Abstract
A key question in understanding gender development concerns the origins of sex segregation. Children’s tendencies to interact with same-sex others have been hypothesized to result from gender identity and cognitions, behavioral compatibility, and personal characteristics. We examined whether prenatal androgen exposure was related to time spent with boys and girls, and how that gendered peer involvement was related to sex-typed activities and gender identity and cognitions. We studied 54 girls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) aged 10–13 years varying in degree of prenatal androgen exposure: 40 girls with classical CAH (C-CAH) exposed to high prenatal androgens and 14 girls with non-classical CAH (NC-CAH) exposed to low, female-typical, prenatal androgens. Home interviews and questionnaires provided assessments of gendered activity interests and participation, gender identity, and gender cognitions. Daily phone calls over 7 days assessed time spent in gendered activities and with peers. Girls with both C-CAH and NC-CAH interacted more with girls than with boys, with no significant group differences. The groups did not differ significantly in gender identity or gender cognitions, but girls with C-CAH spent more time in male-typed activities and less time in female-typed activities than did girls with NC-CAH. Time spent with girls reflected direct effects of gender identity/cognitions and gender-typed activities, and an indirect effect of prenatal androgens (CAH type) through gender-typed activities. Our results extend findings that prenatal androgens differentially affect gendered characteristics and that gendered peer interactions reflect combined effects of behavioral compatibility and feelings and cognitions about gender. The study also shows the value of natural experiments for testing hypotheses about gender development.
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Notes
Type of CAH reflects the degree of 21-hydroxylase deficiency caused by mutations in CYP21A2 (Merke & Bornstein, 2005). Classical CAH is associated with striking overproduction of cortisol precursors and adrenal androgens beginning early in prenatal development; diagnosis is usually made in the newborn period. Non-classical CAH results from milder mutations, with androgen excess emerging in the postnatal period. NC-CAH may present at any age after birth, so the age of onset of androgen excess varies. All participants in this study had childhood onset.
The data are from a larger study of gender development and socialization in girls with CAH. Assessments included home interviews, child-report questionnaires, parent questionnaire reports of themselves and their daughters, all collected on one occasion, and daily phone calls (on seven evenings for the girls and four evenings for each parent) during the subsequent two to three weeks. Only data from the girls themselves are reported here. Some global self-report data from this sample have been published (Endendijk et al., 2016): Girls with C-CAH reported significantly more interest and participation in male-typed activities than did girls with NC-CAH, but the groups did not differ significantly in gender identity; both groups reported positive attitudes about being a girl and egalitarian attitudes, consistent with their female-typical gender identity. Some of these data are used in this study in conjunction with newly reported data.
Combining groups increases variability and thus ability to detect associations. Furthermore, relations were not expected to differ by group, and the sample of girls with NC-CAH was too small for separate analysis.
The pattern of correlations was very similar in the two groups considered separately, and in partial correlations in the combined group with CAH type controlled.
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Acknowledgements
This research was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, HD057930. We thank the participants; members of the CARES and MAGIC Foundations and pediatric endocrinologists for help in recruiting participants; Diana Crom and Rob Schofield for coordinating data collection and processing; Chun Bun Lam, Elizabeth Beckerman, Timothy Groh, Erin Marshall, Erica Pawlo, and Emily Reitz for assistance with data management, scoring, and analysis.
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Appendix
Appendix
Scale of male-typed gendered activities, measured by the Activity Interest Questionnaire (AIQ), the Adolescent Activity Questionnaire (AAQ), and daily diaries
Interest in male-typed activities (AIQ) | Participation in male-typed activities (AAQ) | Time in male-typed activities (phone diaries) |
|---|---|---|
Baseball | Baseball | Baseball |
Football | Football | Football |
Basketball | Basketball | Basketball |
Hunting and fishing | Hunting or fishing | Hunt or fish |
Building models or other things | Build things (e.g., models, towers, or roadways) | Build models or other things |
Playing with/collecting trucks, cars, action figures | Play with or collect trucks, cars, or action figures | Play with/collect trucks, cars, or action figures |
Watching sports on TV | Watching sports on TV | Watching sports on TV |
Follow sports or a sports team online or in newspapers | ||
Motorbiking, motorcycling, or 4-wheeling | Ride motorcycles, dirt bikes, or 4-wheelers | Motorbiking, motorcycling, or 4-wheeling |
Computer and video games | Play computer or other online games | Play computer and video games |
Play videogames (e.g., PlayStation, Xbox, Wii) | ||
Home repairs | Use tools | |
Yard work or taking out the garbage | ||
Science | Do science homework (e.g., biology or astronomy) | |
Math | Do math homework (e.g., number problems) | |
Work with engines and electronic | ||
Maintain vehicles |
Scale of female-typed gendered activities, measured by the Activity Interest Questionnaire (AIQ), the Adolescent Activity Questionnaire (AAQ), and daily diaries
Interest in female-typed activities (AIQ) | Participation in female-typed activities (AAQ) | Time in female-typed activities (phone diaries) |
|---|---|---|
Cheerleading | Cheerleading | Cheerleading |
Dancing | Dancing | Dance (e.g., ballet, jazz) |
Gymnastics | Gymnastics | Gymnastics |
Playing with/collecting dolls or figurines | Collect or play with dolls or figurines | Play with/collect dolls or figurines |
Writing poetry, short stories, or in diary | Write poetry, short stories, or in a diary | Write poetry, short stories, or in a diary |
Reading stories, magazines, or newspapers | Read fiction stories or books | Read stories, magazines, or newspapers |
Shopping | Go shopping | Go shopping (not including grocery shopping or car maintenance) |
Cooking and baking | Cook or bake | Prepare a meal or snack (e.g., cook or set table) |
Drawing, painting, pottery, other arts and crafts | Paint or draw | Draw, paint, pot, other arts- and crafts-related activities |
Make arts and crafts | ||
Sew, knit, embroider, or other needlework | ||
Work with pottery or ceramics | ||
Housework (e.g., laundry, cleaning) | Clean house or do dishes | Do dishes |
Vacuum, dust, or straighten up (not including own things in own room) | ||
Do laundry | Laundry | |
Language arts | Do language arts homework (e.g., reading or writing) | |
Play with makeup or dress-up |
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Berenbaum, S.A., Beltz, A.M., Bryk, K. et al. Gendered Peer Involvement in Girls with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia: Effects of Prenatal Androgens, Gendered Activities, and Gender Cognitions. Arch Sex Behav 47, 915–929 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-017-1112-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-017-1112-4