Perceptions of fear in other Children and adolescents: The role of gender and friendship status

Gender differences in fear were examined in 693 Chinese children and adolescents. Subjects were asked to rate their own fears, the fears of their best friends, and the fears of other classmates using the Fear Survey Schedule for Children — Revised (Ollendick, 1983). Consistent with previous investigations in Western and Eastern countries, girls rated themselves as more fearful than boys. In addition, both girls and boys rated their best friends as similar in number, content, and intensity of fears. However, girls rated their classmates as less fearful than themselves or their best friends, while boys rated their classmates as more fearful than themselves or their best friends. Findings are discussed in terms of gender role expectations and similarity-attraction hypotheses.     

Vietnamese Adolescents in Australia: Relationships between Perceptions of Self and Parental Values,Intergenerational Conflict,and Gender Dissatisfaction

The present study examined traditional family and independence values among young Vietnamese respondents (N = 204), their perceptions of parents' values, and the impact of differential parent-adolescent acculturation on intergenerational conflict and gender satisfaction. The study confirmed that adolescents perceived that they had less traditional values than their parents. Traditional family values diminished with time spent in Australia while the value accorded to independence increased. This pattern was stronger for girls than for boys. Girls valued Vietnamese traditions less than did their male peers, regarded their parents as being less accepting of independence, and were more dissatisfied with their gender role than boys. For girls but not for boys, discrepancy between adolescent and parental values was associated with more conflict and greater gender dissatisfaction. This study suggests that girls have more difficulty than boys in dealing simultaneously with the expectations of two cultures.     

Reactive aggression in boys with disruptive behavior disorders: behavior,physiology, and affect

This study examined responses to peer provocation in boys ages 9–13 years who met symptomatic criteria for ADHD-only, ODD/CD-only, comorbid ADHD/ODD/CD, or no diagnosis. Boys participated in a reaction-time game that included standardized verbal and behavioral provocation. Their behavioral, physiological, and affective responses to this task were measured. Results showed that groups did not differ following high levels of provocation because all boys behaved aggressively. However, following low provocation boys with comorbid ADHD/ODD/CD had higher levels of behavioral aggression, had greater heart rate acceleration, and were rated as angrier than all other boys. In addition, boys with comorbid ADHD/ODD/CD held a grudge longer than other children. Results suggest that boys with comorbid ADHD/ODD/CD are especially reactive to provocation from their peers.     

Origins of childhood fears: an evaluation of Rachman's theory of fear acquisition

This study explored Rachman's (1977) theory of fear acquisition in a large sample of Australian and American children and adolescents. Participants completed a questionnaire that addressed different pathways of fear acquisition for 10 highly prevalent fears. The majority of children attributed the onset of their fears to vicarious and instructional factors, although these indirect sources of fear were often combined with direct conditioning experiences. Also examined were effects for gender, age, and nationality. Boys and preadolescents were found to report more direct and vicarious experiences than girls or adolescents. Effects due to nationality were minimal. Methodological limitations attendant to self-reports were acknowledged.     

Bashful Boys and Coy Girls: A Review of Gender Differences in Childhood Shyness

Shyness is a temperamental trait characterized by a fear of novel social situations and self-consciousness in situations of perceived social evaluation. From early childhood to adolescence, shyness is associated with a host of negative outcomes including poor peer relationships (e.g., exclusion, victimization), internalizing problems (e.g., anxiety, depression), and school adjustment difficulties (e.g., lack of academic success, school avoidance). It has been suggested that shyness may be less socially acceptable for boys than for girls because it violates gender norms related to male social assertion and dominance. In the current paper, we review the empirical support for this assertion. More specifically, we examined: (1) possible gender differences in the prevalence of shyness; (2) how important others (i.e., parents, teachers, peers) might respond differentially to shyness in boys compared to girls; and (3) potential gender differences in the implications of shyness across multiple domains. Most of this research has been conducted with school-aged children from Canada and the United States. However, we also explore findings from emerging cross-cultural studies in this area. Possible conceptual mechanisms that may underlie differences in the potential implications of shyness for boys and girls are then discussed, as well as several prospective directions for future research.     

