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This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

PARENTAL SEX-TYPING AND ITS
RELATION TO

CHILD POPULARITY AND FRIENDSHIP PATTERNS
presented by

NANCY JEANNE EGAN

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

We; degree in Jimmhology

M\ajor professor

Dateiz- 20“ lg}?

0-7639

 

PARENTAL SEX—TYPING AND ITS RELATION TO
CHILD POPULARITY AND FRIENDSHIP PATTERNS

By

Nancy Jeanne Egan

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Psychology
1978

ABSTRACT

PARENTAL SEX-TYPING AND ITS RELATION TO
CHILD POPULARITY AND FRIENDSHIP PATTERNS
By

Nancy Jeanne Egan

This study investigated the relation between parental
sex-typing and childrens' popularity and percentage of
cross-sex friendship choices. On the basis of research
involving Bem's concept of psychological androgyny and
traits associated with child pOpularity, it was hypothe-
sized that high parental androgyny would be associated
with high child popularity and high cross-sex choice.

The participants were 243 third, fourth, and fifth
grade children and their parents. The Bem Sex Role Inven-
tory was used to assess parental sex—typing, yielding a
Masculinity, a Femininity, and an Androgyny Difference
score for each parent. Child popularity and cross-sex
choice was measured with a sociometric technique.

Three significant interactions appeared; however,
support for the hypotheses was minimal. Mothers' Andro-
gyny was associated with: high and medium pepularity for

fifth graders, high and low percentage of cross-sex choice

Nancy Jeanne Egan

for girls, and a medium percentage for boys. Fathers'
Femininity was associated with high cross-sex choice for
girls and medium for boys.

Results for pOpularity were interpreted as reflect-
ing develOpmental change in peer-culture values regarding
sex-typed traits. To explain results for the variable of
cross-sex choice a hypothesis considering parent-child
gender and trait similarity was posited. Various alter-
native explanations, methodological criticisms, and sugges-
tions for future research concerning androgyny and pOpu-

larity were also discussed.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my sincere appreciation to
all those Who have assisted me in this research. A
special expression of gratitude goes to Dr. Lucy Rau
Ferguson, chairperson of my committee. Her encouragement,
guidance, and criticisms were invaluable in all phases of
this project, from its inception to completion of the
manuscript. Gratitude is also extended to Dr. Lawrence
Messe for his patient and extremely helpful assistance
on design and analysis. Dr. Jeanne Gullahorn and Dr.
Martha Karson derserve my thanks for their reading of the
thesis and willingness to participate.

I am also grateful to Mr. Bruce Feche, Superintendent
of Schools of the Diocese of Lansing, for permitting the
involvement of the following schools: Holy Cross, Immac-
ulate Heart of Mary, Resurrection, St. Gerard, and St.
Therese. The principals, teachers, and parents of these
schools, along with those from St. Gregory in Chicago,
deserve my appreciation for their time and cooperation.
The children who participated also have my thanks. Their
enthusiastic responses helped make this task a more enjoy-

able and rewarding one.

ii

And some special peOple: Wendy Fielder, David Kahler,
Pat Ponto, and Imogen Bowers have my heartfelt apprecia-
tion. They each provided a unique brand of support, en-
couragement, and acceptance that has been very important
in helping me to both challenge myself and maintain my
personal sense of perspective. I especially thank them
for certain conversations, embraces, and the background

music of caring.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .‘

LIST OF APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . .

Measurement of Peer Adjustment . .

Measurement of Parental Gender
Role Orientation . . . . . . .

Hypotheses . . . . . . . . . . . .

II I NIETHOD I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

SUbjeCtS I I I I I I I I I
The Pilot Study . .'. . . .
Materials and Procedures . .
scoring I I I I I I I I I I
The Sociometric Measure .
The Bem Sex Role Inventory

III I RESULTS I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . .

Hypotheses . . . . .
Significant Results for the
Parent Variables . . .

l) Mothers' Androgyny Differ-
ence Score . . . . . . .
2) Fathers' Femininity — Sex x
Grade x Cross-Sex Choice
Interaction . . . . . .
Relevance of the Significant Find-
ings to the Hypotheses . . . .
l) Hypothesis of Composite
POpularity . . .
2) Hypothesis of Percentage of
Cross- Sex Friendship
ChOice I I I I I I I I I

iv

Page
vi

viii

23
25
25

26

Page

Chapter
IV. DISCUSSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
The Parent Variables . . . . . . 30
The Child Variables . . . . . 32
Results Related to Percentage of
Cross- Sex Friendship Choice. . 40
Mothers' Androgyny in Rela-
tion to Cross-Sex Choice. . 42
Fathers' Femininity in Rela-
tion to Cross-Sex Choice. . 45
Methodological Criticisms and
Implications for Future
ReseaI‘Ch o I I o o o o o o o a 1+7
V. REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
VI I APPENDICES I I I I I I I I I I I I I 56

Table
l.

E-l.
through
E-6.
E-l.
E-2.
E-3.
E-A.
E-5.
E-6.

LIST OF TABLES

Mean scores of mothers and fathers
on each parent variable . . . .

Means of the Mothers' Androgyny
Difference scores for each
grade and popularity level . .

Means of the Mothers' Androgyny
Difference scores for each sex
and percentage of cross-sex
choice level . . . . . . . . .

Means of Fathers' Femininity
scores for each sex, grade, and

percentage of cross-sex choice
goup I I I I I I I I I I I I I

Analyses Relating to Composite
POpularity . . . . . . . . . . . .

Mothers' Femininity . . . . . . .
Mothers' Masculinity . . . . . . .
Mothers' Androgyny . . . . . . . .
Fathers' Femininity . . . . . . .

Fathers' Masculinity

Fathers' Androgyny .

vi

Page

17

20

22

23

64
6M
64
65
65
66
66

E-9 o
E‘lo o
E-ll.

E-lz o

Page

Analyses Relating to Percentage

of Cross-Sex Choice . . . . . 67
Mothers' Femininity . . . . . . 67
Mothers' Masculinity . . . . . . 67
Mothers' Androgyny . . . . . . . 68
Fathers' Femininity . . . . . . 68
Fathers' Masculinity . . . . . . 69
Fathers' Androgyny . . . . . . . 69
Frequency and number of times

boys and girls were chosen

for each composite popular—

ity group I I I I I I I I I I 72
Frequency and number of choices

made by boys and girls in

each percentage of cross-sex

choice group . . . . . . . . 73

vii

LIST OF APPENDICES

APPENDIX Page
A Letter to Parents . . . . . . . . 56
B Bem Sex Role Inventory . . . . . 58
C Scoring Key for Bem Sex Role

Inventory I I I I I I I I I I 60
D Childrens' Sociometric Question

Forms I I I I I I I I I I I I 61
E Summary Tables of Analyses of

Variance . . . . . . . . . . . 64
F Distribution Information for Each

Variable . . . . . . . . . . . 70
G Cut—Off Points and Frequencies

for the Child Variables . . . 72

viii

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

Although there are several competing theories to
explain gender role deveIOpment in children, the impor-
tance of the parents in this process is recognized by all
of the major theorists (Bandura & Huston, I961; Freud,
1933/1965; Kohlberg, 1966). These theories, however,
are primarily concerned with the dynamics and mechanisms
involved in gender role acquisition; they do not address
the issue of the amount of parental gender role differ-
entiation that is likely to foster good emotional adjust-
ment in the child. Research in this area has generally
dealt with variables such as power, dominance, and marital
satisfaction as related to adjustment level of the child,
but there has been considerably less assessment of par—
ental gender role orientation, per se.

%% McCandless (1967), in summarizing research conducted
in the '60's,[§oncluded that father dominated as opposed
to mother dominated families are more likely to have better
adjusted childrengj Westley and Epstein (l969),[gn a study
of emotionally healthy and disturbed adolescents found that
the children most likely to be emotionally healthy came
from families that were father-led and had a division of

labor along sex-apprOpriate lines with some responsibilities

2
shared between the mother and father. In this same study
families in which traditional gender role responsibili-
ties were reversed or rigidly adhered to without mutuality
evidenced a higher percentage of disturbed children than
families with more flexible role differentiation:]

It appears to be a fairly consistent finding that
various types of maternal ascendancy, e.g., authoritar-
ianism, social power, or dominance, are related to a wide
range of emotional disturbances in the child.l:Farina
(1960) found that schizOphrenics were more likely to have
mother dominated homes than were normals, and that within
the schiZOphrenic group thisfipattern of gender role rever-
sal was positively correlated with severity of the disorder:]
A similar relationship was found in cases of nonpsychotic
disturbances as well.[Alkire (1972) contrasted the social
power and role structure of families of disturbed and non—
disturbed preadolescents and concluded that the disturbed
children were more likely to have authoritarian, powerful
mothers than were the nondisturbed children who were more
often members of father dominated families:]

The studies of dominance, authoritarianism, and fam-
ily division of labor do not, however, directly assess
the gender role rigidity and orientation of the parents.
Also, there has been more emphasis on "pathological" vs.
"normal" patterns than on the various gender role patterns
Operating within the normal pOpulation. The role patterns

associated with the Optimally adjusted child is another

area worth investigating.

If one were to generalize from the previous research
on the gender role orientations of disturbed families it
would seem that traditionally sex-typed parents would have
the best adjusted children. However, such a generaliza-
tion may be misleading for several reasons: I) the mater—
nal dominance which is evidenced in disturbed families
may be qualitatively different from a similar pattern in
a normal family, i.e., the function and deveIOpment of
female ascendancy may be influenced by entirely differ-
ent variables; 2) previous research has polarized the mas-
culine and feminine role orientations such that more of
a feminine trait meant less of a masculine one. There is
no place for the individual who is "psychologically andro-
gynous" (Bem, I97”); 3) more flexible gender role defini—
tions may be better accepted in the parent age pOpulation
than when the cited research was conducted. Unconvention-
ally sex-typed family environments may no longer be the
outgrowth of "deviant" influences.

The focus of the present research is the gender role
orientations and patterns of the parents of school child-
ren as they relate to the child's social peer-group adjust-
ment and patterns of friendship. I hypothesized that the
socially better adjusted children would have parents who
are more flexible in gender role than children who were
less pOpular with their peer group. If flexibility in

gender role behavior means that the individual can exhibit

A,

"masculine" or "feminine" behavior depending on the sit—
uation, and if we assume that the parent is a'model that
displays this adaptive style for the child, the research
on peer group popularity appears to offer some support
for the hypothesis. The personality characteristics
associated with pOpularity during early and middle child-
hood include traits that reflect an integration of the
best of masculine and feminine behaviors: sensitivity

to the needs of others, moderate conformity, willingness
to give and receive the overtures of others, friendliness,
the absence of inappropriate dependency or aggression
(Campbell & Yarrow, 1961; Moore, 1967; Mussen, 1973).

