Factors influencing children's clothing choises

Bibliography: pages 43-45.The purpose of this study was to investigate the levels of preference indicated by three to six year old children in regard to peer influence, and the clothing attributes of decoration and texture. This study also examined the influence of sex and age regarding the children's clothing selections. One hundred and fifty children between three and six years of age and enrolled in day-care centers or church preschools were surveyed. The children were surveyed by a direct preference questioning device composed of actual garments, fabric swatches and a fellow classmate modeling an actual garment. A retest was given for test-retest reliability ten to fourteen days following the original interview. The data was analyzed with the binomial test, McNemar test of the significance of changes, and the chi-square test of independence. The findings indicated that three to six year old children preferred print and terry over plain, peer conformity over print, and peer conformity over terry. The sex of children was a significant factor in their clothing selections. The girls chose terry over print and print over plain articles of clothing. The boys chose plain over print and print over terry articles of clothing. The results indicated that peer conformity was the most influential factor in the children's choice of clothing. Age, according to this study, was not a significant factor in a child's clothing choice.M.S. (Master of Science