Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Gender (Non)conformity in Middle Childhood: A Mixed Methods Approach to Understanding Gender-Typed Behavior, Friendship, and Peer Preference

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Sex Roles Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The present study investigated the associations among gender, gender-typed behavior, and peer preference in 54 Year 5 (9–10 year-old) children in the United Kingdom. Children completed self-reports about their gendered behavior, nominated friends, and participated in a one-on-one interview regarding their preference and non-preference for hypothetical classmates. Results indicated that children were similar to their friends in terms of gender and engagement in gender-typed activities. Regarding potential classmates, the gender nonconforming boy was the most at risk for peer rejection. Students preferred the gender conforming boy and gender nonconforming girl—most often citing masculine activities as reasons why they liked the potential classmate, and feminine activities as reasons why they did not like the potential classmate. Results suggest that feminine activities are devalued in current society, even for girls. Children’s own engagement in gendered activities was also associated with their choice of potential classmate. These results are interpreted in line with social constructionist, social dominance, and hegemonic masculinity theories of gender development and socialization. Knowledge about these patterns of preference and non-preference will help teachers identify students at risk for rejection, enabling them to work proactively to create a positive social environment.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adler, P. A., Kless, S. J., & Adler, P. (1992). Socialization to gender roles: Popularity among elementary school boys and girls. Sociology of Education, 65(3), 169–187. doi:10.2307/2112807.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bem, S. L. (1981). Bem sex-role inventory: Professional manual. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bem, S. L. (1983). Gender schema theory and its implications for child development: Raising gender-aschematic children in a gender-schematic society. Signs, 8(4), 598–618. doi:10.1086/493998.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanchard-Fields, F., Suhrer-Roussel, L., & Hertzog, C. (1994). A confirmatory factor analysis of the Bem Sex Role Inventory: Old questions, new answers. Sex Roles, 30, 423–457. doi:10.1007/BF01420602.

  • Boud, D., Cohen, R., & Sampson, J. (Eds.). (2001). Peer learning in higher education: Learning from and with each other. London: Clays.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buhs, E. S., & Ladd, G. W. (2001). Peer rejection as an antecedent of young children’s school adjustment: An examination of mediating processes. Developmental Psychology, 37(4), 550–560. doi:10.1037/OO12-1649.37.4.550.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Buss, D. M. (1996). Sexual conflict: Evolutionary insights into feminism and the ‘Battle of the Sexes’. In D. M. Buss & N. M. Malamuth (Eds.), Sex, power and conflict: Evolutionary and feminist perspectives (pp. 296–318). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carter, D. B., & McCloskey, L. A. (1984). Peers and the maintenance of sex-typed behavior: The development of children’s conceptions of cross-gender behavior in their peers. Social Cognition, 2(4), 294–314. doi:10.1521/soco.1984.2.4.294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carver, P. R., Yunger, J. L., & Perry, D. G. (2003). Gender identity and adjustment in middle childhood. Sex Roles, 49(3–4), 95–109. doi:10.1023/A:1024423012063.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connell, R. W., & Messerschmidt, J. W. (2005). Hegemonic masculinity: Rethinking the concept. Gender and Society, 19(6), 829–859. doi:10.1177/0891243205278639.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Suicide prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/injury/images/lc-charts/leading_causes_of_death_age_group_2014_1050w760h.gif . Accessed 23 September 2016

  • D’Augelli, A. R., Grossman, A. H., & Starks, M. T. (2006). Childhood gender atypicality, victimization, and PTSD among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21(11), 1462–1482. doi:10.1177/0886260506293482.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • DeRosier, M. E., Kupersmidt, J. B., & Patterson, J. C. (1994). Children’s academic and behavioral adjustment as a function of the chronicity and proximity of peer rejection. Child Development, 65(6), 1799–1813. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1994.tb00850.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Estell, D. B., Cairns, R. B., Farmer, T. W., & Cairns, B. D. (2002). Aggression in inner-city early elementary classrooms: Individual and peer-group configurations. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 48(1), 52–76. doi:10.1353/mpq.2002.0002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farmer, T. W., Leung, M.-C., Keagy, K., Boudah, D. J., Akos, P., McDonough, E., … Hall, C. M. (2009). Social preference choices in late elementary school: Within and across group nominations. Psychology in the Schools, 46(4), 362–374. doi: 10.1002/pits.20381.