This description of the "popular child" parallels the type
of individual that Sandra Bem considers to be androgynous:
"people whose sex role adaptability enables them to en-
gage in situationally effective behavior without regard

for its stereotype as masculine of feminine" (Bem, 1975,
p. 643).
Measurement of Peer Adjustment

Social acceptability or pOpularity in children gen-
erally has been measured using some variation of the
sociometric technique, originally deveIOped by Moreno
(1934), in which children choose classmates they prefer
for a given activity. Gronlund_(l959) notes that a great
deal of research in the area of pOpularity and social
adjustment uses "near sociometric" approaches such as

asking the question "whom do you like best?" Although

5

these questions can provide valuable information they lack
the clear—cut criteria of choice and implied action that
distinguishes the sociometric technique: furthermore, the
high reliability and validity that characterizes a well-
constructed sociometric test cannot be generalized to
these approaches without independent empirical investiga-
tion. A recent study by Gottman (1975) offers some evi-
dence for the comparability of actual and "near sociometric"
techniques. They piloted several phrasings and concluded
that asking children to name their best friends loaded as
highly on the factor of friendship as the sociometric form
of the question asking for playtime choices.

However, even if a true sociometric measure is used
to assess social acceptability with peers, the limitations
of the results must still be specified. On an individual
basis a high sociometric score does not necessarily imply
leadership ability or high personal adjustment, and con-
versely, low sociometric status may reflect characteristics
that have little to do with emotional health, e.g., minor-
ity membership or highly individualistic needs and inter-
ests. Also, sociometric status is representative of the
individual's place in the present, internal social structure
and depending on the criteria, number of choices, and group
composition, this status may or may not reflect a more
broadly conceived "social acceptability" factor.

Previous research in sociometry offers concrete guide-

lines for the construction of a sociometric test that

6

assesses the broader, more stable dimension of social
acceptability rather than fleeting, situation-specific
pOpularity. Gronlund (1959) reports that the choice sit-
uation should ideally be one that the person is familiar
with, will actually occur, and is concrete but not overly
specific, e.g., "Whom would you like to work on a class
project with?" is preferable to "Whom would you like to
be stranded on a desert island with?" The value of using
negative criteria to increase score discrimination has
been shown to be minimal: its use has sometimes resulted
in increased group resentment as well as heightened indiv—
iduals' feelings of rejection. If the identification of
actively rejected children is necessary, the choice sit-
uation should be set up to allow for but not require re-
jection (Northway, 1952).

The number and weighting of sociometric choices have
also received considerable experimental attention. The
most stable results are obtained when five choices are
made, although there is no experimental evidence to jus-
tify any particular system of assigning differential
weights to the choices (Gronlund, 1955). Children as
young as those in the third grade are able to make five
choices without difficulty using the simple choice method.
Although there are more complex methods of response record-
ing thought to yield more stable results, e.g., ranking or
paired comparison, when five choices are allowed the simple

choice method correlates highly with these more complex

7
and time-consuming approaches (Eng & French, 1948).

Reliability of results can be further increased by
using multiple criteria and calculating a composite score.
Moreno (1953) points out the desirability of using supple-
mentary techniques including teacher observations, inter-
views, and "near sociometric" methods such as the "guess
who" technique developed by Hartshorne, May, and Maller
(1929). The high consistency and stability of an indivi—
dual's sociometric status over differing situations, groups,
and methods that is generally reported offers persuasive
evidence for a general social acceptability factor. How-
ever, the satisfactory reliability and consistency of this
factor does not entirely eliminate the necessity of examin-
ing the validity of sociometric measures of "social accep—
tability." The results of sociometric measurement are cor-
related with but not identical to actual behavior or teachers'
judgments of popularity. These moderately high correlations
offer support for the uniqueness and validity of sociometry
as a technique that is tapping internal, desired social re-
lations instead of of offering a duplicate measure of overt
behavior. Although observational techniques are valuable
in assessing peer acceptability, a child's companions may
reflect constraints on free association such as residential
proximity, ability groupings, or minority group social seg-
regation.

The results of adult ratings and self-report measures

of personal adjustment are also significantly related to

8
sociometric measures of adjustment. In general, it is the
total adjustment pattern rather than specific traits or
responses that differentiate highly chosen pupils from
those who are infrequently chosen (Gronlund, 1959;
Grossman & Wrighter, 1948).

The research reviewed above indicates that the socio-
metric technique is a reliable and valid approach for the
purpose of this study of social acceptability among peers
as it is related to parental sex-typing. The research in
sociometry consistently and emphatically points out the
need for careful construction of the instrument and offers
concrete suggestions for administration, scoring, and inter-
pretation. Guided by these results, the sociometric measure
used in the present study included both sociometric ques-
tions and a "near sociometric" question. The sociometric
questions asked for five choices and the "near sociometric"
question left number of choices unspecified. As expected,
the two measures were highly correlated and therefore, a com-
posite score was calculated and used as the measure of each
child's pOpularity.

Measurement of Parental Gender Role Orientation

In order to determine the relationship of childrens'

 

popularity to parental androgyny a measure of parental
gender role orientation was needed. The most reasonable
instrument for this purpose is the Bem Sex Role Inventory
(BSRI). This instrument treats masculinity and femininity

as two independent dimensions, thereby making it possible

9
to characterize a person as masculine, feminine, or
"androgynous" depending on the difference between the
endorsement of masculine and feminine personality char—
acteristics (Bem, 1974). A person's androgyny score was
originally defined by Bem as the Student's t_ratio for the
difference between his or her endorsement of masculine and
feminine traits. The Masculinity and Femininity Scales of
the BSRI are both empirically and logically independent
(average Q = —.O3); also, the Androgyny Score itself is
reliable over a 4-week interval (average 2 = .93), inter-
nally consistent (average‘3= .86), and uncorrelated with
the tendency to describe oneself in a socially desirable
way (average 3,: -.O6). Bem classified an individual as
androgynous if the 3 score fell between -1 and +1, and as
sex-typed if the androgyny 3 ratio reached statistical sig—
nificance. Although the deve10pment and validation of the
inventory used acollege student pOpulation the high face
validity of the items argues for its applicability to
other populations.

The Bem Scale has received considerable criticism for
the scoring procedures, e.g., use of the 1 ratio, the lack
of differentiation between persons low on both Masculine
and Feminine scales and those high on both scales. In
order to partially alleviate the effect of this type of
instrument error, Bem's scoring system was modified. (The
modifications are described in the Method section.)

Despite difficulties in validation and scoring of the

lO

BSRI, Bem's conceptualization of androgyny remains worthy
of further investigation. If psychological androgyny
truly represents a more adaptive standard of psychological
health, then androgynous parents would tend to have flexible,
socially adjusted children who are able to express both the
masculine and feminine sides of their personalities. Al-
though this study could not determine a causal relationship,
the results give a general indication of the extent of sex-
typing still present in the parent age pOpulation as well
as have implications for parent education programs.
Hypotheses

(1) I predicted that high child popularity would be
associated with highly androgynous parents. A low Andro—
gyny Difference score is indicative of a high degree of
androgyny, and a high Androgyny Difference score indicates
a high degree of sex-typing. It was expected, therefore,
that high child pOpularity would be associated with low
parental Androgyny Difference scores. This relationship
was expected for each parent irrespective of the sex and
grade of the child. The gender role flexibility and
adaptability which the androgynous parents model for the
child are believed to be conducive to peer group popularity.

(2) I further hypothesized that a high percentage of
cross-sex friendship choice in the child would be assoc-
iated with highly androgynous parents, (i.e., low Andro-
gyny Difference scores). I also expected that this would

be true of both parents, irrespective of the sex and grade

ll
of the child. Gronlund (1951), in summarizing socio—
metric research, noted that the percentage of cross-sex
choices at the elementary school level fell between 11
and 18%, although it varied depending on the sociometric
criteria used and the degree to which boy—girl interaction
was encouraged by the school. The amount of parental gen-
der role flexibility may be a previously unrecognized var-
iable which influences a child's percentage of cross-sex

choice.

CHAPTER II
METHOD

Subjects

Participants in this study were 243 Catholic school
children in the third, fourth, and fifth grades and their
parents. Six schools participated in the project, five from
the Diocese of Lansing, and one from Chicago. In order to
obtain this sample size a considerably larger group of
parents was initially contacted, approximately 1,100. The
parental response-and-permission rate averaged between
20-25%. Eight to ten-year olds were the subjects of this
study because friendship patterns are fairly stable at this
age and the degree of parental influence on behavior styles
is greater than during the adolescent period.

The Pilot Study

The 43 participants at the school in Chicago served
as a pilot sample. The results of the pilot were useful
in estimating the number of schools needed to be contacted
to obtain the desired sample size. The pilot study also
provided an indication of the variability and continuity
of scores to be expected and allowed for a testing of the
data collection procedure. The procedures remained essen-

tially the same for the Lansing sample; therefore, both

12

13
the Chicago pilot and the Lansing sample were analyzed to—
gether. There were no significant between-school differ-
ences on any of the variables of interest.
Materials and Procedures

After securing permission to conduct the study from
the Office of Catholic Education, the principals and
teachers, I visited the 27 third, fourth, and fifth grades.
Each child was given an envelope to take home that contained
the parents' cover letter with an attached permission slip
and two COpies of the Bem Sex Role Inventory. The BSRI
included a demographic sheet that asked for name, address,
sex, occupation, number of years of schooling, ages and
sexes of children. The cover letter explained that the
study was dealing with "parent characteristics in relation
to childhood friendShip patterns." It offered the parents
an Opportunity to contact me before the sociometric segment
as well as an interpretive summary of the final results
for those who participated along with their children.
(COpies of the cover letter and the BSRI are included in
Appendices A and B, respectively.)

After allowing sufficient time for the parents to con-
tact me and return the questionnaires to the school, I or
my undergraduate research assistant returned to the school
to conduct the sociometric phase of the study. All the
children were given an introduction to the study at a level
they could understand. I also explained what the various

roles of a psychologist are and the importance and purpose

14

of doing research. Those whose parents had consented

were then asked to participate. The children were assured
that there were no hidden selection criteria; the nonpar-
ticipating group was allowed a period of self-choice read—
ing, an alternate activity chosen after consultation with
the classroom teachers.

