The short and long term implications for parent child relations of parents' prenatal preferences for their child's gender
Stattin, H.; Klackenberg-Larsson, I.
Developmental Psychology 27(1): 141-147
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0012-1649 DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.27.1.141Document Number: 384246
This study investigated whether less conflicted parent-child relations would occur in families with a child whose sex was consistent with parents' prenatal preferences than in families in which both of the parents had wanted a child of the opposite sex. Data were from a sample of Swedish children (N = 212 who were followed from birth to maturity. Results at several age periods from early childhood to late adolescence supported our hypothesis, especially for female subjects and particularly with respect to father-daughter relations. Retrospective recollections at age 25 of relations to parents during upbringing support these findings. In addition, mothers' perceptions of problems in their children and the amount of time parents played with their children were found to be associated with the stated prenatal preference for the child's sex. The results are compared with findings of previous studies of sex-stereotyped behaviors.