Parental influence on children's socialization to gender roles

Adolescence,  Summer, 1997  by Susan D. Witt

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Families with one or more androgynous parents (i.e., a mother who repairs the family car or a father who bakes cookies for the PTA meeting) have been found to score highest in parental warmth and support. These androgynous parents are found to be highly encouraging regarding achievement and developing a sense of self-worth in sons and daughters (Sedney, 1987; Spence & Helmreich, 1980). Because of the strong influence of parents on gender role socialization, those parents who wish to be gender fair and encourage the best in both their sons and daughters would do well to adopt an androgynous gender role orientation and encourage the same in their children.

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