The three sociometric questions each appeared on a
separate sheet of paper and were passed out and collected
by either myself or my research assistant. The names of
all the children in the classroom were randomized and
printed on each sheet, along with the question and direc-
tions to mark choices with an X. The children were told
that no one except myself would see their responses.

(A OOpy of all the sociometric questions may be found in
Appendix D.) Any questions before, during, and after the
testing were answered Openly and honestly.

The sociometric questions asked of the children were
the following: 1) If you could choose any five children
in the classroom to play with, whom would you choose?;
2) If you could choose any five children in the classroom
to work on a project with, whom would you choose?;
3) Please put an X by the names of your best friends.
(You may choose as many as you consider "best friends.")
Scoring
The Sociometric Measurg

Every child who participated received a score on each

of the three sociometric questions. Each score was a

15

ratio of the sum of the number of choices received by
the child to the total number of children in the class—
room. The three sociometric questions were each posi-
tively correlated with a summed composite popularity
score at the .01 level of significance. These correla-
tions were calculated separately for boys and girls
using the Pearson r_coefficient corrected for the presence
of known elements in the composite score. Therefore, all
statistical analyses performed on the sample used the
composite popularity score rather than the scores from
each of the sociometric questions.
The Bem Sex Role Inventory

The BSRI consists Of 60 traits, 20 that previously
had been rated by college students as masculine, 20 that
had been rated as feminine, and 20 that had been rated
as neutral. The parents were asked to rate themselves
on all traits using a 7-point scale ranging from "never
or almost never true" to "always or almost always true."
As mentioned in the Introduction, both Bem's original and
revised scoring systems have received valid criticism
(Spence, Helmreich, & Stapp, 1975; Strahan, 1975); there-
fore, the following method of scoring was employed to ob—
viate some of the difficulties.

Each parent received a Masculinity score and a Fem-
ininity score based on the sum of the ratings for each
trait of these two separate scales of the BSRI. In

addition, an Androgyny Difference score was also calculated

16
for each parent. This score is simply the difference
between the sums of the Masculinity and Femininity scale
scores. A positive Androgyny Difference score was recorded
if the difference was in the sex-typed direction, i.e., if
Mother's Femininity score was greater than her Masculinity
score, or if Father's Masculinity score was greater than
his Femininity score. Conversely, if the difference bet—
ween a parent's scale scores was in the non-sex-typed dir-

ection, a negative Androgyny Difference score was recorded.

CHAPTER III
RESULTS

In order to examine the associations between the
child variables, i.e., Popularity and Percentage of
Cross-Sex Choice, and parental sex-typing, three scores
were obtained from the BSRI for each parent: 1) a Femin-
inity Scale Score; 2) a Masculinity Scale Score; and
3) an Androgyny Difference Score, (i.e., same-sex score
minus other-sex score). The overall sample means for
these variables are shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Mean scores of mothers and fathers on each
parent variable.

 

 

Parent Variable Mothers Fathers
Femininity Scale Score 102.87 92.38
Masculinity Scale Score 92.12 106.82
Androgyny Difference Score 10.78 14.45

Maximum and minimum values, means, and standard devia-
tions for the parent variables for boys and girls separately
may be found in Appendix F; distribution information on the

child variables, parents' education level, and the number

17

18

of children in the family are also contained in this
appendix. There were no significant between-school or
between—classroom differences on the variables, therefore,
schools and classrooms were combined for the final data
analysis. One significant sex difference appeared: The
Masculinity score for fathers of girls (109.20), was higher
than that for fathers of boys (104.96), E (l, 192) = 4.96,
p<.05.1
Data Analysig

In order to test the effect of parental sex-typing on
the child's composite popularity, separate 3 x 3 x 2 analy-
ses Of variance were performed for mothers' and fathers'
Masculinity, Femininity, and Androgyny Difference scores.
Child Popularity was trichotomized into High, Medium, and
Low groups based on the total distribution of scores. The
factors Of the analyses were: Sex (Boy, Girl) x Grade
(3, 4, 5) x Composite Popularity ( H, M, L). The rela-
tionship between the parent variables and the child variable
of Percentage of Cross-Sex Choice was similarly analyzed.
Percentage of Cross-Sex Choice was trichotomized into High,
Medium, and Low groups, thus the factors for this set of
analyses were: Sex x Grade x Cross-Sex Choice Level.
Appendix G lists the cut-off points and frequencies for

the High, Medium, and Low groups for the Composite POpularity

 

1This result may indicate a relation between paternal self-

description and sex of child; however, because of the small
number Of findings overall, (4), this and the other results
may have occurred by chance. ‘

l9
and Percentage of Cross—Sex Choice variables.
Hypotheses

The two major hypotheses tested were:

1) High child pOpularity will be associated with highly
androgynous parents. A low Androgyny Difference score is
indicative of a high degree of androgyny, and a high Andro-
gyny Difference score indicates a high degree of sex—typing.
It is expected, therefore, that high child popularity will
be associated with low parental Androgyny Difference scores.
This relationship is expected for each parent irrespective
of the sex and grade of the child.

2) A high percentage of cross-sex friendship choice in the
child will be associated with highly androgynous parents,
(i.e., low Androgyny Difference scores). This relationship
is also expected for each parent irrespective of the sex
and grade of the child.

Overall the support for these specific hypotheses was
minimal; however, there were some significant findings that
are relevant in a more general way to the hypothesized out-
comes. The significant results will be presented below,
followed by an explanation of how these relate to the ori-
ginal hypotheses. For each of the 12 analyses of variance

F_tables are presented in Appendix E.

20
Significant Results for the Parent Variables
1) Mothers' Androgyny Difference Score
a. Interaction between Grade and Popularity Level --
A significant grade x popularity level interaction
effect was found for the Mothers' Androgyny Difference
scores, E (4, 225) = 2.89, p'<.05. A test for the source

Table 2. Means of the Mothers' Androgyny Difference scores
for each grade and pOpularity level.

 

 

POpularity Level Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5
Low 6.66 12.91 17.16
Medium 6.54 15.77 4.52
High 16.05 8.14 8.91

 

of the interaction revealed a simple main effect of Pop-
ularity Level for fifth graders, E (2, 81) = 3.18, p¢1.05.
Mothers' Androgyny Difference score was highest in
the 12w popularity group for fifth graders. Mothers' Andro-
gyny Difference scores for the high and medium popularity
groups were considerably lower and closer to each other;
the lowest Mothers' Androgyny Difference score was assoc—
iated with the medium pOpularity group. Individual planned
comparisons, as discussed in Winer (1971), were performed
on each pair of adjacent means. The results of these com-
parisons indicated that Mothers' Androgyny Difference score

for the low pOpularity group was significantly higher than

21
that of the medium group, 3 (81) = 2.94, p<.01.

For fifth graders then, a high Mothers' Androgyny
Difference score, indicating more traditional sex-typing,
was associated with 12H pOpularity. The mothers Of the
high and medium popularity groups were more androgynous
and less traditionally sex-typed. The Mothers' Androgyny
Difference score was lowest for the medium pOpularity
group.

b. Interaction between Sex of Child and Percentage Of
Cross-Sex Friendship Choice --

A significant Sex x Cross-Sex Choice Level interaction
effect was found for the Mothers' Androgyny Difference
score, F (2, 225) = 4.85, p4<.Ol. Further investigation
into the source of this interaction revealed a simple
main effect of cross-sex choice level for boys, £_(2, 117)
= 6.89, p4.01.

The mothers of boys who made a high percentage of
cross-sex friendship choices had the highest Androgyny
Difference scores. These mothers were the least andro-
gynous or the most traditionally sex—typed. Mothers of
boys who made a 12! percentage of cross-sex choices were
in the intermediate position, and mothers whose sons chose
a medium percentage Of cross-sex friends were the most
androgynous or the least traditionally sex—typed. Indi-
vidual planned comparisons between adjacent pairs Of
means revealed a significant difference between the med-
ium and high groups, t (117) = 4.14, p4:.01, but not

between the medium and low groups.

22

Table 3. Means of the Mothers' Androgyny Difference
scores for each sex and percentage of cross—sex
choice level.

 

Percentage of Cross-Sex Girls Boys
Choice Level

 

Low 8.01 10.43
Medium 18.27 4.27
High 7.74 21.21

 

Although there were no other significant simple main
effects, examination of Table 3 suggests that the pattern
for girls is almost a mirror image of the one for boys.

The reversal is especially noticeable for the medium and

high groups. FOr girls, high percentage Of cross-sex

choice was associated with a relatively'ihhhMothers' Andro—
gyny Difference score whereas for boys high percentage of
cross—sex choice was associated with high Mothers' Andro-

gyny Difference score. For the medium percentage Of cross-
sex choice group, girls' mothers had high.Androgyny Difference
scores and boys' mothers had igfl scores. A very small sex
difference was evidenced for the group igfl on percentage of
cross-sex choice.

Daughters of the more traditionally sex-typed mothers
tended to make a medium amount of cross-sex choices, whereas
sons of such mothers tended to make a high_percentage.
Daughters of the more androgynous mothers tended to be in

the group high on percentage of cross-sex choice and sons

23

tended to be in the medium group

2) Fathers' Femininity - Sex x Grade z Cross-Sex Choice
Interaction

For the parent variable of Fathers' Femininity a

significant three-way interaction of Sex of Child x Grade

x Percentage of Cross-Sex Choice group was evidenced,

E (4, 192) = 2.83, p<.o5.

Investigation of possible

simple interaction effects for boys and girls revealed

no significant interactions for either sex; however,

examination of Table 4 shows the direction of the scores

for both sexes.

Table

4. Means of Fathers' Femininity scores for each
sex, grade, and percentage of cross-sex choice

group.

 

 

Percentage of

 

 

Cross—Sex Choice Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5
LOW 94.33 88.50 92.00

Girls Medium 93.00 84.50 101.33
High 92.00 94.71 93.63

Low 92.61 90.71 93.41

Boys Medium 90.00 98.75 86.25
High 96.20 86.38 93.83

 

 

of fourth graders showed the most variation.

Fourth

For both boys and girls, Fathers' Femininity scores

grade girls whose fathers were high on Femininity chose

24

a high percentage of cross-sex friends, and girls whose
fathers were 12H on Femininity chose a medium percentage.
The reverse was true for boys: those whose fathers were
high on Femininity were in the medium percentage group
and those whose fathers were lEH on Femininity were in
the high percentage of cross-sex choice group.

