Abstract
A sample of 838 children aged 5–15 in Australia, England, North America, and Sweden were interviewed about physical and sexual development. One section covered how children perceived sex differences. Criteria used for scoring were based on a biological realism scale. In identifying sex differences of newborn babies, a progression from realistic to unrealistic recognition was observed with increasing age in all countries. The Swedish younger age groups were more realistic than their English-speaking peers, with the latter catching up in the teenage years. In discerning pubertal sex differences, children tended to move from presexual ideas between 9 and 11 years and to have achieved full sexual answers between 13 and 15 years. Evidence did not support the latency period theory or the presence of castration fantasies in children. Cross-national differences are discussed and their implications explored.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bernstein, A. C. (1973).The child's concepts of human reproduction. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley.
Bernstein, A. C., and Cowan, P. A. (1975). Children's concepts of how people get babies.Child Dev. 46: 77–91.
Conn, J. H. (1951). Children's awareness of sex differences.J. Child Psychiat. 2: 82–89.
Goldman, R. J., and Goldman, J. D. G. (1980).Children's Conceptualisation of Development. A Comparative Study of Children Aged 5 to 15 Years in Australia, England, North America and Sweden. Centre for the Study of Urban Education, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
Goldman, R. J., and Goldman, J. D. G. (1982).Children's Sexual Thinking. Routledge and Kegan Paul, Boston, London, and Melbourne.
Kreitler, H., and Kreitler, S. (1966). Children's concepts of sexuality and birth.Child Dev. 37: 363–378.
Lipset, S. M. The value patterns of democracy: a case study in comparative analysis.American Sociological Review, 28(4): 515–531.
Mehl, L. E., Brendsel, C., and Peterson, G. H. (1977). Children at birth: Effects and implications.J. Sex Marital Ther. 3: 274–279.
Moore, J. E., and Kendall, D. C. (1971). Children's concepts of reproduction.J. Sex Res. 7: 42–61.
Treiman, D. J. (1977).Occupational Prestige in Comparative Perspective. Academic Press, New York.
Unger, R. K. (1979a). Toward a redefinition of sex and gender.Amer. Psychol. 34: 1085–1094.
Unger, R. K. (1979b).Female and Male: Psychological Perspectives. Harper & Row, New York.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Dr. Goldman is Foundation Professor of Education at La Trobe University and a Fellow of the British Psychological Society.
Mrs. J. Goldman is engaged full-time on research and is a member of the Sociological Association of Australia and New Zealand.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Goldman, R., Goldman, J. Children's perceptions of sex differences in babies and adolescents: A cross-national study. Arch Sex Behav 12, 277–294 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01542189
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01542189