The Pre-School Activities Inventory: A standardized assessment of gender role in children.

Abstract

The Pre-School Activities Inventory (PSAI) is a new psychometric scale for the assessment of gender role behavior in young children. Its design and test specification are reported, and the piloting and item analysis are described. Evidence of reliability is given, and several validation studies are reported, as are data on age standardization and norming. Some applications of the PSAI are considered. A number of studies have demonstrated that children show gender-stereotyped toy and activity choices from as early as 18 months of age and that this pattern is well established by 3 years old (Caldera, Huston, & O'Brien, 1989; Fagot, 1974,1978; Lytton & Romney, 1991; Maccoby & Jacklin, 1974; O'Brien & Huston, 1985; Perry, White, & Perry, 1984). In spite of the variety of behaviors investigated and methods used, the findings are relatively consistent in showing that boys and girls respectively choose stereotyped masculine and feminine toys and activities. Although many measures of gender-role behavior have been developed for children ages 5 years and older (for a review, see Beere, 1979,1990), few are available for younger children, and those that do exist have a number of difficulties associated with them. A major problem is their focus on the child's reported preferences for pictured toys, games, or activities, rather than the child's actual involvement in gender-typed play. In addition, little or no information is given about the reliability or validity of these tests. They are also somewhat outdated, which may be important given the changes that have taken place in attitudes toward children's gender-typed play over the past two decades. It is now more acceptable for boys and girls to engage in a wide range of activities that are not traditionally associated with their gender. The particular toys, games, and activities that children like have also changed considerably over the years. A further drawback of existing tests is their failure to discriminate within the sexes (i.e., to differentiate between masculine and feminine