Without evidence of a significant simple interaction
further statistical analysis was not required: however,
for each sex of fourth graders planned comparisons bet-
ween adjacent pairs of means for Fathers' Femininity
were performed. For the fourth grade girls the mean
Fathers' Femininity score of the high percentage of cross-
sex choice group was significantly higher than the mean
of the medium percentage group, i (27) = 6.81, p<.01.
The low percentage group was not significantly different
from the medium group. It appears, then, that for fourth
grade girls a high Fathers' Femininity score was associated
with choosing a high percentage of boys for friends, where-
as a 12H Fathers' Femininity score was associated with a
medium percentage Of boys chosen as friends. Fathers of
girls who chose a igfl percentage of boys as friends were
in a relatively intermediate position on the Femininity
scale.

For ighrth grade boys there was a reversal of the re-
sults obtained for fourth grade girls regarding the medium
and high percentage of cross-sex choice groups. Individual

planned comparisons between adjacent pairs of means indicated

25

that the mean Fathers' Femininity score was significantly
higher in the medium percentage group than in the high
percentage group, i_(49) = 3.06, p4<.01. The tendency to
choose girls as friends was greatest for boys whose fathers
were 12H on Femininity. A medium percentage of girls were
chosen as friends by boys whose fathers were high on Fem-
ininity and the lowest percentage of cross—sex choices
were made by boys with fathers scoring in an intermediate
position on Femininity.
Relevance of the_Significant Findingg to the Hypotheses

Overall, the hypotheses were only minimally supported.
However, three significant interactions that did appear
are discussed below in terms of the original hypotheses.
l) Hypothesis of Composite Popularity

It was predicted that high child popularity would be
associated with parental androgyny, irrespective of the
sex of the child or parent. For fifth gpgders this hypo-
thesis was supported to a limited degree. Mothers' Andro-
gyny Difference scores were highest for the low popularity
group, indicating that low populgpity Wgs associated with
ihaditiohgi_sex-typingp Medium popularity was associated
with the most androgyhous mothers (those with the lowest
Androgyny Difference scores), rather than high popularity
as hypothesized. high pOpularity was associated with a
relatively intermediate degree Of maternal androgyny, and
this group was not significantly different from the medium

group. The only significant difference between the adjacent

26
means was between the IRE and medium groups, 3 (81) =
2.94, p44.01. It should be noted that among third graders
the differences were counter to the hypothesis; high pOp-
ularity was associated with mothers' traditionally femin-
ine sex-typing.
2) Hypothesis of Percentagevpirgross-Sex Friendshiprhpihg

This hypothesis predicted that children who made a
high percentage of cross-sex friendship choices would
have parents who were androgynous or low on traditional
sex-typing. Two of the six parent variables produced sig-
nificant results related to this hypothesis.

a. Mothers' Androgyny

For bo s, a high Mothers' Androgyny Difference score,
i.e., high traditional sex—typing, was associated with
choosing a high percentage of girls as friends. This
finding is in the direction Opposite to the stated hypothe-
sis. Medium percentage Of cross-sex choice was associated
with the more androgynous mothers: Androgyny Difference
scores of mothers of the 12E percentage group fell in an
intermediate position.

The findings for gipi§_did not reach an acceptable
level of statistical significance; however, because of the
apparent curvilinearity of the relation to Mothers' Andro-
gyny Difference scores for both sexes and the mirror image
reversal of these curves for boys and girls, these results
are also worth considering in relation to the hypothesis.

For girls either low or high on percentage of cross-sex

27

choice, the mothers were relatively androgynous, as Opposed
to the hypothesis that only the mothers of the high per-
centage group would be androgynous. It appears that
daughters of the more androgynous mothers had chosen either
a high or a low percentage of boys as friends. Daughters
who had chosen a medium percentage of boys as friends had
mothers who were less androgynous (more sex—typed).

Maternal androgyny was associated with medium per-
centage of cross-sex choice for boys and both low and high
percentage of cross—sex choice for girls. However, these
results were statistically significant for boys only,
E (2, 117) = 6.89, p<.01.

b. Fathers' Femininity

A relationship between the Masculinity and Femininity
scale scores and the child variables was not specifically
hypothesized; however, these variables were investigated
separately because they are components of the Androgyny
Difference score. Masculinity and Femininity scales have
been used in the past for the measurement of sex-typing,
androgyny being a recent conceptualization, so relation-
ships involving these component variables were not to be
totally disregarded. Because of the way the Androgyny
Difference score is calculated and the distribution of
the component scales, a man who is androgynous is likely
to be more feminine and less masculine than a more sex~
typed man, although it is possible for all of the difference

between a "sex—typed" and an "androgynous" person to be

28

attributable to only one of the component scales. Thus,
scores on Fathers' Femininity can be considered indirectly
related to the stated hypothesis.

The Sex x Grade x Cross-Sex Choice Level interaction
was analyzed further by examining the results for each
sex separately. For both boys and girls Fathers' Feminin-
ity was related to cross-sex choice level in the fourth
gpghg only. Fathers Of fourth grade gi§i§_who had chosen
a high percentage of boys as friends were higher on Femin-
ihiiy than fathers of girls who had chosen a medium per-
centage Of boys as friends, i (27) = 6.81, p‘<.01. This
finding partially supports the hypothesis to the degree
that both androgyny and high Father Femininity are consid-
ered to be similar when compared to traditional sexftyping
in the male. The Fathers' Androgyny Difference score did
not produce any significant findings. This may be because
the correlation of Fathers' Masculinity and Femininity
scales was only -.26 and relatively evenly spread through-
out the range, thus attenuating the possible relationship
Of Androgyny Difference to percentage of cross-sex choice
for the fourth grade girls. Therefore, the hypothesis may
be considered to gain support for fourth grade girls from
one component of androgyny in fathers.

For hpyg the relationship between Fathers' Femininity
and percentage of cross-sex choice was in the direction

Opposite to the hypothesis that high percentage Of cross-

sex choice would be associated with androgyny in the parents.

29
Fathers of fourth grade boys who had chosen a medium per—
centage of girls as friends were higher on Femininity
than fathers of boys who had chosen a high percentage of
girls as friends, l.(49) = 3.06, p4<.01. Fathers of boys
who had chosen a i2h_percentage Of cross—sex friends were
in the intermediate position on Femininity.

If high Femininity in fathers is considered as a
component Of androgyny, it appears that these results do
not support the hypothesis. The trend was for boys high
on cross-sex choice to have fathers ihh on Femininity
which is indicative of traditional sex-typing rather

than androgyny.

CHAPTER IV
DISCUSSION

The Parent Variables

In order to provide a context for interpretation of
the results of this study it is useful to consider the
sample distributions of the gender role orientation var-
iables. For mothers and fathers, the maximum and minimum
values, means, and standard deviations for the variables
of Masculinity, Femininity, Androgyny Difference, educa-
tion, and number of children in the family are reported
in Appendix F. A comparison between these scores and
those of Bem's college student population is not possible
because of the differences in scoring procedure. Bem
originally reported her means in terms of Androgyny 3:
ratios and her revised scoring system was based on a median
split classification of the scale scores: the present
study used raw scores in order to obviate the statistical
flaws in these scoring systems.

Although scale score means for Bem's and the present
sample cannot be directly compared, the correlations bet~
ween the Masculinity and Femininity scales for both samples
can be examined. Bem (1975) reported that the Masculinity

and Femininity scales were both logically and empirically

30

31
independent (average 3 = -.O3), however, for mothers in
the present sample 3 = -.42 and for fathers p = -.26.
These correlations are significant, (p41.01), indicating
that as an individual's score on one scale increased the
score on the other scale tended to decrease. The concept
of androgyny hinges on the belief that a person can pos-
sess the same degree of both masculine and feminine
traits, that the traits of both scales may vary indepen-
dently. For this sample this did not prove to be the
case; the Masculinity and Femininity scales were not
empirically independent.

Inspite Of the lack of independence relative to Bem's
normative samples it should be noted that two of the three
significant interactions were related to Mothers' Andro-
gyny score. Although Mothers' Masculinity and Femininity
scores were found to be negatively correlated (p = -.42),
the degree to which the scale scores were different from
each other (i.e., Androgyny Difference score), was related
to both Composite Popularity and Percentage of Cross-Sex
Choice of the children. Androgyny appears to be a concept
worth investigating further with this and other popula-
tions to determine whether the empirical differences re-
flect on the logical basis Of the concept for different
groups. Perhaps pOpulations other than college students
actually do perceive sex-typed traits in a bi-polar fashion,
e.g., that if you are very gently you are that much less

assertive.

32

The religious composition of the sample also deserves
consideration. The participating parents were lower-
middle and middle-class Catholics, who may tend to be more
traditionally sex-typed than college students, although
this assumption lacks empirical support at this time.
Assuming that Catholic parents of grade school children
tend to be more sex-typed than a college student pOpula-
tion does not necessarily invalidate the BSRI as a useful
instrument to test the hypotheses. Bem, in describing
her scoring procedure, emphasized that the scores should
be standardized considering the distribution of the pOp-
ulation in question. Androgyny, then, can be viewed as
a relative concept rather than as a specified degree of
congruity between masculine and feminine traits. The
Catholic parent pOpulation may or may not tend to be more
sex—typed: they may or may not perceive masculinity and
femininity in bi-polar terms: however, as a look at the
maximum and minimum values for each variable in Appendix
F shows, there is a considerable range of sex-typing.
There are Catholic parents who are androgynoys, tradi-
tionally sex-typed, and untraditionally sex-typed, although
the self-description of an androgynous Catholic parent is
not necessarily similar to that of an androgynous college
student. Their behaviors may also differ considerably.
The Chi1d_Vg§iahig§

The maximum and minimum values, means, and standard

deviations for both of the child variables are given for

33

boys and girls separately in Appendix F. The cut-off
points, number of choices, and frequency of boys and girls
for the Low, Medium, and High groups are contained in
Appendix G.
Results Related to Comppsite Pppulagity

Previous research has indicated that popularity among
same-sex peers is generally associated with pOpularity
among other-sex peers (Reese, 1962). Popularity among
same-and-other sex friends was not separated for this
study, but rather the general level of social acceptance
by boys and girls was combined. Because the actual number
of choices a child received depended on classroom size,
the popularity score was calculated by summing the total
choices received and dividing by the number in the class.
Also, one of the sociometric questions left choice number
unspecified: therefore, on a total of three questions a
child may have made between 11 and 25 choices. It should
be noted that there were only two isolates, i.e., children
not receiving any choices, and that the maximum number of
choices received by any child was 34. POpularity scores
were calculated for only those children who willingly
participated and whose parents completed both the BSRI
and gave their permission for their child to be included.
The popularity scores may be biased in a positive direction
because of this sample selection. The children who were
isolated or relatively unpopular may not have participated.

