title: Gender consistency and flexibility: using dynamics to understand the relationship between gender and adjustment.
abstract: Controversy surrounds questions regarding the influence of being gender consistent    (i.e., having and expressing gendered characteristics that are consistent with one's biological sex)  versus being gender flexible (i.e., having and expressing gendered characteristics that  vary from masculine to feminine as circumstances arise) on children's adjustment outcomes,  such as self-esteem, positive emotion, or behavior problems. Whereas evidence supporting the  consistency hypothesis is abundant, little support exists for the flexibility hypothesis.  To shed new light on the flexibility hypothesis, we explored children's gendered behavior  from a dynamical perspective that highlighted variability and flexibility in addition to  employing a conventional approach that emphasized stability and consistency. Conventional  mean-level analyses supported the consistency hypothesis by revealing that gender atypical  behavior was related to greater maladjustment, and dynamical analyses supported the flexibility  hypothesis by showing that flexibility of gendered behavior over time was related to positive  adjustment. Integrated analyses showed that gender typical behavior was related to the  adjustment of children who were behaviorally inflexible, but not for those who were flexible.  These results provided a more comprehensive understanding of the relation between gendered behavior  and adjustment in young children and illustrated for the first time the feasibility of  applying dynamical analyses to the study of gendered behavior.
authors.affiliation: School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, Temple, AZ 85287, USA. matthew.didonato@asu.edu
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: DiDonato
authors.forename: Carol L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Eric E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Hessler
authors.forename: Polemnia G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Amazeen
authors.forename: Laura D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Hanish
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Fabes
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018479:Early Intervention, Educational; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D010379:Peer Group; D010552:Personality Assessment; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012649:Self Concept; D012917:Social Adjustment; D013240:Stereotyping