DiDonato Matthew D, Martin Carol L, Hessler Eric E, Amazeen Polemnia G, Hanish Laura D, Fabes Richard A
School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, Temple, AZ 85287, USA.
Nonlinear Dynamics Psychol Life Sci. 2012 Apr;16(2):159-84.
Controversy surrounds questions regarding the influence of being gender consistent (i.e., having and expressing gendered characteristics that are consistent with one's biological sex) versus being gender flexible (i.e., having and expressing gendered characteristics that vary from masculine to feminine as circumstances arise) on children's adjustment outcomes, such as self-esteem, positive emotion, or behavior problems. Whereas evidence supporting the consistency hypothesis is abundant, little support exists for the flexibility hypothesis. To shed new light on the flexibility hypothesis, we explored children's gendered behavior from a dynamical perspective that highlighted variability and flexibility in addition to employing a conventional approach that emphasized stability and consistency. Conventional mean-level analyses supported the consistency hypothesis by revealing that gender atypical behavior was related to greater maladjustment, and dynamical analyses supported the flexibility hypothesis by showing that flexibility of gendered behavior over time was related to positive adjustment. Integrated analyses showed that gender typical behavior was related to the adjustment of children who were behaviorally inflexible, but not for those who were flexible. These results provided a more comprehensive understanding of the relation between gendered behavior and adjustment in young children and illustrated for the first time the feasibility of applying dynamical analyses to the study of gendered behavior.
围绕性别一致性（即拥有并表现出与生物性别相符的性别特征）与性别灵活性（即根据具体情况拥有并表现出从男性化到女性化不同的性别特征）对儿童适应结果（如自尊、积极情绪或行为问题）的影响存在争议。虽然支持一致性假设的证据很多，但支持灵活性假设的证据却很少。为了进一步阐明灵活性假设，我们从动态视角探索了儿童的性别行为，该视角除了采用强调稳定性和一致性的传统方法外，还突出了变异性和灵活性。传统的平均水平分析通过揭示性别非典型行为与更大程度的适应不良有关，从而支持了一致性假设；而动态分析通过表明随着时间推移性别行为的灵活性与积极适应有关，进而支持了灵活性假设。综合分析表明，性别典型行为与行为缺乏灵活性的儿童的适应情况有关，但与行为灵活的儿童无关。这些结果为幼儿性别行为与适应之间的关系提供了更全面的理解，并首次说明了将动态分析应用于性别行为研究的可行性。