Composite popularity was chosen as a good reflection

34

of the child's general level of social adjustment. How—
ever, as mentioned in the Introduction, the converse is
not true; low pOpularity does not necessarily reflect
poor emotional health but may be the result of a variety
Of other factors such as highly individualistic interests,
minority group status, or recent arrival in the school
(Gronlund, 1959). Mussen (1970) notes that there is
evidence that social class, intelligence, birth order,
and physical attractiveness may also influence popular-
ity, but it has not been clearly established whether or
not these are causal factors or correlates of temperament
and personality differences. In the present study these
factors were not controlled for, which may be one explan-
ation for the paucity of significant associations between
parental gender role orientation and composite popularity.

Previous research has found a number of personality
correlates related to peer pOpularity. Generally the more
pOpular child has been characterized as sensitive to the
needs Of others, moderately conformist, willing to give
and receive the overtures of others, friendly, and apprOp-
riately dependent and aggressive (Campbell & Yarrow, 1961;
Moore, 1967; Mussen, 1973). If it is assumed that the
child's personality will be similar to parents' self-
descriptions, it is reasonable that child popularity may
be related to parental androgyny. The predicted overall
effect did not appear: however, for Mothers' Androgyny

there was a significant interaction between grade and

35
popularity level. For third gpaders, traditional maternal

sex-typing was associated with highppopuigrity whereas

for fifth graders it was associated with lowppopularity.
There was an increasing amount of traditional maternal
sex-typing associated with low pOpularity as grade level
rose. Highly popular third graders tended to have tradi-
tionally sex-typed mothers but the more popular fifth
graders (medium and high popularity groups), were more
likely to have androgynous mothers. If children learn

an androgynous behavior style from their mothers it appears
that it may impede popularity in the younger children
(third grade) but facilitate social acceptance as the child
grows older (fifth grade).

Although a causal link between maternal androgyny and
child pOpularity cannot be assumed this result is congru-
ent with the research done by Tuddenham (1951), in Which
he examined the qualities associated with pOpularity among
children in grades one through five. Docile, "Little Lady"
qualities became less associated with girls' popularity
with increasing age, and by grade five a "tomboy" was as
likely to be pOpular as the demure, submissive sweetheart.
For boys, athletic competence, daring, and leadership con-
tinued to be the main traits associated with pOpularity at
all levels studied; by grade five boys began to differen-
tiate between submissive docility, which was fervently re-
jected, and quiet reserve which was more acceptable.

The results of the present study are congruent with

36
Tuddenham's findings. If younger children value sex-typed
qualities in their peers, then children of a sex-typed
mother would be more popular at this level, assuming a
social learning theory of behavior acquisition. A trad-
itionally sex—typed mother would be more likely to rein-
forec masculine traits in her son and model feminine role
behavior for her daughter. As the children get older and
the peer group places less value on sex-typed traits the
children of the more androgynous mothers gain in popular—
ity and the children of those who are traditionally sex-
typed decrease in status.

The results for the fourth grade are somewhat incon-
grous with this explanation in that the mothers of the
medium pOpularity group were more sex-typed than those Of
the low pOpularity group. This may be due to the greater
fluctuation in status which has been found to characterize
those in the middle group in comparison to those in either
high or low positions (Witryol & Thompson, 1953).

What implications do these changes in the value of
sex-typed behavior in the peer culture have for the stab—
ility of a child's popularity? It appears that boys can
always win acceptance for more sex-typed behavior, although
the more androgynous or feminine qualities gain more accep-
tance with increasing age. The popularity of an individual
boy might be relatively stable, with some of the boys who
were initially rejected achieving more acceptance. For

girls there is more continual change in values and a

37
considerable decline in the value of stereotypically fem-
inine traits with increasing age. Popularity of the girls
may tend to fluctuate more. Perhaps for the girl the
androgynous role model becomes even more important as she
reaches adolescence. Tryon (1939) found that for the girls
the shift in the value of sex-typed traits from feminine to
more masculine continued into adolescence. By age 15 extra-
version, leadership, sportsmanship, and activity were the
most valued, characteristics which earlier were more sig-
nificant for boys. In order to maintain popularity over
time girls must be flexible and be able to respond to a
less clearly defined set Of expectations. What better
model would there be than an androgynous mother? Longi-
tudinal studies are needed to investigate the stability of
an individual child's popularity throughout the elementary
school years.

The results support the first hypothesis to a limited
extent. The initial prediction was that androgyny of
fathers as well as mothers would be associated with pOpu-
larity irrespective of sex and grade, but the results,
interpreted in light of other findings, indicate that the
relationship is more complex. The values of the peer cul-
ture which change with age must be considered. The find-
ings also suggest that the mothers may have a greater
influence on children at this age level.

The original hypothesis also did not predict a dif-

ferent pattern of influence of mothers' and fathers'

38
gender role orientations. There is a dearth of research
on the relationship of gender role orientation to child
popularity but the literature reviewed in the Introduction
indicates that mothers' dominance leads to maladjustment
of various kinds (Alkire, 1972: Farina, 1960: McCandless,
1967: Westley & Epstein, 1969). The finding that maternal
androgyny is, at least for fifth graders, associated with
higher pOpularity scores helps to delimit the implications
of these previous studies. A mother who perceives herself
as ascendant, assertive, active, or "masculine" in some
sense, does not necessarily dominate in the marital rela-
tionship or lack nurturant, more gentle qualities. Al-
though Mothers' Masculinity score was not associated with
high pOpularity, the absence of an association to peer
adjustment helps to vindicate the more "masculine" mothers
from the charge that nontraditional gender role orienta-
tion leads to social or emotional maladjustment in the
Child.

The absence of a relationship between Mothers' Mas-
culinity scores and sociometric status is not to say that
nontraditional gender role orientations have no impact on
the child's acquisition of his/her sex role identity or
preferences. Investigations Of this relationship, however,
have found that the peer culture Often has a greater in-
fluence on the child's sex-typed behavior than the parents'
masculinity-femininity scores (Mussen & Rutherford, 1963).

But in a larger sense, if children are functioning well in

39

their social environment the question of whether or not
they are "apprOpriately sex-typed" lessens in importance.
There is, however, the possibility that the children with
more severe adjustment problems did not participate in this
research and that a large prOportion of these children have
parents who are nontraditionally sex-typed.

Child—rearing attitudes among the traditional, non-
traditional, and androgynous parents may be a mediating
factor in determining adjustment. There is consistent
evidence in the literature concerning child-rearing corre-
lates of peer acceptance. Parents of "likable" boys in-
frequently used aggressive forms of punishment and expressed
low demands for aggression (Winder & Rau, 1962). Cox (1966),
cited in Mussen (1970) found that loving and casual paren-
tal attitudes, along with the absence of family tension,
were associated with high peer status. It would be worth-
while in future research to examine child-rearing attitudes
and the nature of the marital relationship as well as the
gender role orientations of the parents. These factors
have been investigated, but not in a single study. A less
comprehensive but interesting extension Of the present
study would be to look at the gender role orientations of
the parental dyad as related to pOpularity. This would
help to eliminate the alternative explanation that the
androgynous mothers in this sample were hp; dominant in
their marriage relationships, i.e., that their husbands

were very high on Masculinity and "in charge" of the

40

household. Also, the possible difference between self-
perceived traits and actual role behaviors should not be
overlooked in interpreting these results.

None of the Fathers' gender orientation variables
was found to be associated with child popularity. Al-
though this lack of results may have occurred because the
mother generally spends more time with the child -- which
gives her role greater influence -- it may also be that
the fathers' influence is due to other factors. Mussen
(1970) reported that child-rearing attitudes of the father
were important predictors Of the child's sociability, es-
pecially for sons. It seems, therefore, that Fathers'
gender role orientation pg; pg does not directly influence
child popularity, although it may be a significant factor
when both parents are considered together.
Results Related to Percentage of Cross—Se; Fpiendship Choice

Hartup (1970), in summarizing previous research on
cross-sex friendship choice, reported that children pre-
fer more same-sex friends to other-sex friends throughout
childhood and adolescence. Gronlund (1951) found that the
mean percentage of cross-sex choice for children at the
elementary school level falls between 11 and 18%, depending
on the sociometric criteria and the degree to which boy-
girl interaction is encouraged by the school. In the present
sample the mean percentages were 12.8% for girls and 8.7%
for boys: these percentages were not appreciably different

in the third, fourth, or fifth grades. This 1978 sample

41
reported less cross-sex choice than most studies summar-
ized by Gronlund in 1951! Even the high cross-sex choice
group did not consist of children who chose the majority
of their friends from among the other sex. In this group
the average girl made only 33% of her friendship choices
for boys: the average boy in this group made only 29% of
his choices for girls. Only four children of the total of
243 chose over 50% of their friends from among the other sex
and the maximum was 69%. A look at the low percentage of
cross-sex choice is equally revealing Of the sharp cleavage.
Thirty-seven girls and 71 boys did not make a single cross-
sex choice. (See Appendix G.)

Why is there so little crossing of sex lines in child-
hood friendship, at this age particularly? Psychoanalytic
theorists might consider this phenomenon as a defensive
withdrawal from other-sex interests in an attempt to sol-
idfy the repression of the Oedipal conflict. But this
explanation fails to account for the cultures in which a
latency period (in which direct sexual manifestations are
diminished) does not exist as such (Malinowski, 1927).

We are left with the thought that it must be due to cul-
tural influences and restrictions. Because the sex clea-
vage is less in the pre—school years than in the elementary
school years, the schools may be partially responsible for
its exacerbation. The low percentage of cross-sex choice
in the parochial school sample may be a result of more

conservative parental attitudes or school policies such as

42
sex segregation for gym, health classes, and other activ-
ities.

