Do Fathers and Mothers Socialize Physical Risk Taking Differently in Sons and Daughters?
Elizabeth E O'Neal1, Hanxi Tang2, Megan Noonan2
1Department of Community and Behavioral Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA.
Insights
Fathers and mothers socialize physical risk-taking differently. Fathers treated sons and daughters similarly, while mothers were more cautious with sons, suggesting complementary parenting roles in childhood development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Parenting Studies
- Child Development
Background:
- Socialization of physical risk-taking is crucial for healthy child development.
- Limited understanding exists regarding gender-based differences in how parents socialize physical risk-taking in children.
- Parent-child conversations about physical risk-taking are key to understanding socialization processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how parent and child gender influence parent-child discussions about physical risk-taking in middle childhood.
- To investigate differences in how fathers and mothers socialize physical risk-taking in sons versus daughters.
- To explore the impact of parental risk tolerance and child injury history on these conversations.
Main Methods:
- 104 parent-child dyads (children aged 8–10) discussed and rated the safety of 12 photographs depicting children in risky physical activities.
- Parents completed questionnaires on their risk tolerance and child's injury history.
- Conversations were coded for disagreements, resolution strategies, and justifications for safety ratings.
Main Results:
- Fathers treated sons and daughters similarly in safety discussions, potentially due to higher paternal risk tolerance.
- Mothers were more likely to disagree with sons than daughters regarding safety ratings.
- Mothers more frequently resolved disagreements in their favor when they perceived higher danger, especially with sons.
Conclusions:
- Fathers and mothers may play complementary roles in socializing physical risk-taking.
- Fathers may encourage engagement in physical activities for both sons and daughters.
- Mothers may focus on teaching sons about potential dangers associated with physical activities.
Abstract:
Socialization of physical risk-taking is critical for healthy development. However, little is known about whether fathers and mothers socialize physical risk taking differently in sons and daughters. This study examines how parent and child gender impact parent-child conversations about physical risk taking in middle childhood. Parents and their 8- to 10-year-old children (N = 104; 54% male; 89% White, 8% Multiracial, 2% Asian, and 1% Black) discussed and rated the safety of 12 photographs depicting a same-age, same-gender child engaged in a variety of potentially risky physical activities. Parents also completed questionnaires about their own risk tolerance and the child's injury history. Coding of the conversations focused on disagreements about the safety of activities and how disagreements were resolved. Additionally, we coded how parents and children supported their ratings through references to specific dangerous and non-dangerous features of the activity and to potential outcomes that might arise from the activity. Fathers treated sons and daughters similarly when discussing the safety of the activities, which may be explained by fathers' higher self-reported risk tolerance. Mothers were significantly more likely to disagree about safety ratings when paired with sons than daughters. Mothers also worked to resolve disagreements in their own favor when they judged an activity as more dangerous than did their sons. Mothers and fathers may play complementary roles in teaching children about physical risk taking, with fathers encouraging sons and daughters to safely engage in potentially risky physical activities and mothers teaching sons about potential danger.
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