Sex Differences in the Development of a Separate Sense of Self During Infancy: Directions for Future Research

Abstract

Women have been characterized as having more difficulty than men in developing a separate sense of self. This sex difference is held to have its origins in infancy in the differential response of mothers to sons and daughters. While there is clinical evidence for this sex difference, as yet there is no clear support for it in the experimental literature. In this paper we provide a foundation for future experimental research on the origins in mother-infant interaction of sex differences in the development of a separate sense of self. Using Mahler's description of the separation-individuation process as a general framework, we specify behavioral indicators of differential progress in the development of a separate sense of self at each subphase of separation-individuation and define the particular maternal behaviors relevant to that progress. An examination of existing experimental studies that employ these measures suggests that sex differences in the experience of a separate sense of self begin to emerge in early infancy and that mothers engage in different types of contact with sons and daughters in ways that facilitate the achievement of separation more for boys than for girls. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed.