Associations between quality of parent–child relationships and children's gender typicality: A 4-year longitudinal study

Little is known about influences on gender typicality. To address this issue, the present study examined developmental antecedents of preadolescents' gender typicality. Using a longitudinal multi-method design, we investigated the prospective associations between the quality of parent–child relationships in childhood and preadolescents' subsequent gender typicality. It was hypothesized that feelings of gender typicality would be positively related to quality of relationship with the corresponding-gender parent. Sixty-eight families (40 girls) participated in two home visits. The quality of mother–child and father–child relationships was assessed by observation at age 7 and youths reported on their gender typicality at 11 years. Results indicated that girls who had higher-quality relationships with their mother at age 7 felt more similar to other girls 4 years later. This finding suggests that mother–child relationships might be a contributing factor in the development of girls' gender typicality. Highlights: This paper examines the role that parents play in their children's gender typicality development. The results revealed that parent–child relationships were associated with subsequent gender typicality in girls but not in boys. Girls who had higher-quality relationships with their mother at age 7 felt more similar to other girls 4 years later.