There has been little research on correlates Of cross-
sex friendship choice, aside from studies concerned with
the effect of sex segregation in the schools and the in-
fluence of the sociometric criteria employed (Gronlund,
1951). The hypothesis that a high percentage of cross-sex
choice would be associated with highly androgynous parents
irrespective of sex and grade was not supported. There
were, however, two significant interactions, one for
Mothers' Androgyny and one for Fathers' Femininity.
Mothers' Androgyny in Reigtion to Cross-Sex Choice

The Sex x Percentage of Cross-Sex Choice interaction
for Mothers' Androgyny showed a reverse effect for boys
and girls in the high and medium percentage groups. Egg

irls, nontraditional sex-typing (androgyny) was associated
with both the high and low percentage groups whereas the
medium group tended to have traditionally sex-typed (high-
ly feminine) mothers. For boys it was the medium percen-
tage group whose mothers were androgynous: those who made
a high percentage of cross-sex choice tended to have tradi-
tionally sex-typed mothers.

The original hypothesis is partially supported for
girls -- mothers of those who made a high percentage of
cross-sex choice fighg androgynous, but mothers of the low
percentage group were also androgynous. There are several

alternative explanations for this unexpected result. One

43
is that the relationship with the father is a mediating
variable. Perhaps a girl with an androgynous mother and
a masculine father chose a high percentage of boys as
friends because she is comfortable with masculine behavior;
the girls with a more feminine father might learn to value
and identify more with the feminine aspects of her parents
and make all of her friendship choices from among the girls.
(Most children in the low percentage group made no cross-
sex choices.) Examination Of the gender role orientations
of the parent dyad would provide evidence for this specu-
lation.

Another possibility is that there is a mediating var—
iable within the group Of androgynous mothers which influ-
enced daughters to choose either a low or high percentage
of boys as friends. Perhaps the mothers' attitude toward
men or the quality Of the marital relationship is also a
factor within the androgynous mother group.

A third speculation involves the nature of the girl's
identification with her mother. The girl may identify with
her mother on the basis Of her personalized androgynous
traits and seek those qualities in others, boys as well as
girls, leading to a fairly high percentage of cross-sex
choice (33%). Or the girl may identify with mother more
on the basis of her gender and female role behaviors and
seek out same-sex friends. It is also possible that the
mothers of the high and low percentage groups differ in

the degree to which the self-perceived androgynous traits

44
are expressed in actual behavior available for the daughter
to model. The mothers of girls who are low in percentage
Of cross-sex choice may behave in a generally more tradi-
tionally sex-typed manner. Observation of mothers' behavior
would help to determine the congruence between self-reported
sex-typing and gender role enactment.

For_girls who are medium on cross-sex choice the mothers
are more traditionaliy sex-typed, more stereotypically fem-
inine. On the average these girls chose a total of about
three or four boys as friends. Perhaps highly sex-typed
mothers encourage heterosexual interest in their daughters
so that these girls chose several "boyfriends" while still
preferring their own sex for most social interactions. A
girl identifying with a highly feminine mother in terms Of
gender and feminine role behavior might seek out same-sex
friends and also highly value the stereotypically feminine
preoccupation of looking for boyfriends.

For bo s, the sons of highly sex-typed mothers made
the most choices for girls as friends and the mothers of
the medipm percentage group were more androgmhous. Perhaps
traditionally sex-typed mothers encourage heterosexual in-
terest in their sons, reinforcing their interest in girls
as friends. Or possibly boys value friends with qualities
similar to their mothers. If mother is highly feminine,
children with similar qualities will often be girls, leading
the boys to make a high percentage Of cross-sex choices.

Sons of androgynous mothers may make a medium percentage Of

45
choices for girls because they have learned to value fem-
inine qualities in females and see females as similar to
themselves in some ways. But because his parents are likely
to be more similarly sex-typed, if mother is androgynous
most friendship choices may then be made on the basis Of
gender similarity. Evidence to support this speculation
could be obtained by examining the similarity Of parents'
gender role orientations and their attitudes toward their
child's cross-sex friendships.

The mothers of bpys low on cross-sex choice (usually
making exclusively same-sex choices), were in gn intgpmed-
iate position on the Androgyny Difference spgig. They were
less androgynous than mothers of the medium group and more
so than mothers of the high percentage group. Consistent
with the speculation regarding high and medium groups, it
can be hypothesized that the mothers at this intermediate
level Of sex-typing neither encourage heterosexual friend-
ship nor are perceived by their sons as possessing traits
similar to themselves or other males.

Fathers' Femininity in Relation to Cross-Sex Choice

A three-way interaction between sex, grade, and per-
centage of cross-sex choice was found for Fathers' Femin-
inity. For third and fifth grade girls, the Fathers'
Femininity scores showed only small differences in each
Of the three cross—sex choice groups, but in fourth grade
the differences were striking. Fourth grade daughters of
fathers highest on Femininity had chosen g high percentage

46
of boys as friendgi daughters Of fathers who were lower on
Femininity (more traditionally sex-typed) made fewer choices
for boys. If a girl has a more feminine father she may see
him as similar to herself, identify more strongly with him
and see men and boys generally as having more in common
with herself; thus she would be comfortable choosing some
boys as friends.

Girls whose fathers were low on Femininity made a med-
ium percentage of cross-sex choice. It may be speculated
that a father low on Femininity may encourage his daughter
to have heterosexual interests as part Of fulfilling the
traditionally feminine role which he may eXpect from her.
Low Femininity, (traditional sex-typing), in fathers may
not affect the daughters' choices as strongly as a model
she perceives as similar, either mother or a less sex-typed
father.

An intermediate level of Femininity for fathers was
associated with a low percentage Of cross-sex choice in
girls. Perhaps the daughters neither see their fathers as
similar to themselves nor are the fathers highly sex-typed
and especially encouraging Of heterosexual friendship.
These girls may then choose their own sex almost exclu-
sively. The child's perception of the parents' similarity
to him/herself on gender role orientation could be inves-
tigated in relation to this hypothesis.

For hpyg in each cross-sex choice group Fathers' Fem-

ininity scores were also similar in grades three and five

47

and highly divergent in grade four. There is, however, a
reversal in the positions of the high and medium groups in
comparison to the results for girls. Medium crO§s—sex
choice was associated with relatively high Femininity and
highppposs-sex choice with low Femininity. A similar hypo-
thesis to the one put forth for girls offers one possible
explanation. Fathers lower on Femininity may provide the
boys with a strong model of traditionally masculine behavior,
more actively modeling distinctly heterosexual behavior,
and encouraging this in their sons to a greater degree than
more feminine fathers; this would lead the boy to choose a
high percentage of girls as friends. The relatively most
feminine fathers have modeled qualities that will often be
found in females and the boy would likely value and seek
out similar traits in others. The boy would then make at
least some choices for girls as friends (the medium percen-
tage group)-

But why would boys of high Femininity fathers make a
medium percentage of cross-sex choices, Whereas girls of
such fathers make a high percentage? For girls the feminine
qualities are more socially acceptable and girls generally
have more latitude in their sex-role behavior and attitudes,
experiencing less social censure for deviation from tradi-
tion than boys (Mischel & Mischel, 1971). Boys of these.more
feminine fathers may notice that their fathers do not fit
the cultural stereotype of masculinity. The son may feel

the pressure to conform yet still value feminine qualities:

48
he might solve this dilemma by choosing most friends on
the basis of gender similarity but still make a medium
percentage Of choices for girls.

The low cross-sex choice group, consisting mostly of
boys who made exclusively same-sex choices, had fathers
who were intermediate on Femininity in comparison to the
high and medium groups. This group may make all choices
on the basis of gender similarity. Feminine traits are
not particularly salient in these fathers and perhaps
they are not as highly encouraging of heterosexual friend-
ship as the most sex—typed fathers.

The question of why the Fathers' Femininity scores
were associated with cross-sex choice for fourth graders
needs to be considered. This age may be the time when the
peer culture values start to shift from the more sex-typed
behaviors to the more neutral, less sex-stereotypic ones.
In third grade the cultural expectations may be greater
than parental influences, thus parental gender role orien-
tation would make little difference. (Except Mothers'
Androgyny which affects all grades.) In the fourth grade
as the peer culture changes the children may look more to
the family as a guide for deciding how to deal with the
other sex. The results of Tuddenham (1951) cited above did
not consider fourth graders but did find the difference in
the peer sex-role values between third and fifth graders to
be significant. Perhaps by fifth grade the peer values

associated with choosing other-sex friends are clearer and

49
less influenced by parental models. Why Fathers' Femin-
inity is particularly salient at this age is an Open ques-
tion. Femininity in men is the most negatively sanctioned
of all the sex role—sex combinations and possibly this
makes it the most outstanding source of influence for
fourth grade children.

Methodological Criticisms and Impiications for Future
Research

Although there are several significant interactions
associating parental gender role orientation with child
popularity and percentage of cross-sex friendship choice,
the overall paucity of significant findings and the mini-
mal support for the original hypotheses should not be
overlooked.

In part the relatively few effects for the parent
variables may be due to the method of data collection and
the nature of the sample studied. Specifically, the par-
ents in this sample were Catholics, committed enough to
their beliefs and their children to send them to a paro—
chial school which involves considerable expense. In a
more general sense, parents who respond to questionnaires
about themselves are probably less defensive and more con—
cerned about the psychological develOpment of their child-
ren. Also, roughly about 10% of the children in each
classroom declined to participate. The sample was rela-
tively homogeneous, perhaps biased in a traditionally
sex-typed direction on the parent variables and in a well-

adjusted direction for the child variables. With a more

50

diverse sample stronger effects may have appeared.

The types of measures used to examine the assoc-
iations among the variables are also subject to error.
Although the sociometric technique is a valid one for
measuring the child's general level of social adjustment,
a comparison of this information with teacher ratings
would have provided an adult perspective on adjustment
level. Also, further investigation of the gender role
orientation of the child, in conjunction with measures of
social adjustment, would allow for a comprehensive exami-
nation Of the effects of parental sex-typing.

The measurement of the parents' gender role orien-
tation using the Bem scale suffers from several limita-
tions. It is a self-report, paper-and-pencil instrument
affected by response bias as well as the person's willing-
ness and ability to report accurately on his/her charac-
teristics. Also, the manner in which a trait is expressed
in actual behavior may differ greatly even among peOple
who theoretically possess the same amount of "assertive—
ness" or "passivity". Additional indices of parental
gender role orientation could be employed in future re-
search of this kind to Obtain a comprehensive picture of
the various facets within the individual. Particularly,
the child's perception of his/her parents' gender role
would be important to assess: this would improve the
validity of the information acquired via self-report and

consider the child as an active party in his/her own sex

51

role learning.

The Bem Sex Role Inventory and the concept of andro-
gyny seem worthy of further research. The question of
the empirical validity of the BSRI with nonstudent pOpu-
lations has not yet been adequately answered. However,
two of the three significant interactions involved Mothers'
Androgyny scores and these findings would not have appeared
on more traditional Masculinity and Femininity scales.

