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Recalled Separation Anxiety and Gender Atypicality in Childhood: A Study of Canadian Heterosexual and Homosexual Men and Women

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Abstract

The current study tested the hypothesis that elevated childhood separation anxiety is associated with female-typical childhood behavior and identity by comparing retrospective reports of heterosexual and homosexual men and women (N = 399). Participants completed measures of recalled childhood separation anxiety and childhood gender-atypical behavior and identity. Heterosexual men reported significantly less childhood separation anxiety relative to all other groups. Childhood gender atypicality was significantly positively correlated with childhood separation anxiety among homosexual men, but not among members of other participant groups. Discussion focused on the implications of these findings for the proposed hypothesis as well as future directions for research examining the bases of developmental associations among sex, sexual orientation, gender atypicality, and childhood separation anxiety.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Deanna Forrester, Ryan Mallard, Aurielle Muriel, Lesley Terry, John Vokey, Erin Zelinski, the Editor, and two anonymous referees. This research was funded by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada Graduate Scholarship to DPV, a Chinook Summer Research Award to LMG, financial support from Mount Saint Vincent University to NHB, a NSERC of Canada Discovery Grant to PLV, and the University of Lethbridge.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4, Canada

    Doug P. VanderLaan, Laura M. Gothreau & Paul L. Vasey

  2. Department of Psychology, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS, Canada

    Nancy H. Bartlett

Authors
  1. Doug P. VanderLaan
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  2. Laura M. Gothreau
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  3. Nancy H. Bartlett
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  4. Paul L. Vasey
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Doug P. VanderLaan.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Childhood Gender Identity Scale (CGIS)a

Female-Typical Behavior Subscale

As a child (before the age of 12) how often did you:

  1. 1.

    Play with girls?

  2. 2.

    Play with girls’ toys and girls’ games?

  3. 3.

    Take the girls’ role in pretend play such as when playing “house” or imitating a female character?

  4. 4.

    Put on girls’ makeup or clothes or accessories?

  5. 5.

    Talk and act like a girl?

Male-Typical Behavior Subscale

As a child (before the age of 12) how often did you:

  1. 6.

    Play with boys?

  2. 7.

    Play with boys’ toys and boys’ games?

  3. 8.

    Take the boys’ role in pretend play such as when playing “house” or imitating a male character?

  4. 9.

    Play rough games and sports?

aScale: 1 = never; 2 = less than half the time; 3 = half the time; 4 = more than half the time; 5 = always/every time

Appendix 2: Cross-Sex Identity Scale (CSIS)

When you were a child (less than 12 years old):

  1. 1.

    How did you feel about being a boy/girl?a

  2. 2.

    How often did you think about hating being a boy/girl?b

  3. 3.

    How did you feel about your sexual parts?c

  4. 4.

    How often did you think about not liking your sexual parts?b

  5. 5.

    I wished I was a girl/boy.b

  6. 6.

    I used to dream/have fantasies about what it would be like to be a girl/boy.b

  7. 7.

    I used to tell others that I wanted to be a girl/boy.b

aScale: 1 = I loved it; 2 = I liked it; 3 = I didn’t really think about it; 4 = It upset me a little bit; 5 = It upset me a lot/I hated it

bScale: 1 = Never; 2 = Sometimes, but less than once a month; 3 = At least once a month; 4 = At least once a week; 5 = Always/Everyday

cScale: 1 = I loved them; 2 = I liked them; 3 = I didn’t really think about it; 4 = They upset me a little bit; 5 = They upset me a lot/I hated them

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VanderLaan, D.P., Gothreau, L.M., Bartlett, N.H. et al. Recalled Separation Anxiety and Gender Atypicality in Childhood: A Study of Canadian Heterosexual and Homosexual Men and Women. Arch Sex Behav 40, 1233–1240 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-010-9695-z

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