Division of Family Studies and Human Development, Norton School of Family & Consumer Sciences, University of Arizona.
J Fam Psychol. 2013 Oct;27(5):773-83. doi: 10.1037/a0033792. Epub 2013 Aug 12.
Sex differences in rates of behavior problems, including internalizing and externalizing problems, begin to emerge during early childhood. These sex differences may occur because mothers parent their sons and daughters differently, or because the impact of parenting on behavior problems is different for boys and girls. In this study, we examined whether associations between observations of mothers' positive and negative parenting and children's externalizing and internalizing behaviors vary as a function of child sex. The sample consisted of 137 African American low-income families with one sibling approximately 2 years old and the closest-aged older sibling who was approximately 4 years old. Results from fixed-effects within-family models indicate clear sex differences regardless of child age. Mothers were observed to use less positive parenting with sons than with daughters. Higher levels of observed negative parenting were linked to more externalizing behaviors for boys, whereas lower levels of positive parenting were linked to more externalizing behaviors for girls. No child sex differences emerged regarding associations between observed positive and negative parenting and internalizing behaviors.
性别在行为问题（包括内化和外化问题）的发生率上存在差异，这种差异在儿童早期就开始出现。这些性别差异可能是因为母亲对儿子和女儿的教养方式不同，也可能是因为教养方式对男孩和女孩的行为问题的影响不同。在这项研究中，我们考察了母亲积极和消极教养行为与儿童外化和内化行为之间的关联是否因儿童性别而异。该样本由 137 个非裔美国家庭组成，每个家庭有一个年龄相近的 2 岁左右的兄弟姐妹和一个年龄相近的 4 岁左右的兄弟姐妹。来自家庭内固定效应模型的结果表明，无论儿童年龄大小，都存在明显的性别差异。与女儿相比，母亲对儿子的积极教养方式较少。观察到的消极教养程度越高，男孩的外化行为越多，而积极教养程度越低，女孩的外化行为越多。在观察到的积极和消极教养与内化行为之间的关联方面，没有出现儿童性别差异。