It would be worthwhile in future research endeavors
to compare the scores of the two parents as a dyadic in-
fluence on the child as well as the child's degree of in-
fluence on the parents; the child's influence on the parents
is an often neglected yet important avenue of investigation.
For example, Rosenberg and Sutton-Smith (1968) found that
sex-role scores of parents can be influenced by their child-
ren. Parent-child influence is Obviously not a one-way
process!

There were results in the present study on both Mothers'
Androgyny and Fathers' Femininity which were curvilinear
for certain groups, indicating the possible presence of
some mediating variables. Additional research in this area
might also assess parents' child-rearing attitudes and mari—
tal adjustment in conjunction with assessment of the gender
role orientation of the parental dyad.

In addition to some methodological issues, the lack of
support for the hypotheses may have been partially due to

oversimplification of the original predictions. Although

52
the age of the participants was within a narrow range,
(eight - ten), the swiftness of develOpmental change and
possible cohort differences argue for specificity in hypo-
thesis formulation and more longitudinal research studies.
Perhaps an ideal methodology for separating the effects of
age and cohort is the "cross-sequential" approach suggested
by Schaie (1965). This approach allows samples to be fol-
lowed longitudinally while at the same time providing
speedy access to cross-sectional information. Another
worthwhile and more practical approach might be the use of
longitudinal sequences suggested by Baltes (1968), which
allows for a group to be studied over a period of time
thought to be Of developmental importance. Perhaps such
a study Of pOpularity in children from third through fifth.
grade would provide more information on the changes in the
peer culture and the effect of these changes on individual

children.

REFERENCES

REFERENCES

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Baltes, Paul B. Longitudinal and cross-sectional sequences
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Bandura, A., & Huston, A. C. Identification as a process
of incidental learning. Journal of Abnormal and Socigl
Psychology, 1975: 2;: 634-553-

Bem, S. L. The measurement of psychological androgyny.

Journal of Consultin nd Clinical Psychology, 1974,
fig. 155-162.

Bem, S. L. Sex role adaptability: one consequence of psycho—
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Ps cholo , 1975, 3i,3634:643.

 

Campbell, J. D., & Yarrow, M. R. Perceptual and behavioral
cgrrelates of social effectiveness. Sociometry, 1961,
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Elkins, D. Some factors related to the choice status of
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Genetic Psychology Monpgraphs, 1958, 5, 207—272.

Eng, R., & French, R. L. The determination of sociometric
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Farina, A. Patterns of role dominance and conflict in

parents of schizophrenic patients. Journal Of Abnor-
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Freud, S. New introductor lectures in s choanal sis
(J. Strachey, Ed., and trans.). New York: Norton,

1965. (Originally published, 1933).

 

Gronlund, N. E. The accuracy of teacher's judgments con-
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Sociometry Monoghaphs, 1951, _5,

53

54

Gronlund, N. E. The relative stability of classroom social
status with unweighted and weighted sociometric status

scores. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1955, 36,
345-35“-

Gronlund, N. E. Sociometry in the classroom. New York:
Harper & Brothers, 1959.

Gottman, J., Gronso, J., & Rasmussen, B. Social inter-
action, social competence, and friendship in children.
Child DeveIOpment, 1975, 36, 709-718.

Hartshorne, H., May, M., & Maller, J. Studies in the
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1929.

Hartup, W. W. Peer interaction and social organization.
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Kohlberg, L. A. A cognitive-develOpmental analysis of
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Psychology Monogpgphs, 1966, 25, 128.

Malinowski, B. Prenuptial intercourse between the sexes
in the Trobiand Islands, N. W. Melanesia. Psycho-
anal tic Review, 1927, i4, 26-36.

McCandless, B. R. Children: behavior and develOpment
(2nd ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1967.

Mischel, W., & Mischel, H. The nature and develOpment of

psychological sex difference. Ps cholo and educa-
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Moore, S. G. Correlates of peer acceptance in nursery
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Mussen, P. The psychological developmental of the child
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Mussen, P. H., & Rutherford, E. Parent-child relations
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_, No. 4.

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX A
LETTER TO PARENTS

APPENDIX A
LETTER TO PARENTS

Dear Parents:

As we all know, parents have a great deal of influence
on the develOpment of a child's personality. Yet there is
surprisingly little information on how specific traits of
the parents, both mother and father, are related to their
children's behavior with other children.

For my master's thesis research at Michigan State
University, I am interested in studying how certain char-
acteristics of parents relate to their child's choice of
friends in the classroom. For example, does a child whose
father is outgoing and whose mother is shy prefer to have
a wide circle of casual friends or a smaller, closer-knit
group of friends? I am also interested in finding out the
extent to which children at the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade
levels choose members of the same or other sex as friends.

My proposed study of childhood friendship patterns has
been approved by the Office of Catholic Education, the
Psychology Department Of Michigan State University, and by
, the principal of School. How-
ever, in order to conduct this research I am asking your
OOOperation as individuals and as parents.

 

As individuals, your participation in this study in-
volves filling out the enclosed questionnaire and sending
it back to school with your child. (It is requested that
both parents complete the questionnaires, if possible, with-
out consulting with one another: it will take approximately
15 minutes to complete.) As a parent, your participation
involves giving your permission for me to use the information
your child may choose to give me. The children will all be
asked to answer three questions on a sheet of paper about
their friendship choices. The children will not see each
other's answers and all childreriwill be given the Option
not to participate. The total time of participation by the
children will be about 15 minutes. All information on indi-
vidual children and parents is confidential; I will be the
only one to see the individual responses.

56

57

If you do hpp wish your child's responses to be in-
cluded in determining the results, please indicate this on
the permission slip below. Feel free to call me at 332-5131
(evenings) if you have any questions about this study.

I appreciate your prompt consideration for cooperation
in this study. After the study is completed and written up,
the parents who have participated along with their children,
and have provided their address, will be sent a summary of
the findings but not information on individual children.

Please indicate your willingness to participate and
your consent for your child's participation by completing
the form(s) and returning them to school as soon as possible.
Thank you!

Sincerely,

Nine; EgEn
Yes, my child's responses may No, I do not wish my
be included in the study des- child's responses to be
cribed. included in determining

 

the results.

Parent

 

Child's Name

 

I agree to participate in this study and have enclosed the
completed questionnaire along with this slip.

Yes Yes

No NO

 

Mother Father

 

APPENDIX B
BEM SEX ROLE INVENTORY

APPENDIX B
BEM SEX ROLE INVENTORY

Full Name (Optional)

 

 

 

 

 

Sex Number of years of schooling

Occupation Number of children
Boys' Ages

Address

 

Girls' Ages

 

(optional)

 

 

On the following page, you will be shown a large number of person-
ality characteristics. We would like you to use those characteristics
to describe yourself. That is, we would like you to indicate, on a
scale from 1 to 7, how true of you these various characteristics are.
Please do not leave any characteristic unmarked.

Example: sly

Mark 3 1 if it is NEVER 0R ALMOST NEVER TRUE that you are sly.

 

Mark a 2 if it is USUALLY NOT TRUE that you are sly.

 

Mark a 3 if it is SOMETIMES BUT INFREQUENTLY TRUE that you are

 

sly.

Mark a 4 if it is OCCASIONALLY TRUE that you are sly.

 

Mark a S if it is OFTEN TRUE that you are sly.

 

Mark a 6 if it is USUALLY TRUE that you are sly.

 

Mark a 7 if it is ALWAYS OR ALMOST ALWAYS TRUE that you are
sly.

 

Thus if you feel it is sometimes but infrequently true that you
are "sly," never or almost never true that you are "malicious," always
or almost always true that you are "irresponsible," and often true that
you are "carefree," then you would rate these characteristics as
follows:

 

Sly :3 Irresponsible

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7
Malicious J I Carefree ‘5;

 

58

Bem Sex Role Inventory

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

59
i i i 6: é i I
NEVER 0R USUALLY SOMETIMES OCCASION- OFTEN USUALLY ALWAYS OR
ALMOST NOT BUT ALLY TRUE TRUE ALMOST
NEVER TRUE TRUE INFREQUENTLY TRUE ALWAYS TRUE
TRUE
Self reliant Reliable Warm _:T
Yielding Analytical Solemn *
Helpful Sympathetic Willing to
take a ,
Defends own Jealous stand
beliefs
Has leadership Tender
Cheerful abilities
Friendly
Moody Sensitive to the
needs of others Aggressive
Independent
} Truthful Gullible
Shy
Willing to take Inefficient
onscientious risks
’ Acts as a
Athletic Understanding algadg;
Affectionate Secretive Childlike
Theatrical Makes decisions Adaptable
easily
Assertive Individual-
Compassionate istic
Flatterable
Sincere Does not use
inappy harsh languag
Self-sufficient
[Strong personality Unsystematic
Eager to soothe
lLoyal hurt feelings Competitive
lUnpredictable , Conceited Loves childre
kerceful ‘ Dominant Tactful
Eeminine 1 Soft-spoken Ambitious
Likable Gentle
Masculine Conventional L

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX C
SCORING KEY FOR BSRI

Self reliant
Yielding
Helpful

Defends own
beliefs

Cheerful
Moody
Independent
Shy
Conscientious
Athletic
Affectionate
Theatrical
Assertive
Flatterable
Happy

Strong personality
Loyal
Unpredictable
Forceful

Feminine

APPENDIX C

Reliable
Analytical
Sympathetic
Jealous

Has leadership
abilities

Sensitive to the
needs of others

Truthful

Willing to take
risks

Understanding
Secretive

Makes decisions
easily

Compassionate
Sincere
Self-sufficient

Eager to soothe
hurt feelings

Conceited
Dominant
Soft-spoken
Likable

Masculine

6O

SCORING KEY FOR BSRI

Warm
Solemn

Willing to take
a stand

Tender
Friendly
Aggressive
Gullible

Inefficient

Acts as a
leader

Childlike
Adaptable

Individual-
istic

Does not use
harsh language

Unsystematic
Competitive
Loves children
Tactful
Ambitious
Gentle

Conventional

N

APPENDIX D
CHILDRENS’ SOCIOMETRIC QUESTION FORMS

APPENDIX D
CHILDRENS' SOCIOMETRIC QUESTION FORMS

Your Name (School)
(Grade)

Names of all the children in your classroom:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please put an X by the names Of your best friends.
(You may choose as many as you consider "best friends.")

If you have any questions, please raise your hand.