  • Garrett, C. S., Ein, P. L., & Tremaine, L. (1977). The development of gender stereotyping of adult occupations in elementary school children. Child Development, 48(2), 507–512. doi:10.2307/1128646.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham, S., Munniksma, A., & Juvonen, J. (2014). Psychosocial benefits of cross-ethnic friendships in urban middle schools. Child Development, 85(2), 469–483. doi:10.1111/cdev.12159.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A. F., & Krippendorff, K. (2007). Answering the call for a standard reliability measure for coding data. Communication Methods and Measures, 1, 77–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hesse-Biber, S. N. (2014). Feminist research practice: A primer (2nd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, J. N., & Chen, Q. (2011). Reciprocal effects of student-teacher and student-peer relatedness: Effects on academic self efficacy. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 32(5), 278–287. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2010.03.005.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, J. N., & Im, M. H. (2016). Teacher-sudent relationship and peer disliking and liking across grades 1–4. Child Development, 87(2), 593–611. doi:10.1111/cdev.12477.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, J. N., & Kwok, O. (2006). Classroom engagement mediates the effect of teacher–student support on elementary students’ peer acceptance: A prospective analysis. Journal of School Psychology, 43(6), 465–480. doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2005.10.001.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, M. F., Barth, J. M., Powell, N., & Lochman, J. E. (2006). Classroom contextual effects of race on children’s peer nominations. Child Development, 77(5), 1325–1337. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00937.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs, J. E., Lanza, S., Osgood, D. W., Eccles, J. S., & Wigfield, A. (2002). Changes in children’s self-competence and values: Gender and domain differences across grades one through twelve. Child Development, 73(2), 509–527. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00421.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kidd, S. A., Henrich, C. C., Brookmeyer, K. A., Davidson, L., King, R. A., & Shahar, G. (2006). The social context of adolescent suicide attempts: Interactive effects of parent, peer, and school social relations. Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior, 36(4), 386–395. doi:10.1521/suli.2006.36.4.386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kreiger, T. C., & Kochenderfer-Ladd, B. (2012). Gender behaviors as predictors of peer acceptance and victimization. Personal Relationships, 20(4), 619–634. doi:10.1111/pere.12003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ladd, G. W., Kochenderfer, B. J., & Coleman, C. C. (1997). Classroom peer acceptance, friendship, and victimization: Distinct relational systems that contribute uniquely to children’s school adjustment? Child Development, 68(6), 1181–1197. doi:10.2307/1132300.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leaper, C. (2000). The social construction and socialization of gender during development. In P. H. Miller & E. K. Scholnick (Eds.), Toward a feminist developmental psychology (pp. 127–150). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leaper, C., & Friedman, C. K. (2007). The socialization of gender. In J. E. Grusec & P. D. Hastings (Eds.), Handbook of socialization: Theory and research (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maccoby, E. E. (1990). Gender and relationships: A developmental account. American Psychologist, 45(4), 513–520. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.45.4.513.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, C. L., & Ruble, D. (2004). Children’s search for gender cues: Cognitive perspectives on gender development. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13(2), 67–70. doi:10.1111/j.0963-7214.2004.00276.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, C. L., Kornienko, O., Schaefer, D. R., Hanish, L. D., Fabes, R. A., & Goble, P. (2013). The role of sex of peers and gender-typed activities in young children’s peer affiliative networks: A longitudinal analysis of selection and influence. Child Development, 84(3), 921–937. doi:10.1111/cdev.12032.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Masten, A. S., & Coatsworth, J. D. (1998). The development of competence in favorable and unfavorable environments. American Psychologist, 53(2), 205–220. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.53.2.205.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McGuffey, C. S., & Rich, B. L. (1999). Playing in the gender transgression zone: Race, class, and hegemonic masculinity in middle childhood. Gender and Society, 13(5), 608–627. doi:10.1177/089124399013005003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ollendick, T. H., Weist, M. D., Borden, M. C., & Greene, R. W. (1992). Sociometric status and academic, behavioral, and psychological adjustment: A five-year longitudinal study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60(1), 80–87. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.60.1.80.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Perry, D. G., Kusel, S. J., & Perry, L. C. (1988). Victims of peer aggression. Developmental Psychology, 24(6), 807–814. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.24.6.807.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poulin, F., & Dishion, T. J. (2008). Methodological issues in the use of peer sociometric nominations with middle school youth. Social Development, 17(4), 908–921. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2008.00473.x.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Prentice, D. A., & Carranza, E. (2002). What women and men should be, shouldn’t be, are allowed to be, and don’t have to be: The contents of prescriptive gender stereotypes. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 26(4), 269–281. doi:10.1111/1471-6402.t01-1-00066.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robnett, R. D., & Susskind, J. E. (2010). Who cares about being gentle? The impact of social identity and the gender of one’s friends on children’s display of same-gender favoritism. Sex Roles, 63(11–12), 820–832. doi:10.1007/s11199-010-9843-x.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Rubenstein, J. L., Heeren, T., Housman, D., Rubin, C., & Stechler, G. (1989). Suicidal behavior in “normal” adolescents: Risk and protective factors. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 59(1), 59–71. doi:10.1111/j.1939-0025.1989.tb01635.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, K. H., Chen, X., Coplan, R., Buskirk, A. A., & Wojslawowicz, J. C. (2005). Peer relationships in childhood. In M. H. Bornstein & M. E. Lamb (Eds.), Developmental science: An advanced textbook (5th ed., pp. 469–512). New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, K. H., Bukowski, W. M., & Laursen, B. (2009). Handbook of peer interactions, relations, and groups. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Senior, C., & Howard, C. (2014). Learning in friendship groups: Developing students’ conceptual understanding through social interaction. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1–8. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01031.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaffer, J. P. (1995). Multiple hypothesis testing. Annual Review of Psychology, 46, 561–584. doi:10.1146/annurev.ps.46.020195.003021.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shrum, W., Cheek, N. H., & Hunter, S. M. (1988). Friendship in school: Gender and racial homophily. Sociology of Education, 61(4), 227–239. doi:10.2307/2112441.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sidanius, J. I. M., Levin, S., Liu, J., & Pratto, F. (2000). Social dominance orientation, anti- egalitarianism and the political psychology of gender: An extension and cross-cultural replication. European Journal of Social Psychology, 30, 41–67. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-0992(200001/02)30:1<41::AID-EJSP976>3.0.CO;2-O.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1994). Grounded theory methodology. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 273–285). Retrieved from https://vu.fernuni-hagen.de/lvuweb/lvu/file/FeU/KSW/2014SS/33800/oeffentlich/33800-vorschau.pdf. Accessed 13 March 2014

