PATERNAL INVOLVEMENT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF GENDER EXPECTATIONS IN SONS AND DAUGHTERS

Data from the National Survey of Children (Waves 1 and 3), a longitudinal survey of 2,000 children who were between the ages of 7 and 11 during the first wave in 1976 and between the ages of 16 and 20 during the third wave in 1987, were analyzed to examine the impact of paternal involvement during childhood as well as the ongoing father-child relationship on sons ' and daughters ' gender role orientations and attitudes in young adulthood. The results indicated that, compared to females, males placed more importance on success at work and less importance on being a parent. Females, compared to males, were less likely to believe in traditional roles and more likely to believe that couples should share housework. While there were significant gender differences in role orientations and attitudes, there were no significant differences by father presence. Whether or not a father was present at time 1 and whether or not tha