How else can we study sex differences in early infancy?
This paper revisits group difference and individual variability in birth weight, head size, Apgar score, and motor performance in neonatal and 8-month-old males and females using a large existing data set. The goal is primarily theoretical--to reframe existing analyses with an eye toward designing and executing more predictive analyses in the future. 3D graphing to visualize both the areas of overlap and regions of disparity between boys and girls has been used. A two-step cluster analysis of boys and girls together revealed three clusters. One was almost equally divided between boys and girls, but a second was highly enriched for boys and the third highly skewed toward girls. The relationship between cluster membership and Bayley motor scores at 8 months tested the hypothesis that initial differences that have no sex-related behavioral content might start processes that produce later sex-related differences. Initially, parental belief systems may be less important than infant care patterns evoked by basic size and health characteristics, even though later parental behaviors assume a decidedly gendered pattern.
Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912. afs@brown.edu.
Anne
A
Fausto-Sterling
D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D012107:Research Design; D012727:Sex Characteristics
3D mesh graphing; activity level; birth characteristics; cluster analysis; sex-related differences