Revisiting gendered parenting of adolescents: understanding its effects on psychosocial development

Abstract

Introduction: Today’s adolescents are growing up in a unique sociocultural climate in which gender issues are highly prominent. Alongside new ways of understanding gender identity, there are persistent gender disparities in social, health and mental health outcomes despite increasingly egalitarian views and a significant public focus on sexual assault and gender-based violence. Given gender-differentiated outcomes emerge during adolescence, it is critical to revisit factors influencing adolescent gender development. It has been argued that gendered parenting, reflected in differences in parenting attitudes and behaviors directed towards boys and girls, influences gender development. While numerous studies have examined gendered parenting with children, there has been no previous synthesis of gendered parenting of adolescents. Method: The current narrative review presents an overview of research into gendered parenting of adolescents, including parental modelling, gendered environments, and specific parenting practices, and draws together the available research on how it impacts adolescents. Gendered parenting is also examined in the context of LGBTQI + and gender non-conforming adolescents. Results: There is limited research investigating the presence of gendered parenting of adolescents, and even less assessing its impact on adolescent psychosocial outcomes. The available literature suggests that there may be effects of gendered parenting on adolescents, particularly on their gender role attitudes and gender-typed behaviors. Conclusions: Future work is needed to better understand how gendered parenting of adolescents manifests in the family home. In addition, research is needed to examine the longitudinal impact of gendered parenting, particularly within non-traditional families, and across a range of sociocultural contexts.

A neurocognitive approach to studying processes underlying parents’ gender socialization

“…Parents can employ several types of gender socialization. First, parents can (unintentionally) create gender-specific environments for children through the provision of activities, chores, books, toys, resources, or opportunities (i.e., channeling or shaping; Blakemore et al, 2008 ; Dittman et al, 2022 ). Second, parents may use different parenting practices with their sons and daughters, which is known as gender-differentiated parenting ( Endendijk et al, 2016 ).…”

Effets identitaires de la socialisation différentielle de genre sur les aspirations au premier enfant et au mariage des jeunes adolescent(e)s à Ouagadougou: une étude mixte

“…Dans toutes les sociétés, les jeunes grandissent dans un contexte marqué par des inégalités de genre. 13 Sous l’influence de divers facteurs tels que leur environnement familial, leurs pairs, l’éducation qu’ils reçoivent à l’école et les médias, 12 , 14 les stéréotypes de genre qu’ils internalisent contribuent à la formation d’identités sexuées distinctes. Ces identités sont souvent en accord avec les normes sociales traditionnelles concernant la masculinité et la féminité, ce qui influe sur leurs aspirations et leurs comportements en fonction de leur sexe.…”

“…Ces attentes influencent fortement leurs aspirations futures et leur bien-être. 13 , 32 Alors que la santé sexuelle et reproductive des adolescent(e)s est largement étudiée, 3 , 32–35 peu de recherches en Afrique francophone intègrent une réflexion sur les normes de genre. L’interaction entre ces normes acquises lors de la socialisation et leur influence sur les comportements sexuels et reproductifs à l’adolescence et à l’âge adulte reste peu explorée.…”

“…In all societies, young people grow up in a context marked by gender inequalities. 13 Influenced by various factors such as their family environment, peers, school education, and the media, 12 , 14 the gender stereotypes they internalise contribute to the formation of distinct gendered identities. These identities often align with traditional social norms about masculinity and femininity, affecting their aspirations and behaviours based on their gender.…”

“…These expectations heavily influence their future aspirations and well-being. 13 , 32 While the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents has been extensively studied, 3 , 32–35 few pieces of research in francophone Africa incorporate a reflection on gender norms. The interaction between these norms acquired during socialisation and their influence on sexual and reproductive behaviours in adolescence and adulthood remains under-explored.…”