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Are There Parental Socialization Effects on the Sex-Typed Behavior of Individuals with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia?

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Abstract

Influences of prenatal androgen exposure on human sex-typical behavior have been established largely through studies of individuals with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). However, evidence that addresses the potential confounding influence of parental socialization is limited. Parental socialization and its relationship to sex-typical toy play and spatial ability were investigated in two samples involving 137 individuals with CAH and 107 healthy controls. Females with CAH showed more boy-typical toy play and better targeting performance than control females, but did not differ in mental rotations performance. Males with CAH showed worse mental rotations performance than control males, but did not differ in sex-typical toy play or targeting. Reported parental encouragement of girl-typical toy play correlated with girl-typical toy play in all four groups. Moreover, parents reported encouraging less girl-typical, and more boy-typical, toy play in females with CAH than in control females and this reported encouragement partially mediated the relationship between CAH status and sex-typical toy play. Other evidence suggests that the reported parental encouragement of sex-atypical toy play in girls with CAH may be a response to the girls’ preferences for boys’ toys. Nevertheless, this encouragement could further increase boy-typical behavior in girls with CAH. In contrast to the results for toy play, we found no differential parental socialization for spatial activities and little evidence linking parental socialization to spatial ability. Overall, evidence suggests that prenatal androgen exposure and parental socialization both contribute to sex-typical toy play.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grant number HD24542 from the United States Public Health Service. This research is based on an unpublished master’s dissertation by the first author and an unpublished doctoral dissertation by the second author. Some data were presented in the Gender Development Research Conference, San Francisco, CA, 2010.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3RQ, UK

    Wang I. Wong, Vickie Pasterski & Melissa Hines

  2. Department of Genes, Development, and Disease, University College London, London, UK

    Peter C. Hindmarsh

  3. Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Mitchell E. Geffner

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  1. Wang I. Wong
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  2. Vickie Pasterski
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  3. Peter C. Hindmarsh
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  4. Mitchell E. Geffner
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  5. Melissa Hines
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Correspondence to Wang I. Wong.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Parental Encouragement of Spatial Manipulation Scale

Adolescent–adult sample:

  1. 1.

    Pay attention to the construction of things (e.g., mechanical objects) to see all the parts and how they fit together

  2. 2.

    Learn to make, build, and fix things

  3. 3.

    Look for or “pick out” visual patterns in things (e.g., clouds, stars)

  4. 4.

    Become “handy” with tools

Child sample:

  1. 1.

    Pay attention to the construction of things (e.g., mechanical objects) to see all the parts and how they fit together

  2. 2.

    Learn to make, build, and fix things

  3. 3.

    Become “handy” with tools

Appendix 2: Parental Encouragement of Miscellaneous Spatial Experience Scale

Adolescent–adult sample and child sample:

  1. 1.

    Develop a high degree of coordination

  2. 2.

    Be adventurous in exploring the environment

  3. 3.

    Pay attention to the route being taken when traveling to a new place

  4. 4.

    Play outdoors rather than indoors on nice days

  5. 5.

    Develop a good sense of direction, to become skillful at finding his/her own way around

  6. 6.

    Participate in active sports on a regular basis

  7. 7.

    Be the leader or “guide” when hiking or exploring with friends

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Wong, W.I., Pasterski, V., Hindmarsh, P.C. et al. Are There Parental Socialization Effects on the Sex-Typed Behavior of Individuals with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia?. Arch Sex Behav 42, 381–391 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-9997-4

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