Behavior problems and peer rejection in preschool boys and girls

The authors tested the hypothesis that deviant behaviors within a preschool peer group would be linked with peer rejection, irrespective of child gender. Seventy-six children, aged 3 to 5 years, participated. Teachers rated children's behavior on the Child Adaptive Behavior Inventory, and children provided sociometric ratings. For a subsample of children (n = 47), observers coded aggressive, noncompliant, and withdrawn behavior using a time-sampling system. For both boys and girls, noncompliance, hyperactivity, and social withdrawal were associated with peer rejection; overt aggression was associated with peer rejection for boys, but not for girls. Analysis revealed that approximately half of the variance in sociometric and teacher ratings of peer rejection was accounted for by aggression and social withdrawal for both boys and girls. The results suggest that the association between behavior problems and peer rejection emerges at a very early age.     

Younger children's changing self-concepts: boys and girls from preschool through second grade

The author investigated age- and gender-related changes in self-evaluative judgments of 87 children followed from preschool through 2nd grade. Focusing on cognitive, physical, and peer competence assessed by the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance (PSPCSA; S. Harter & R. Pike, 1984), the author tested PSPCSA subscale measures for changes in their mean levels, for intercorrelations, and for correlations with external criteria, and then analyzed results for gender and grade trends. Gender effects were not identified in the analyses. Mean-level changes occurred, but patterns of change differed. External measures (teacher ratings) did not relate to children's self-perceptions (physical and social competences). Whereas external measures of academic competence correlated significantly with children's self-evaluations, the correlations across grade levels did not differ significantly.     

Relations between episodic memory, suggestibility, theory of mind, and cognitive inhibition in the preschool child

The development of episodic memory, its relation to theory of mind (ToM), executive functions (e.g., cognitive inhibition), and to suggestibility was studied. Children (n= 115) between 3 and 6 years of age saw two versions of a video film and were tested for their memory of critical elements of the videos. Results indicated similar developmental trends for all memory measures, ToM, and inhibition, but ToM and inhibition were not associated with any memory measures. Correlations involving source memory was found in relation to specific questions, whereas inhibition and ToM were significantly correlated to resistance to suggestions. A regression analysis showed that age was the main contributor to resistance to suggestions, to correct source monitoring, and to correct responses to specific questions. Inhibition was also a significant main predictor of resistance to suggestive questions, whereas the relative contribution of ToM was wiped out when an extended model was tested.     

Profiles of externalizing behavior problems for boys and girls across preschool: the roles of emotion regulation and inattention

Although externalizing behavior typically peaks in toddlerhood and decreases by school entry, some children do not show this normative decline. A sample of 383 boys and girls was assessed at ages 2, 4, and 5 for externalizing behavior and at age 2 on measures of emotion regulation and inattention. A longitudinal latent profile analysis was performed and resulted in 4 longitudinal profiles of externalizing behavior for each gender. Poor emotion regulation and inattention were important predictors of membership in the chronic-clinical profile for girls, whereas socioeconomic status and inattention were important predictors of membership in the chronic-clinical profile for boys. Results are discussed with respect to the development of adaptive skills that lead to normative declines in externalizing behavior across childhood.     

Sex-typed play in feminoid boys versus normal boys and girls

Procedures for assessing children's sex-typed play were developed which (a) examined children's continuous play in four sessions totaling 20 minutes rather than measuring only initial choice of a sex-typed toy, and (b) did not impose the stimulus-specific condition of requiring an adult experimenter to be present to administer the task. Play with masculine and feminine toys was observed for 120 normal children (60 boys, 60 girls) aged 3 yr.–8 yr., and 15 similarly aged boys diagnosed as having childhood gender disturbance. Significant differences were found in the sex-typed play of the two normal groups, but no age differences were observed. The amount of feminine play by the feminoid boys was found to be significantly greater than that of normal boys, but not significantly different from the predominantly feminine play patterns of the normal girls. The usefulness of such a measure for the clinical assessment of deviant sexrole development in young children is discussed.This study was supported by United States Public Health Service Research Grant #MH 21803-01A1, 02, 03 from the National Institute of Mental Health. The University Elementary School at UCLA is gratefully acknowledged for providing a normal subject population and laboratory facilities. The authors express their appreciation to Stanley Conrad, Roni Greenberg, Alfred Lauck, Benson Low, and Martin Magy for their assistance in data collection.     