61

62

Childrens' Sociometric Question Form

Your Name (School)
(Grade)

Names of all the children in your classroom:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you could choose any 5 children in the classroom to
work on a project with, who would you choose?

Please put an X next to the names of the 5 children you
choose.

(If you have any questions, please raise your hand.)

APPENDIX E
SUMMARY TABLES OF ANALYSES OF VARIANCE

64

ANALYSES RELATING TO COMPOSITE POPULARITY

Table E-l. Mothers' Femininity

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source SS df MS F
Sex of Child (A) 10.28 1 10.28 .08
Grade (B) 567.06 2 283.53 2.29
'Popularity 12.83 2 6.43 .05
Level (G)
AB 510.84 2 255.42 2.06
AC 612.10 2 306.05 2.47
BC 721.32 4 180.33 1.46
ABC 608.48 4 152.12 1.23
S/ABC 27866.80 225 123.85
Total 30909.71 242
Table E-2. Mothers' Masculinity
Source SS df MS F
Sex of Child (A) 710.28 1 710.28 3.06
Grade (B) 202.22 2 101.11 .44
POpularity 348.08 2 174.04 .75
Level (C)
AB . 142.98 2 71.49 .31
AC 273.96 2 136.98 .59
BC 1512.08 4 378.02 1.63
ABC 1458.00 4 364.50 1.57
S/ABC 52198.50 225 231.99

 

Total 56846.10 242

 

65

Table E—3. Mothers' Androgyny

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source SS df MS F

Sex of Child (A) 553.96 1 553.96 1.51

Grade (B) 611.80 2 305.90 .83

POpularity 362.84 2 181.42 .49
Level (C)

AB 593.08 2 296.54 .81

AC 1644.08 2 822.04 2.24

BC 4257.48 4 1064.37 2.89*

ABC 1152.80 4 288.20 .78

S/ABC 82733.30 225 367.70

Total 91909.34 242

*P‘ -05

Table E-4. Fathers' Femininity

Source SS df MS F

Sex of Child (A) 174.28 1 174.28 1.38

Grade (B) 385.74 2 192.87 1.52

Popularity 183.98 2 91.99 .73
Level (G)

AB 95.06 2 47.53 .38

AC 132.62 2 67.81 .54

BC 286.48 4 71.62 .57

ABC 133.72 4 33.43 .26

S/ABC 24247.68 192 126.68

 

Total ‘ 25642.56 209

 

66

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table E-5. Fathers' Masculinity

Source SS df MS F

Sex of Child (A) 961.18 1 961.18 4.96*

Grade (B) 1140.34 2 570.17 2.94

POpularity 468.34 2 234.17 1.21
Level (C)

AB 397.70 2 198.85 1.03

AC 683.50 2 341.75 1.76

BC 712.56 4 178.14 .92

ABC 1107.08 4 276.77 1.43

S/ABC 37207.68 192 193.79

Total 42678.38 209

Table E-6. Fathers' Androgyny

Source SS df MS F

Sex of Child (A) 316.89 1 316.89 .91

Grade (B) 469.78 2 234.89 .67

POpularity 347.66 2 173.83 .50
Level (C)

AB 578.46 2 289.23 .83

AC 922.22 2 461.11 1.32

BC 1022.36 4 255.59 .73

ABC 1558.60 4 389.65 1.12

S/ABC 67025.28 192 349.09

Total 72241.25 209

 

ANALYSES RELATING TO PERCENTAGE OF CROSS-SEX CHOICE

Table E-7. Mothers' Femininity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source SS df MS F

Sex of Child (A) 155.55 1 155.55 1.25

Grade (B) 281.72 2 140.86 1.13

Cross-Sex Choice 117.02 2 58.51 .47
Level (C)

AC 740.28 2 370.14 2.98

BC 588.80 4 147.20 1.18

ABC 436.48 4 109.12 .88

S/ABC 27986.40 225 124.38

Total 30322.97 242

Table E-8. Mothers' Masculinity

Source SS df MS F

Sex of Child (A) 282.80 1 282.80 1.19

Grade (B) 147.72 2 73.86 .31

Cross-Sex Choice 55.48 2 27.74 .12
Level (C)

AB 191.06 2 95.53 .40

AC 1157.14 2 578.57 2.44

BC 66.08 4 16.52 .07

ABC 799.92 4 199.98 .84

s/ABC 53355.40 225 237.14

Total 56055.60 ‘242

 

Table E-9.

Mothers' Androgyny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source SS df MS F

Sex of Child (A) 18.11 1 18.11 .05

Grade (B) 763.50 2 381.75 1.02

Cross-Sex Choice 296.42 2 148.21 .40
Level (C)

AB 170.12 2 85.06 .23

AC 3625.10 2 1812.55 4.85*

BC 447.04 4 111.76 .30

ABC 704.80 4 176.20 .47

S/ABC 84048.90 225 373.55

Total 90073.99 242

*p< .01

Table E-lO. Fathers' Femininity

Seurce SS df MS F

Sex of Child (A) 38.03 1 38.03 .31

Grade (B) 253.38 2 126.69 1.05

Cross-Sex Choice 87.36 2 43.68 .36
Level (C)

AB 41.26 2 20.63 .17

AC 215.22 2 107.61 .89

BC 85.88 4 21.47 .18

ABC 1371.12 4 342.78 2.83*

S/ABC 23554.56 192 122.68

Total 25646.81 209

 

*P4-05

69

Table E-ll. Fathers' Masculinity

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source SS df MS F

Sex of Child (A) 1309.80 1 1309.80 6.43*

Grade (B) 690.64 2 345.32 1.69

Cross-Sex Choice 72.34 2 36.17 .18
Level (C)

AB 121.56 2 60.78 .30

AC 1230.94 2 615.47 3.02

BC 65.72 4 16.43 .08

ABC 92.84 4 23.21 .11

S/ABC 39110.40 192 203.70

Total 42694.24 209

*p<.025

Table E-12. Fathers' Androgyny

Source SS df MS F

Sex of Child (A) 901.44 1 901.44 2.57

Grade (B) 978.04 2 489.02 1.39

Cross-Sex Choice 186.42 2 93.21 .27
Level (G)

AB 33.16 2 16.58 .05

AC 2066.46 2 1033.23 2.94

BC 12.56 4 3.14 .01

ABC 1938.40 4 484.60 1.38

S/ABC 67388.16 192 350.98

 

Total 73504.64 209

 

APPENDIX F
DISTRIBUTION INFORMATION FOR EACH VARIABLE

MINIMUM
VALUE

MAXIMUM
VALUE

MEAN

STANDARD
DEVIATION

MINIMUM
VALUE

MAXIMUM
VALUE

MEAN

STANDARD
DEVIATION

APPENDIX F

DISTRIBUTION INFORMATION FOR EACH VARIABLE

GIRLS:
BOYS:

GIRLS:
BOYS:

GIRLS:
BOYS:

GIRLS:
BOYS:

GIRLS:
BOYS:

GIRLS:
BOYS:

GIRLS:
BOYS:

GIRLS:
BOYS:

Mother

60.00
60.00

124.00
126.00

103.10
102.65

11.10
11.21

Mother

53.00
51.00

137.00
124.00

93.92
90.41

15.32
14.89

70

FEMININITY
BSRI

Father

64.00
66.00

120.00
124.00

93.30
91.62

11.65
10.58

MASCULINITY
BSRI
Father

71.00
53.00

135.00
132.00

109.20
104.86

13-99
14.31

71

ANDROGYNY
BSRI
Mother Father
MINIMUM GIRLS: -5l.OO —21.00
VALUE BOYS: —57.00 -67.00
MAXIMUM GIRLS: 60.00 60.00
VALUE BOYS: 51.00 67.00
MEAN GIRLS: 9.21 15.91
BOYS: 12.28 13.24
STANDARD GIRLS: 18.45 17.86
DEVIATION BOYS: 19.97 19.25
EDUCATION NUMBER OF
Mother Father CHILDREN
MINIMUM GIRLS: 10.00 8.00 1.00
VALUE BOYS: 6.00 7.00 1.00
MAXIMUM GIRLS: 20.00 20.00 13.00
VALUE BOYS: 18.00 23.00 12.00
MEAN GIRLS: 13.62 14.47 3.62
STANDARD GIRLS: 1.89 2.90 2.15
DEVIATION BOYS: 1.97 3.12 1.89
COMPOSITE PERCENTAGE OF
POPULARITY CROSS—SEX CHOICE
MINIMUM GIRLS: .000 .000
VALUE BOYS: .000 .000
MAXIMUM GIRLS: 1.500 .692(69.2%)
VALUE BOYS: 1.375 .529(52.9%)
MEAN GIRLS: .561 .128(12.8%)
BOYS: .572 .087(8.7%)
STANDARD GIRLS: .309 .157
DEVIATION BOYS: .307 .127

APPENDIX G

CUT-OFF POINTS AND FREQUENCIES
FOR THE CHILD VARIABLES

APPENDIX G
CUT-OFF POINTS AND FREQUENCIES
FOR THE CHILD VARIABLES

TABLE G-l. Frequency and number of times boys and girls were
chosen for each composite popularity group.

 

 

 

 

 

Composite Popularitya Number of Frequency
Times Chosen Girls Boys

Low = .00 - .410 o - 13 36 45

Med. = .411 - .720 12 - 25 42 43

Hi = .721 - 1.50 23 - 34 34 43

Total 112 131

 

aPOpularity score equals the number of times chosen divided
by the number of children in the classroom.

bEach child made between 11 and 25 choices, mean = 15.
Maximum possible choices for each group depended on the
size of classroom, therefore, the "number of times chosen"
overlaps for each group.

CThere were two isolates, i.e., Popularity Score = .00:
One was a boy, and one a girl.

72

Table G-Z.

group.

73

Frequency and number of choices made by boys
and girls in each percentage of

cross—sex choice

 

 

Percentage of
Cross-Sex Choice

Number of
Choices Made

Frequency
Girls Boys

 

Low = .00 - .09
MGd. : 010 " .17
Hi 1' 018 "" 1000

o - 2.25b

2.5 - 4.25

4.5 - 25°
Total

 

an 76
36 28
32 27

112 131-

 

aMaximum number of choices made for each group calculated
using the ceiling choice number of 25.

b

Most children in this group made no cross-sex choices:

37 girls and 71 boys did not choose any cross-sex children

as friends.

COnly 4 children made over 50% cross-sex choices, 3 girls
and 1 boy; the maximum percentage of cross-sex choice was

69%.

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