No abstract

Gender cleavage, the segregation of the sexes, is a powerful phenomenon affecting socialization during childhood, but its developmental trajectory is far from clear. Sociometric responses by 299 boys and girls in Grades 3 to 6 from a group preference record were used to investigate age‐related variations and sex differences in gender cleavage. Moreno's (1953) developmental model of gender cleavage was examined in the light of sociocultural changes, as well as advances in the theory and measurement of gender cleavage. Sex differences were found in same‐gender preference, with older elementary girls showing greater same‐gender preference than boys of the same age. However, this finding, plus the absence of gender differences in cross‐gender evaluations, did not support more recent developmental accounts of gender cleavage. Linear trend analyses contradicted Moreno's basic precept of increasing same‐gender preference between Grades 3 and 6. While same‐gender acceptance and rejection were relatively similar regardless of grade level, cross‐gender acceptance was greater in higher than in lower grades and the reverse was true for rejection. Furthermore, weaker gender cleavage effects in rejection data than in acceptance data suggested that strong same‐gender liking does not infer equally robust cross‐gender dislike. Gender cleavage appears to be relative rather than absolute. A more complex model is proposed incorporating sex differences as well as rejection evaluations

There are limited studies investigating gender differences within the father–child and mother–child relationships with regard to social support provisions within these relationships. This study aimed to explore gender unity in children's and parents' perceptions of social support within the parent–child relationship. The participants included 91 families who completed measures of social support satisfaction and social support effectiveness. Results were contrary to the gender unity assumption. Findings indicated that mothers and fathers provide different types of support to their children regardless of their child's sex. Further, this study demonstrated the importance of father–child interactions and the need to further investigate the types of support fathers provide their children. This study explored gender differences in social support perceptions within the parent–child relationship. It investigated if mothers and fathers perceive the support they provide their children with is differentiated according to whether their child is a son or a daughter (i.e., gender unity). In this study, gender unity relates to whether parents consider themselves to be more effective in their support provisions to their same-sex child than to their opposite-sex child. Moreover, gender unity also pertains to whether children are more satisfied with the support provided by their same-sex parent than their opposite-sex parent. It is therefore important to define social support in order to understand it within the context of the parent-child relationship.

This study explored which parent-child relationship factors are most important in predicting children's and parents' anxiety. The participants were 52 fathers, 52 mothers, 30 sons and 30 daughters. Parents completed a measure of anxiety and a measure of the parent-child relationship. Children completed two measures of anxiety. Mothers' communication was found to be the only significant predictor of sons' anxiety. Daughters' anxiety was significantly predicted by fathers' communication and mothers' satisfaction with parenting. These findings signal the important role the opposite-sex parent has in children's anxiety. Moreover, feeling supported as a parent and having the ability to communicate effectively with their children are important predictors of parents' wellbeing.