Adult sex role orientation and perceptions of aggressive interactions between girls and boys

We explored how the sex role orientation of adult observers related to their perceptions of boys' and girls' aggression. Sex-typed and androgynous undergraduate subjects viewed videotaped scenes in which one member of a girl-boy pair behaved aggressively toward the other. Unlike androgynous subjects, sex-typed subjects judged boys' aggression to be more intentional than girls' and proposed more severe reprimands for aggressive boys than for aggressive girls. Androgynous subjects recommended more severe reprimands for aggressive girls than sex-typed subjects did. Overall, sex-typed subjects differed from androgynous subjects not in their assessment of the degree of aggressiveness boys and girls expressed, but in their perceptions of the purposefulness of boys' and girls' aggression and how harshly to respond to it. We speculated that sex-typed subjects did not consider girls' aggression to be serious enough to warrant severe reprimands. Thus, during socialization, sex-typed adults perhaps model less aggression in response to girls' aggressive acts than to boys'. In addition, sex-typed adults may convey to girls that their aggression is not an effective means of obtaining adult intervention.     

Qualitative differences among gender-stereotyped toys: Implications for cognitive and social development in girls and boys

Although it has been suggested that the early play experiences of girls and boys may contribute to gender differences in cognitive and social development, empirical support for this hypothesis is limited. This paper reports the development of a system of toy classification and may permit a more programmatic investigation of this problem. One hundred adult subjects rated 50 children's toys on 12 “functional” dimensions. Results showed that these toys could be reliably described according to multidimensional similarities and that toys considered appropriate for girls differed in many ways from those considered appropriate for boys. Thus this system may allow us to test more systematically the hypothetical relationship between sex-typed toy play and the development of differential cognitive and/or social skills in girls and boys.     

Environmental control of independent and dependent behaviors in preschool girls and boys: A model for early independence training

Differential adult response to the dependent behaviors of young girls and boys has been widely reported in the literature. The present study was an experimental investigation of the role of adult response patterns in shaping and maintaining independent behavior in preschoolers. A two-group design using random assignment was used to examine environmental control of independent and dependent behaviors, defined as task persistence and exploration, and proximity-seeking and socialization of attention, respectively. Subjects were 20 3- and 4-year-olds, 11 females and 9 males. Results indicated that independent and dependent behaviors are both strongly under the control of environmental contingencies in both boys and girls. Implications of these results for the theoretical understanding of sex-role development and women's mental health problems are discussed.     

Relations between embedded figures test performance and dimensions of the I-E scale

Relations between an embedded figures measure of field independence and various dimensions of Rotter's internal-external locus of control scale were investigated. The general absence of significant correlations suggests that these variables are essentially unrelated.     

Compliance and problem-solving competence in girls and boys

The problem-solving abilities of 4- and 5-year old children (N = 208) were assessed to test the hypothesis that high levels of compliance are negatively related to problem solving. Problem-solving competence was examined with a task-specific measure and a standardized measure of general problem-solving performance. Low compliant children performed better on both measures. The role of compliance in the cognitive development of girls and boys is discussed.     

Greater delay discounting among girls,but not boys,with ADHD correlates with cognitive control

Cognitive neuroscience models suggest both reward valuation and cognitive control contribute to reward-based decision-making. The current study examined the relationship between cognitive control and delay discounting (i.e., choosing smaller, immediate over larger, delayed rewards) in a large sample of boys and girls diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; N = 95) and typically developing control children (TD; N = 59). Specifically, we examined performance on multiple measures of cognitive control (i.e., Go/No-Go task, Stop Signal task, and Spatial Span task) and delay discounting (i.e., Classic Delay Discounting and Real-Time Delay Discounting tasks), as well as the relationship between these measures. Results indicated that sex moderated the effects of group on task performance. Specifically, girls with ADHD, but not boys with the disorder, exhibited atypical delay discounting of real-time rewards. Results from correlational analyses indicated that delay discounting and cognitive control were not significantly correlated in the overall sample. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that among girls with ADHD poorer spatial working memory and inhibitory control predicted greater real-time discounting. Collectively, findings provide support for distinct patterns of cognitive control and delay discounting among school-aged girls and boys with ADHD. Additionally, findings suggest that among girls with ADHD, those who exhibit relatively poor working memory and inhibitory control might be a particularly vulnerable subgroup with the greatest propensity to exhibit maladaptive decision-making.     

