title: Does felt gender compatibility mediate influences of self-perceived gender nonconformity on early adolescents' psychosocial adjustment?
abstract: This study evaluated the hypothesis that self-perceived gender nonconformity is distressing to children because it undermines a confident sense of gender compatibility. Participants were 357 early adolescents (180 boys, M age = 12.68 years) in England who responded to questionnaires measuring friendship styles (preoccupied, avoidant), gender compatibility (typicality, contentedness), and adjustment (self-esteem, peer social competence, depression, narcissism). Sex differences in friendship styles indicated that preoccupied and avoidant styles were typical for girls and boys, respectively. Gender-atypical friendship styles predicted poor adjustment, and their impact on adjustment was partially mediated by felt gender compatibility. Results suggest that perceiving gender-atypical attributes in the self undermines adjustment partly because it leads children to feel incompatible with their gender collective.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Surrey, UK. m.menon@surrey.ac.uk
authors.forename: Meenakshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Menon
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D015987:Effect Modifier, Epidemiologic; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012925:Social Conformity; D013240:Stereotyping