Children’s Evaluation and Categorization of Transgender Children

Despite extant evidence of negative peer treatment of transgender adolescents and adults, little is known about how young children perceive transgender peers, particularly those who have socially transitioned or are living in line with their gender rather than sex at birth. Whereas children have been shown to be averse to gender nonconformity in peers, because many transgender children appear and behave in ways consistent with their expressed gender (but not their sex at birth), it is unclear how children evaluate these identities. In 2 studies, we investigated 5- to 10-year-old children’s (N_total = 113) preferences for transgender versus gender-“typical” peers who either shared their gender identity or did not. We also examined whether children categorized transgender peers by their sex or expressed gender, as it might inform their evaluations. Children preferred cisgender peers over transgender peers; however, they also liked peers of their own gender rather than the other gender (e.g., female participants preferred girls over boys), demonstrating that the oft-documented own-gender bias plays an important role even when children are reasoning about transgender peers. Children did not reliably categorize transgender peers by sex or gender; yet those who categorized transgender peers by their sex showed greater dislike of transgender peers. The current studies are the first to investigate cisgender children’s attitudes toward transgender children and suggest that perceptions of gender categorization and conformity play a role in children’s evaluations of transgender peers.     

Children’s judgments of social interactive behaviors with peers: the influence of age and gender

Participants (138 children; 7–12 years of age) rated how often nice and not nice behaviors occurred when (a) participants (boys/girls) were the actor and peers (males/females) were the target and (b) when participants were the target of peers’ actions in a school setting. Children indicated they were nicer to their same-gender peers than to their opposite-gender peers. Also, older boys, in comparison to young boys, indicated that not nice interactions occurred more often among them and male peers. Nice (e.g., helping) and not nice (e.g., verbal aggression) behaviors were also generated, which also differed by age and gender. Finally, this study has important implications for educators in that from children’s point of view these are the types of behaviors that are occurring during their time at school. Although there are programs in schools that are aimed at decreasing physical aggression, more attention should be given to the more indirect or subtle forms of aggression, such as social manipulation and verbal. At the same time, programs that encourage nice behaviors, such as helping and sharing, should be expanded.     

Adolescent mental health in Japan and Russia: The role of body image,bullying victimisation and school environment

This study examined associations between self-reported mental health problems, body image, bullying victimisation and school safety in large adolescent samples in Japan and Russia, considering the effects of gender, culture and their interactions. In both Japan and Russia, girls reported a greater number of mental health problems, less bullying victimisation and much higher body dissatisfaction than boys did. Japanese adolescents rated themselves higher on total difficulties, reported less body dissatisfaction and bullying victimisation, and rated their school safety lower than that of Russian youths. Cross-cultural differences in total difficulties and body image were qualified by gender. Body dissatisfaction, bullying victimisation and school safety all independently contributed to adolescent mental health problems. The protective effect of school safety on total difficulties was larger for girls than for boys; the strength of the association between bullying victimisation and adolescent mental health problems differed across genders and cultures. The findings indicate a need for a cross-cultural approach and provide a strong basis for targeted interventions that seek to improve adolescent mental health.     

Common fears: a comparison of adolescents' self-generated and fear survey schedule generated fears.

Investigations into normative fear in adolescence have indicated that the most common fears are consistently death-related and danger-related. Assessments have most commonly been made from self-reports on fear survey schedules. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to determine whether adolescents would provide responses comparable to those generated through the use of a fear survey schedule when asked to list their 3 greatest fears. A total of 439 adolescents aged 11 to 18 years (237 girls, 201 boys, 1 sex not reported) listed their greatest fears; then they completed the 78-item Fear Survey Schedule for Children-II (E. Gullone & N. J. King, 1992). Consistent with past research, the 10 most common fears generated via the fear schedule related to death and danger. However, on the whole, the self-generated fears deviated from the death and danger theme, also including fear of failure, fear of animals, and fear of the unknown. A tendency toward global responses in self-generated fears appeared to encompass the majority of specific death-related fears included in the fear schedule, thus allowing for other predominant fears to be listed among the 3 most common.     

