Date of Award
1999
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
Perry, David G.
Abstract
The present dissertation introduces three new measures of gender identity and examines their relations to psychosocial adjustment (i.e., self-concept and peer acceptance) in preadolescence. The sample consisted of 182 4th- through 8th-grade children. The three measures assessed (a) feelings of overall similarity to and compatibility with one's gender (goodness-of-fit), (b) feelings of pressure to conform to sex-role stereotypes (felt pressure), and (c) belief that one's sex is superior to the other sex (intergroup bias). Both concurrent and short-term longitudinal analyses indicated that goodness-of-fit was beneficial to psychosocial adjustment, whereas both felt pressure and intergroup bias undermined psychosocial adjustment. Furthermore, goodness-of-fit mediated many of the relations of domain-specific sex-typing measures (e.g., traits) to adjustment. The present dissertation helps identify some of the inherent limitations in previous work on gender identity, provides new insight into the relation of children's gender identity and psychosocial development, and raises suggestions for future inquiry.
Extent
76 p.
Recommended Citation
Egan, Susan K., "Three new measures of gender identity: Implications for children's psychosocial development" (1999). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 1990 - 1999. 1546.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_4/1546
Identifier
FADT12616
Comments
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1999.|Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1999.