Gender identity and adjustment in black, Hispanic, and white preadolescents.
The generality of S. K. Egan and D. G. Perry's (2001) model of gender identity and adjustment was evaluated by examining associations between gender identity (felt gender typicality, felt gender contentedness, and felt pressure for gender conformity) and social adjustment in 863 White, Black, and Hispanic 5th graders (mean age = 11.1 years). Relations between gender identity and adjustment varied across ethnic/racial groups, indicating that S. K. Egan and D. G. Perry's model requires amendment. It is suggested that the implications of gender identity for adjustment depend on the particular meanings that a child attaches to gender (e.g., the specific attributes the child regards as desirable for each sex); these meanings may vary across and within ethnic/racial groups. Cross-ethnic/racial investigation can aid theory building by pointing to constructs that are neglected in research with a single ethnic/racial group but that are crucial components of basic developmental processes.
Corby
Brooke C
BC
Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA.
Hodges
Ernest V E
EV
Perry
David G
DG
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology*; D002605:Character; D002648:Child; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012649:Self Concept; D012925:Social Conformity; D012963:Sociometric Techniques; D013240:Stereotyping; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*