Depression and self-esteem in academically gifted and nongifted children: A comparison study

The present investigation examined depression and self-esteem in a sample of 145 gifted and nongifted fourth and fifth grade children. Self-esteem was assessed by the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory. Depression was measured by Kovacs' Children's Depression Inventory, the Reynolds' Child Depression Scale, and teachers' global ratings of depression. As a group, gifted children did not differ on levels of self-esteem or depression from their nongifted peers. However, when grade and gender differences were examined, it was found that gifted boys tended to report lower levels of self-esteem and more depression than gifted girls. Teachers also judged boys to be more depressed than girls. Furthermore, fifth-graders were rated by teachers to be more depressed than fourth-graders. Overall, this investigation did not find major differences in affective characteristics between gifted and nongifted children.     

Common Fears: A Comparison of Adolescents' Self-Generated and Fear Survey Schedule Generated Fears

Investigations into normative fear in adolescence have indicated that the most common fears are consistently death-related and danger-related. Assessments have most commonly been made from self-reports on fear survey schedules. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to determine whether adolescents would provide responses comparable to those generated through the use of a fear survey schedule when asked to list their 3 greatest fears. A total of 439 adolescents aged 11 to 18 years (237 girls, 201 boys, 1 sex not reported) listed their greatest fears; then they completed the 78-item Fear Survey Schedule for Children-II (E. Gullone & N. J. King, 1992). Consistent with past research, the 10 most common fears generated via the fear schedule related to death and danger. However, on the whole, the self-generated fears deviated from the death and danger theme, also including fear of failure, fear of animals, and fear of the unknown. A tendency toward global responses in self-generated fears appeared to encompass the majority of specific death-related fears included in the fear schedule, thus allowing for other predominant fears to be listed among the 3 most common.     

Preschool Children’s Pretend and Physical Play and Sex of Play Partner: Connections to Peer Competence

This study was designed to examine associations between preschool childrens pretend and physical play with same-sex, other-sex, and mixed sex peers and childrens social competence with peers. Sixty predominately middle-class preschoolers (33 boys, 51 European-American) were observed on the playground at their school over a period of 4 months. Childrens same-sex, other-sex, and mixed-sex peer play was observed, and teachers and peers provided assessments of childrens social competence. Analyses revealed that children who engaged in more same-sex pretend play were better liked by peers and were viewed by teachers as being socially competent. In addition, girls who engaged in same-sex exercise play and boys who engaged in same-sex rough-and-tumble play were better liked by peers, whereas boys who engaged in rough-and-tumble play with other-sex peers were less liked by peers. The results suggest that child gender and gender of playmate are important factors in the association between pretend play and rough-and-tumble play and childrens social competence with peers.     

Hyperactive children and peer interaction: Knowledge and performance of social skills

This study investigated hyperactive children's peer relations using the framework of social skills theory. Subjects' (15 hyperactive and 15 control boys aged 7 through 11) knowledge of socially appropriate behavior was assessed using the Social Knowledge Interview (Geraci & Asher, 1980). Additionally, performance of social skills with peers was rated by independent judges during free play, a cooperative puzzle task, and a persuasion task. Peers also rated subjects'desirability as partners for work, play, and friendship. Analyses showed that hyperactive subjects had deficits in knowledge of how to maintain relationships and handle interpersonal conflict, and demonstrated more negative behavior in the cooperative puzzle task than did controls. Hyperactive subjects also were rated by judges as less likely to achieve academic success than controls and were rated by peers as less desirable potential work partners in school. Significant correlations between social knowledge and performance with peers were found. It was concluded that hyperactive boys exhibit deficits both in their social knowledge and in their performance of socially skilled behavior.This research was conducted as part of doctoral research by the first author, under the supervision of the second and third authors. We are grateful for the assistance of Diane Arnkoff, who served on the committee, for her helpful comments and suggestions. Thanks also go to Al Farrell for his statistical consultation. We gratefully acknowledge the support and assistance of the Georgetown University Child Development Center, where the data were collected.     

