SOCIALIZATION PRACTICES ASSOCIATED WITH DIMENSIONS OF COMPETENCE IN PRESCHOOL BOYS AND GIRLS

Abstract

The investigation has as its objective to identify parent attitudes and behaviors associated with dimensions of competent behavior in normal preschool children. A child-behavior model (similar in structure to models presented by Schaefer and by Becker & Krug) for boys and girls separately was developed and related to behavioral measures obtained in the home, and to mother-son, mother-daughter, father-son, and fatherdaughter interview dimensions arrived at through cluster-analytic techniques. When sex-related correlates were interpreted, particular attention was given to the problem of equivalence of dimensions across sex. Specific parent-child relationships varied with the sex of parent and child. In general, independence granting and verbal give and take, on the one hand, and enforced demands and consistent discipline, on the other, were associated with stable, assertive behavior in the child. This program of research had as its objective the identification of practices associated with dimensions of competent nursery school behavior for boys and girls. Two separate studies were conducted. The objective of one study (Baumrind, 1967) was to determine whether preschool chil