmreich, & Stapp, 1974). Half of these subjects described their construals in terms of personality trait-adjectives and half described their construals in terms of appearance trait-adjectives. One-fourth of each subject pool were females describing males, one-fourth were females describing females, one-fourth were males describing females, and one-fourth were males describing males. All construals were scored such that each was depicted by a single score of stereotypicality ranging from nonstereotypic to extremely stereotypic. The scores from the various construals of the male and female stereotypes were averaged within subject and target groups, and the group means were compared for significant patterns of difference. Regardless of whether the subjects described the stereotypes in terms of personality trait-adjectives or in terms of appearence trait-adjectives, construals of maleness were framed more stereotypically than were construals of femaleness. In addition, construals of maleness were framed in particularly more stereotypic terms by females when the descriptions were phrased in terms of appearance trait-adjectives. Finally, the social construal of the male stereotype (“How does society view males?”) was more stereotypically framed by females using both personality and appearance adjectives, while the ideal construal male stereotype (“Describe your ideal male”) was more stereotypically framed by males using both personality and appearance adjectives.

Acquisition of Gender Labels: A Test for Toddlers.

A test of gender discrimination in response to familiar labels was developed and given to 17- to 42-month-old children. A pretest employing pictures of familiar objects was presented first to ensure that subjects could perform a discrimination task, followed by separate gender tests comprised of photographs of stereotypically masculine and feminine children and adults. There were no sex differences in performance for the gender tests, but among the youngest children, more boys than girls could not be tested. Psychometric aspects of the tests were investigated and found adequate. The tests allow individual children to be classified as to gender-labeling ability and provide a useful tool for investigating gender knowledge.