Antecedents of toddler gender segregation: Cognitive consonance,gender-typed toy preferences and behavioral compatibility

This study examined 3 possible antecedents of toddler gender segregation: segregating children were hypothesized to exhibit more gender awareness, gender-typed toy preferences, and gender-typed compatible play styles than their non-segregating peers. Fifty-seven, primarily White, toddlers (28 males, 29 females) with a mean age of 35 months were observed in free play to determine their degree of same-gender peer preferences and gender-typed toy preferences. Teacher ratings of the children's play styles, and the children's knowledge of gender identity, and gender role awareness were also examined. Forty-two (21% of males and 62% of females) children played with same-gender peers at above chance levels during free play, with more girls segregating than boys. There were no differences between gender segregating and non-segregating children regarding gender-typed toy preferences or gender awareness. There were differences in teachers' ratings such that the gender segregating girls were seen as the most socially sensitive, and gender segregating boys were seen as more active and disruptive then the other children. These findings are interpreted as providing support for the compatible play style explanation of gender segregation, but the gender awareness and gender-typed toy preference hypotheses were not supported.This research was partially supported by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Counsel of Canada and the Fonds Pour la Formation de Chercheures et L'aide a la Recherche of the Ministry of Education of Quebec.The authors would like to thank the staff, students and parents of the Rainbow Preschool and the St. Andrews Preschool for their cooperation, and also, Judi Gulko, Wendy Seifert, Lisa Bedard, Sharon McKeown, Ina Grey, Lorrie Sippola, and Ivan Fernandez for their help in collecting and coding the data. Kim Powlishta also provided helpful insights regarding statistical analyses. Also, we would like to thank the anonymous reviewer for helpful comments.     

Peer ratings of depression,anxiety, and aggression in inpatient and elementary school children: Rating biases and influence of rater's self-reported depression,anxiety, and aggression

Using parallel self-, peer, and teacher rating scales, several rating biases in children's peer ratings of depression, anxiety, and aggression were examined. Participants were 66 inpatient and 133 elementary school children (N = 199, 109 boys, 90 girls; 61% white, 39% black) aged 8 to 12, and their teachers. Results showed significant halo bias in both the children's peer ratings and the teachers' ratings. Children's self-reports on each of the three traits were significantly related to their peer ratings of the same trait, while adjusting for socioeconomic status and the peers' teachers' ratings of the same trait. Children who rated themselves as high on each trait rated their peers significantly higher on the same trait than children who rated themselves as medium or low; and for depression and anxiety, those who rated themselves as medium rated their peers significantly higher on those traits than those who rated themselves as low. For both depression and aggression, children's self-reports on the trait were significantly related to their peer ratings of the same trait, but not significantly related to their peer ratings of different traits. Disagreements between children's and teachers' ratings of the peers on all three traits were significantly related to child self-reports on each trait, indicating a possible distortion in children's peer ratings due to self-report. The implications of the results for both peer and others' assessments are discussed, and further investigation of rating biases in other informants' assessments is encouraged.These data were collected as part of the author's doctoral dissertation submitted to Memphis State University. Appreciation is expressed to Stacey Donegan for assistance with the literature review for an earlier version of this paper presented at the meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, New Orleans, March 1993.     

‘It's not that we hate you’: Understanding children's gender attitudes and expectancies about peer relationships

