Sexism in adolescence: parenting styles, division of housework, prosocial behaviour and aggressive behaviour / Sexismo en la adolescencia: estilos de crianza, división de tareas domésticas, conducta prosocial y agresividad

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify which factors were the best predictors of sexist attitudes. To achieve this aim, two groups of variables were analysed. The first group consisted of variables relating to parenting styles and the division of housework. The second group consisted of personal factors related to prosocial behaviour and physical and verbal aggression. The sample was made up of 732 adolescents aged 12–14 from Valencia (Spain). The analysis was conducted separately for boys and girls. Correlation analyses and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted on each subsample. The results show that the division of housework and parenting styles were related to sexist attitudes. This connection was especially strong for the division of housework according to traditional gender roles, which was found to lead to hostile and benevolent sexist attitudes. The results also showed that prosocial and aggressive behaviours were correlated with sexist attitudes. The results varied by gender. The findings of this research have implications for the prevention of sexist attitudes.