Parents' differential socialization of boys and girls: A meta-analysis.

Abstract

A meta-analysis of 172 studies attempted to resolve the conflict between previous narrative reviews on whether parents make systematic differences in their rearing of boys and girls. Most effect sizes were found to be nonsignificant and small. In North American studies, the only socialization area of 19 to display a significant effect for both parents is encouragement of sex-typed activities. In other Western countries, physical punishment is applied significantly more to boys. Fathers tend to differentiate more than mothers between boys and girls. Over all socialization areas, effect size is not related to sample size or year of publication. Effect size decreases with child's age and increases with higher quality. No grouping by any of these variables changes a nonsignificant effect to a significant effect. Because little differential socialization for social behavior or abilities can be found, other factors that may explain the genesis of documented sex differences are discussed.

Gender differences in physical aggression: A prospective population-based survey of children before and after 2 years of age.

“…A widely held view is that gender differences emerge sometime after two years of age due to gender-differentiated socialization pressures, whereby caregivers discourage aggressive behavior in girls for whom it is judged especially undesirable (Keenan & Shaw, 1997). However, there is considerable controversy as to whether such gender-differentiated socialization practices occur--and to what extent--relative to aggressive behavior (e.g., Lytton & Romney, 1991).…”

Sex differences in math performance: The role of children's approach to schoolwork.

“…Although the research is not entirely consistent (see Lytton & Romney, 1991), there is evidence indicating that parents more closely monitor girls' progress than that of boys, correct girls' mistakes more than those of boys, and make decisions for girls more than they do for boys (e.g., Bumpus, Crouter, & McHale, 2001;Pomerantz & Ruble, 1998b; for a review, see Higgins, 1991). Parents also see girls' performance in math as due to their effort but see boys' performance in this area as due to their abilities (Eccles, Jacobs, & Harold, 1990).…”

The Early Development of Gender Differences

“…However, evidence to date about differential treatment of infant boys and girls has come largely from Western societies and yielded mixed results. The body of findings does not present a strong case for the effect of infant sex or gender label per se on parental treatment, particularly in younger infants (Biringen et al 1999, Lytton & Romney 1991, Robinson et al 1993, Stern & Karraker 1989. In American infants, individual variations in infant temperament are also almost entirely explicable by genetic variation (Goldsmith et al 1999), and the presence of analogous sex differences in nonhuman primates (Alexander & Hines 2002, Hassett et al 2008, Herman et al 2003) probably argues against a major role of socialization.…”