  • Terry, R. (2000). Recent advances in measurement theory and the use of sociometric techniques. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 88, 22–53. doi:10.1002/cd.23220008805.

    Google Scholar 

  • Underwood, M. K. (2007). Introduction to the special issue gender and children’s friendships: Do girls’ and boys’ friendships constitute different peer cultures, and what are the trade-offs for development? Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 53(3), 319–325. doi:10.1353/mpq.2007.0022.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, E., Desmarais, S., & Gugula, S. (2002). The impact of parenting experience on gender stereotyped toy play of children. Sex Roles, 47(1–2), 39–49. doi:10.1023/A:1020679619728.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., Waters, A. M., & Kindermann, T. (2010). A social relations analysis of liking for and by peers: Associations with gender, depression, peer perception, and worry. Journal of Adolescence, 33(1), 69–81. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.05.005.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

We express our appreciation to the school administrators, teachers, and students who allowed us to join their educational home while we collected data.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health and Human Development, The Pennsylvania State University, Health and Human Development Building: Room 115, University Park, State College, PA, USA

    Summer S. Braun

  2. Department of Psychology, Rollins College, Winter Park, FL, USA

    Alice J. Davidson

Authors
  1. Summer S. Braun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alice J. Davidson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Summer S. Braun.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they no conflict of interest.

Funding

The authors received no funding to support this research.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The authors’ Institutional Review Board evaluated and approved the study before the start of the research process. Because children under the age of 18 participated in this study, parent informed consent and participant assent were obtained for all participants included in the study.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Braun, S.S., Davidson, A.J. Gender (Non)conformity in Middle Childhood: A Mixed Methods Approach to Understanding Gender-Typed Behavior, Friendship, and Peer Preference. Sex Roles 77, 16–29 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-016-0693-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-016-0693-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation