The model of children's social adjustment under the gender-roles absence in single-parent families

Int J Psychol. 2019 Jun;54(3):316-324. doi: 10.1002/ijop.12477. Epub 2018 Jan 14.

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the gender-role types and child-rearing gender-role attitude of the single-parents, as well as their children's gender role traits and family socio-economic status, on social adjustment. We recruited 458 pairs of single parents and their children aged 8-18 by purposive sampling. The research tools included the Family Socio-economic Status Questionnaire, Sex Role Scales, Parental Child-rearing Gender-role Attitude Scale and Social Adjustment Scale. The results indicated: (a) single mothers' and their daughters' feminine traits were both higher than their masculine traits, and sons' masculine traits were higher than their feminine traits; the majority gender-role type of single parents and their children was androgyny; significant differences were found between children's gender-role types depending on different raiser, the proportion of girls' masculine traits raised by single fathers was significantly higher than those who were raised by single mothers; (b) family socio-economic status and single parents' gender-role types positively influenced parental child-rearing gender-role attitude, which in turn, influenced the children's gender traits, and further affected children's social adjustment.

Keywords: Family socio-economic status; Gender roles; Parental child-rearing gender-role attitude; Single-parent families; Social adjustment.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Child
  • Female
  • Gender Identity*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Parent-Child Relations
  • Single-Parent Family / psychology*
  • Social Adjustment*