Parents’ Attitudes Predict Adolescent Gender Expression

Abstract

Parental attitudes and behaviors can influence gender expression in adolescence. In particular, previous work surveying parents of pre-adolescents has suggested that parental attitudes toward gender nonconformity in children correlate with adolescents’ subsequent gender-nonconforming behavior, although this relationship differs based on the sex of the child. However, previous work has not directly measured children’s experiences of their parents’ attitudes and behaviors, nor parents’ current attitudes and behaviors. To address these gaps, the present study surveyed 28 parent-adolescent dyads. In particular, the study assessed parents on four measures: their views on gender roles generally, their own gender conformity, their views on their adolescents’ gender expression, and their responses to their adolescents’ gender nonconformity, as well as assessing adolescents’ experiences and gender expression. In addition to replicating previous findings, the results of this study suggest that adolescent experiences of parental attitudes predict adolescents’ gender expression, with parental responses to gender nonconformity being the strongest predictor. Explanations for these findings as well as future directions for expanding this work across more diverse populations are discussed.