John P. Hill

The Intensification of Gender-Related Role Expectations during Early Adolescence

It has been argued that there is an acceleration of gender-differential socialization during adolescence, perhaps at the onset of puberty or shortly after, and perhaps especially for girls. New domains may become the object of gender-differential socialization pressure and demands for conformity may increase in domains previously subject to such pressure. We shall refer to this argument as the Gender-Intensification Hypothesis. The hypothesis frequently is invoked to explain observed behavioral differences between adolescent boys and girls. Here we shall review information bearing upon the hypothesis and suggest some new points of departure for research related to it and to the study of gender-differential socialization during adolescence in general. We begin by considering some forms in which the hypothesis appears and then turn to our review and to its implications.

Early Adolescents' Significant Others: Grade and Gender Differences in Perceived Relationships with Familial and Nonfamilial Adults and Young People.

In order to provide a fuller and more satisfying description of the significant others in the social world of an adolescent, the Social Relations Questionnaire was developed and then administered to almost 3000 seventh-through tenth-graders in a midwestern suburban school district. The sample was randomly split in half and analyses were run on both halves separately to test for replicability. Results indicated that parents and siblings are almost always listed as significant others by adolescents in all four grade levels. Furthermore, the majority of adolescents listed at least one extended family adult and at least one nonrelated adult as important in their lives. The nonrelated adults lived closer to the adolescents and were seen more frequently and in more contexts than extended family members. Fewer extended family adults were listed in the older grades. Females listed more significant others than males both overall and in terms of both same- and opposite-sex nonrelated young people. As hypothesize, an increasing number of opposite-sex young people was listed as a function of grade level. Most nonrelated young people listed (a loose definition of peers) were from the same grade, same school, and same neighborhood as the respondent. The authors conclude that age-segregation in this community is not extreme (over 40% of the significant others listed were adults) and that the Social Relations Questionnaire provides a useful and holistic description of an adolescents social world.

Menarcheal Status and Parent-Child Relations in Families of Seventh-Grade Girls.

The associations between menarcheal status and several child-rearing and outcome variables were examined for mother-daughter and father-daughter dyads. All variables were assessed with questionnaires as an extension of earlier observational studies. Analyses were conducted via multiple regression analyses wherein menarcheal status was treated as a continuous variable and was entered into the regression equation as a set of power polynomial terms. The results indicated that most of the significant relations occurred for the mother-daughter dyad, and most of these relations were curvilinear. When menarche occurs at or around the modal time, changes in parent-child relations may be best thought of as temporary perturbations, but when menarche occurs early the effects may persist.

Pubertal Status and Parent-Child Relations in Families of Seventh-Grade Boys:

Associations between global ratings of pubertal status and several child-rearing and outcome variables were examined for mother-son and father-son dyads. All variables were assessed with questionnaires in an attempt to confirm and demonstrate the robustness across methods of earlier observational studies. In anticipation of curvilinear effects, multiple regression analyses, wherein pubertal status is treated as a continuous variable and is entered into the regression equations as a set of power polynomial terms, were employed. Significant relations between pubertal status and outcome variables were found for the mother-son (but not for the father-son) dyad and most relations were quadratic. These results are similar to those of earlier observational studies in that temporary perturbations occur in mother-son relations at or near the peak of pubertal growth. No statistically significant effects of socioeconomic status upon relations between pubertal status and the family interaction variables were found.

Storm and stress beliefs about adolescence: Prevalence, self-reported antecedents, and effects of an undergraduate course

The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence and self-reported developmental antecedents of beliefs in storm and stress notions about adolescence, and to investigate the effects on such beliefs of an undergraduate course on adolescent development. Subjects were 192 college students who were enrolled in a course entitled “Psychology of Adolescence” at a large urban university. The questionnaire, which was administered at the beginning and end of the course, contained a storm and stress scale, items tapping the nature of parent-adolescent arguments, Dusek and Flahertys (1981) Self-Concept Scale, and several demographic questions. Results suggested that beliefs in storm and stress notions are quite prevalent, arguments between parents and adolescents are believed to occur quite frequently, and females endorse storm and stress beliefs more readily than do males. Moreover, subjects tended to endorse storm and stress notions more readily if they viewed themselves as being less adjusted during their own adolescence and if they reported more adjustment instability. After a course on adolescent development, the tendency to report that the typical adolescent experiences storm and stress decreased, and this decrease was more pronounced for those receiving higher grades in the course.

Distinguishing between Perceived Closeness and Parental Warmth in Families with Seventh-Grade Boys and Girls

The distinction between perceived closeness and parental warmth was explored by examining the relations between closeness and warmth and selected parent-reported and child-reported characteristics in 200 seventh-grade boys and girls and their parents. Results revealed that children perceived greater closeness with their mothers than with their fathers and that mothers perceived greater closeness with their children than did fathers. No differences were found in patterns of parental warmth. Conceived as a specific facet of warmth, closeness was found to be positively related to parent-reported measures of satisfaction with parenting and childrens participation in family activities and to child-reported measures of self-esteem and expressiveness but not instrumentality. Parental warmth predicted little additional variance in satisfaction or participation, but it predicted a significant proportion of the variance in self-esteem and instrumentality above and beyond that predicted by closeness.

The Influence of Older Adolescents on Younger Adolescents: Do Grade-Level Arrangements Make a Difference in Behaviors, Attitudes, and Experiences?

In considering the issue of different grade-level arrangements for early adolescents, many scholars have chosen to look only at the degree of similarity of developmental characteristics between different grade levels and have not empirically examined the consequences of combining them. Using MANOVA on almost 3,000 seventh through ninth grade students in a suburban school district as it changed from a 6-3-3 to a 6-2-2-2 structure, we explored the influence of older students on younger students at each grade level in terms of participation, substance use, perceptions of the school environment, victimization, dating/sexual behavior, and self-evaluations. Results indicated that the presence of older students does affect the attitudes, behaviors, and experiences of younger students, particularly their perceptions of the school environment, participation, and substance use. The effects were stronger for ninth graders placed with tenth graders than for seventh and eighth graders placed with ninth

Maternal Employment and Parent-Child Relations in Families of Seventh Graders

The purpose of this study was to describe the effects of maternal employment status and maternal satisfaction with employment status on closeness between parents and their seventh-grade children. Effects on family activities and family rules were studied with consideration given to their possible mediating influences on closeness. Results revealed that sons reported greater closeness with fathers when mothers were employed and daughters reported greater closeness with parents when mothers were not employed or were employed part time. Mothers reported greater closeness to sons when they were employed, but reported greater closeness to daughters when they were not employed or were employed part time. Fathers reported no differences in closeness to either sons or daughters regardless of maternal employment status. Maternal employment status had no effects on activities or rules. Maternal satisfaction with employment status had little effect on closeness and had no effect on activities or rules.

Grade Level Arrangements— What Are the Differences?

How does changing the grade level patterns in a school district affect the students involved? These writers studied one district where such changes were made. Their findings provide some answers.