The study, published in the journal Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, reports parents are more comfortable with girls partaking in gender-nonconforming behavior than boys and attempt to change their sons’ behaviors more frequently.
Researchers sought to find the relationship between different characteristics of parents and children and how parents respond to their gender-nonconforming child.
Additionally, those parents who believe their parenting style to be more feminist or socially equal would express more comfortability with a gender-nonconforming child.
As such, researchers aimed to identify characteristics that compel parents to make efforts to change their child’s behavior.
Again, the prediction was that parents would be more likely to change boys’ behavior than girls’.
In accordance with past research, results of the current study reveal parents are more uncomfortable with boys engaging in gender-nonconforming behavior than girls and make attempts to change the behavior more often.
Contrary to other research however, this study shows mothers and fathers are equally likely to try and change their sons’ behaviors. »