CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS OF MALE AND FEMALE ROLES

An exploratory study based on data obtained from 157 S's, 47 boys & 110 girls divided into groups of 23 5-yr olds, 63 8-yr olds & 71 11-yr olds. These groups were about equally divided between those whose mothers worked & those whose mothers did not. Play, pictorial & purely verbal techniques were employed. Results showed little change in the traditional picture of women's roles. In relation to the assignment of work-role activities to women, the work-status of the mother had a statis'ly signif effect in that more sons of working mothers than sons of non-working mothers assigned work-role activities to women (p = .05). It was also found that boys from LMc & We homes mentioned non-traditional domestic activities signif'ly more often for men than did boys from UMc homes (p = .01). A picture technique was used to study the child's perception of the adult attitude towards 'leaving the child & going to work.' Of the 143 S's who gave storable responses, 64% saw the woman as being uncomfortable about going to work & leaving her child at home, while 36% saw her as feeling good about leaving. Age was the only variable having an effect on the responses, a steady rise occurring in the perception of discomfort from age 5 through 11. 69% S's saw the father as being unhappy at the necessity of leaving the child to go to work. Here the age trend is even stronger - from 53% at age 5 to 83% at age 11. However, when considering the F attitude toward work itself, 54%0 of 108 S's thought they liked going to work & 61% thought that fathers enjoyed working. A considerably larger % of boys than girls thought that men might have negative feelings toward working. Signif'ly more daughters of non-working mothers gave 'housewife' as primary choice for future role than did daughters of working mothers (p = .05), while the latter group expected more often to continue work after marriage (p = .05). In comparing the entire sample, it was found that girls indicated signif'ly greater expectation of working after marriage than did boys expect their wives to work (p = .05). However, the work-role of the F was generally viewed as one of helping the fam in time of need, etc, rather than as one of opposition to the generally accepted domestic one. It would seem that the forms of sex role activities have changed, but that the function has not. 'L. Weisenberg.