Preschoolers' Sex-Role Identity, Father-Role Perceptions, and Paternal Family Participation

Abstract

AN exploratory study was conducted to investigate the relationships between three patterns of family role performance and (1) preschool-aged boys' sex-role preferences and (2) preschool-aged boys' and girls' perceptions of the father role. Three groups of 20 families were interviewed in their homes regarding division of labor and satisfaction with parent and work roles. These groups varied according to maternal employment status and extent of paternal responsibility for child care (either minimal or approximately equal to that of the mother). Children were tested for their intelligence, sex-role preferences, and perceptions of parent roles. Support was found for an inverse relationship between paternal participation in both child care and housework and children's functional stereotypes of the father role. In addition, paternal housework was found to be inversely related to sons' masculinity, whereas paternal influence in family decision making and sons' masculinity were unrelated. It was concluded that actual parental behaviors are not the sole source of influence on the development of children's sex-role preferences and perceptions of the father role.