Relations between nutrition and cognitive performance in Egyptian toddlers

Two relatively unexplored questions--which specific components of chronic mild child malnutrition are associated with specific behavioral and cognitive deficits and do psychosocial child rearing factors moderate the nutrition-development relationship?--were investigated in a longitudinal study involving 153 toddlers from the Egyptian village of Kalama. Beginning at study entry at age 18 months and continuing until 30 months, food intake information was obtained for 2 consecutive days each month. During the same period, researchers visited the homes twice a month to observe both toddler behavior and caregiver styles. Finally, standardized infant development tests were administered at 24 months and 30 minutes and the capacity for exploratory, symbolic play was assessed. Specific components of nutritional intake at 18-23 months of age were confirmed to be uniquely related to specific developmental outcomes at 24 months of age. Changes in toddler intake from 18-30 months also predicted 30-month cognitive performance. At 24 months, general mental competence was associated positively with fat intake, total kilocalories, and total protein intake while symbolic play capacity was related only to total protein intake. Significant increases in predictive variance occurred when the model was expanded to encompass caregiver behaviors as well as nutritional factors. For example, when nonverbal response to child vocalizations was used as the environmental measure, there was evidence of both coactive and synergistic interactions for comparisons involving cognitive development indicators. For symbolic play, an increase in predictive variance was found when the model included the multiplicative interaction of animal kilocalories by nonverbal response to vocalizations. Also observed was a buffering effect against poor psychosocial rearing conditions given the presence of adequate nutritional intake. These findings suggest the feasibility of multidimensional risk profiles, the provision of specific nutrients targeted at specific deficits, and multidisciplinary interventions.     

Overall nutrient intake of preschool hyperactive and normal boys

Studies examining the relationship between sugar intake of hyperactive children and behavior problems have reported inconsistent results. We hypothesized that if the problem behaviors of attention deficit-disordered children with hyperactivity (ADDH) are exacerbated by food, then this might be due to differences in their background nutrition relative to non-ADDH children. Parents and day care workers of 24 ADDH and 27 non-ADDH preschoolaged boys were trained to keep food diaries for 21 days. Analysis of the last 14 days for each child revealed no differences in overall nutrient intake between the two groups. On the other hand, for 5 ADDH and 3 non-ADDH children the within-subject correlations between daily behavior and sugar intake were significant. We concluded that nutrition-behavior interactions are more likely a function of idiosyncratic sensitivities, rather than a general tendency for ADDH children to eat differently from non-ADDH children.This research was funded by the Alberta Mental Health Research Advisory Council, and by the National Health Research and Development Program of Health and Welfare Canada. We think Jeannine Fraser for help with data analyses.     

Directional preferences in turning behavior of girls and boys

Turning biases in humans and animals are known to be related to dopaminergic asymmetry between the brain hemispheres. A laboratory method, in which turning preference was evaluated, was adapted based upon the turning of the subject toward a particular sound in a square room. One of the aims of this study was to investigate the reliability of this method with children, and the other aim was to research the turning preference in boys and girls. 31 children between 7 and 13 yr. old volunteered as subjects, and 17 subjects were retested. The subjects tended significantly to turn leftward (60.1%), and fewer girls (53.7%) turned to the left than boys (66.2%). The correlation between the test and the retest was significant (r=.79, p< .01). Most studies have indicated that humans in childhood and adulthood exhibit left-turning preference, but conflicts between the results obtained on different types of rotation tasks have suggested that hemispheric dopaminergic activity might affect preference. That needs study.     

Teachers' selections of boys and girls as prominent pupils

Over 300 teachers and student-teachers were asked to nominate their most noticeable pupils regarding ability, achievement, behavior, and teacher's preoccupation with them, as defined in eight eminently school-relevant categories. Frequencies of male and female names recorded were employed as measures of teachers' perception of saliency of the two sexes. Respondents recalled significantly more boys as prominent in most categories. More boys than girls were perceived as the best students in general and in mathematics in particular, and as possessing high potential. More boys than girls occupied the minds of these teachers after school. Boys appeared to cause the overwhelming majority of discipline problems. On the other hand, more girls were considered very successful in Hebrew and in social skills. Boys received more nominations in each of their five categories of salience then did girls in any of their two categories of salience. No difference was found between sex-related nominations of experienced teachers and student-teachers. Findings indicate that both teachers and future teachers of the elementary grades perceive boys as the majority of salient students. Moreover, the directions of most sex differences found are stereotypical. Such perceptions, unsupported by objective psychometric evidence, may impede sex equity in school practice, and particularly deprive girls of opportunities of full personal development.Part of this study was presented at the Third International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women, Dublin, Ireland, 1987. We would like to thank Hudda Halabi and Tamar Michaeli for their help in coding.