Play activities of normal and effeminate boys

Bibliographic Data

ID9789256
AuthorsJohn E Bates (corresponding author), Peter M Bentler (0000-0002-9440-721X)
Year1973
Volume9
Issue1
Pages20-27
Publication date1973-07-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDevelopmental Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0012-1649 • E-ISSN: 1939-0599
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037/h0035057
OpenAlexW2163518640
LanguageEN
Citations received32
References cited4

A sixty-four-ite m parent-report Games Inventory was constructed to measure play patterns in normal and gender-deviant boys. Three scales (Feminine, Preschool Games; Masculine, Nonathletic Games; and Athletic Games) were found in cross-validat ional studies to be internally consistent and relatively independent, to correlate significantly with external measures, to differentiate significantly between normal and gender-disturbed boys, and to show a significant normal developmental trend with age. In addition, the Athletic Games scale correlated significantly with degree of gender disturbance, as rated by clinicians. These findings have implications for the process by which deviant gender behavior develops, as well as for its diagnosis or early identification. There are several different means for measuring a normal child's gender typing (see Mischel, 1970, for a discussion of such measuring instruments). However, in light of the currently expanding interest in the study of children's gender deviance, both as a means of understanding normal development and as a clinical problem, there exists a need for instruments relevant to abnormal gender typing. While it may be that instruments validated and used within normal ranges of gender are useful for this purpose, it is necessary to prove empirically that they can meaningfully and reliably differentiate normal from abnormal samples. Two recent studies have contributed toward the development of instruments relevant to deviant gender typing in boys, as well as to empirical knowledge about the nature of extreme effeminacy. Green, Fuller, and Rutley (1972) showed that the It Scale for children and the Draw-a-Person Test, two measures of cognitive aspects of gender which have been widely used with normal children, do indeed differentiate extremely effeminate from normal boys. Bates, Rentier

Developmental psychology · Children's Physical and Motor Development · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports · Psychology

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