Abstract
Gender role flexibility has been conceptualized as a multi-dimensional construct that consists of attitudes, self-perceptions, and behaviors. The present study was designed to examine the developmental trajectory of gender role attitude flexibility, self-perception flexibility, and gender-typed behavioral flexibility during early adolescence. One hundred and thirty six male and female sixth grade students completed the Children’s Occupations, Activities, and Traits Scale (Liben & Bigler, 2002) during the fall and spring of their first 2 years of middle school and they kept monthly after-school activity diaries, which were coded for gender stereotypicality. Each component of flexibility exhibited a different pattern of developmental change consistent with the multi-dimensional view of gender role flexibility.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by a grant to A. D. Pellegrini by the W. T. Grant Foundation. Thanks are expressed to C. Halverson, A. D. Pellegrini, D. Shaffer, P. Schwanenflugel, L. Walters, P. Brooks, and T. Jay for their comments on earlier versions of this manuscript and to E. Neary, A. Phillips, D. McFall, M. Tolbert, and C. Baugh for data collection and coding.
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Bartini, M. Gender Role Flexibility in Early Adolescence: Developmental Change in Attitudes, Self-perceptions, and Behaviors. Sex Roles 55, 233–245 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-006-9076-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-006-9076-1