Widespread gender segregation, evident throughout elementary school, seems to imply that girls and boys have negative feelings and thoughts about one another, and classic theories of inter‐group processes support this idea. However, research has generally overlooked children's feelings and perceptions about gender‐related interpersonal interactions. This paper investigates the nature of children's attitudes about same‐ and other‐gender peers, and explores how those attitudes relate to the expectancies and beliefs children hold about same‐ and other‐gender peer interactions. Children (N= 98 fifth graders) completed questionnaires assessing their global liking of own‐ and other‐gender peers ( Yee & Brown, 1994 ), positive and negative attitudes about own‐ and other‐gender peers, and outcome expectancies related to interacting with own‐ and other‐gender peers. Results indicated that rather than being characterized by out‐group negativity, children's inter‐group gender attitudes are best characterized by an in‐group positivity bias. Children's positive and negative affective attitudes were also significantly associated with outcome expectancies. In contrast, global liking of own‐ and other‐gender peers was less predictive of outcome expectancies. Thus, the greater specificity of the affective attitude measures appeared to be a more predictive and potentially fruitful gauge of children's feelings about own‐ and other‐gender peers. Results are discussed in terms of the need for finer grained and more extensive studies of children's gender‐related feelings and cognitions about own‐ and other‐gender peers.     

Making the invisible visible: fear and disclosure of sexual orientation at work

Stigma theory was used to examine the fears underlying the disclosure of a gay identity at work. Using a national sample of 534 gay, lesbian, and bisexual employees, this study examined the antecedents that affect the degree of disclosure of a gay identity at work and, for those who had not disclosed, the factors that influence their fears about full disclosure. Employees reported less fear and more disclosure when they worked in a group that was perceived as supportive and sharing their stigma. Perceptions of past experience with sexual orientation discrimination were related to increased fears but to greater disclosure. For those who had not fully disclosed their stigma, the fears associated with disclosure predicted job attitudes, psychological strain, work environment, and career outcomes. However, actual disclosure was unrelated to these variables. The utility of fear of disclosure for understanding processes underlying the disclosure of gay and other invisible stigmatized identities in the workplace is discussed.     

Children’s Gender-Typed Activity Choices Across Preschool Social Contexts

Variability in children’s gender-typed activity preferences was examined across several preschool social contexts--solitary play, interactions with female peers, male peers, and both, and interactions with teachers. Participants were preschool children (N?=?264; 49?% girls, M age?=?52?months, range 37–60) attending Head Start classes in the Southwest United States. Seventy-three percent were Mexican/Mexican-American, and 82?% of families earned less than $30,000 per year. Children’s preferences for gender-typed activities varied as a function of their own gender and the identity of their interactional partners. Girls and boys preferred gender-typed activities (e.g., girls preferred feminine activities) when in solitary play but activity preferences changed across social contexts. Specifically, girls played significantly more with masculine activities when with male peers and boys played significantly more with feminine activities during interactions with teachers. Findings suggest that through social interactions with peers and teachers, children are exposed to a greater range of activities than what they experience when they play by themselves.     

Gender Differences in Associations with Deviant Peer Groups: Examining Individual,Interactional, and Compositional Factors

Researchers have long known that boys are more likely to have deviant peers than are girls. Yet, little research has tried to explain why boys and girls differ in their decision to associate with deviant peers. With the salience of deviant peers well established as a robust predictor of delinquency, we address the question, are the predictors of association with deviant peers different for boys and girls? In our examination of family and community processes, individual effects, and peer group composition factors, we find that the predictors of association with deviant peers differ by gender. In addition, our findings suggest gender divergences in the causes of both deviant peer association and deviant peer pressure. We discuss the implications of our research for both theoretical development and appropriate model estimation.     

Fear of Anxiety in Fearful Adults: An Analysis of Heterogeneity Among Phobia Types

Fear of anxiety, the fear of developing physiological symptoms associated with anxiety, is investigated in this study and the extent to which fear of anxiety is differentially present in the various subtypes of specific phobias. Participants were 260 undergraduate students divided into those having fears corresponding to one of the specific phobia types and those having no reported fears. Participants completed a variety of measures including the Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire and the Body Sensations Questionnaire. Results indicated fearful participants had more fear of anxiety than non-fearful participants. In addition, non-fearful participants reported significantly less frequent catastrophic cognitions than fearful participants of the situational and other types. Non-fearful control participants also reported less fear of bodily sensations than fearful participants of the animal and other subtypes. This study provides supporting evidence that the phenomenon of fear of anxiety is present in fears similar to specific phobias.