Boys and girls on the playground: sex differences in social development are not stable across early childhood.

ABSTRACT: Sex differences in human social behaviors and abilities have long been a question of public and scientific interest. Females are usually assumed to be more socially oriented and skillful than males. However, despite an extensive literature, the very existence of sex differences remains a matter of discussion while some studies found no sex differences whereas others reported differences that were either congruent or not with gender stereotypes. Moreover, the magnitude, consistency and stability across time of the differences remain an open question, especially during childhood. As play provides an excellent window into children's social development, we investigated whether and how sex differences change in social play across early childhood. Following a cross-sectional design, 164 children

SUBMITTER: Barbu S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3030576 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature