Sex-typed play behavior and peer relationships of boys with gender identity disorder

grantor: University of TorontoFifteen boys referred for gender identity disorder (GID) were compared with 30 nonreferred boys, 30 nonreferred girls, and 15 boys referred clinically for problems other than GID (M age/group, 5.8 years) with regard to behavior problems, social skills, sex-typed play behavior, and peer preferences. Measures included parent- and teacher-report questionnaires of behavior problems and social skills, activity logs recording parents' observations of their children's play behavior for a 1-week period, observations from 2 40-minute play sessions involving 15 groups each of 5 demographically-matched children (1 boy with GID, 2 nonreferred boys, and 2 nonreferred girls), peer preference nominations, and the Playmate and Play Style Preferences Structured Interview. Both referred groups were rated as having significantly more behavior problems than the nonreferred groups. In contrast, with the exception of parent assertiveness ratings, in which both referred groups were rated as less assertive than the nonreferred boys group, the referred comparison group, but not the GID group, was significantly less socially skilled than the nonreferred groups. During the observed play, no significant differences were observed between the boys with GID and the nonreferred comparison groups in terms of solitary, dyadic, and group activity, and the general cognitive level of play. Most of the measures of sex-typed behavior showed that boys with GID, like the nonreferred girls, exhibited distinct preferences for female playmates and feminine-typed toys and activities, whereas the two comparison boys' groups exhibited distinct preferences for male playmates and masculine-typed toys and activities. Peer preference nominations showed that nonreferred children selected other nonreferred children more often than they selected boys with GID as their preferred playmates. Activity log data also showed that boys with GID, like the nonreferred girls, preferred feminine-typed play significantly more than boys in the referred comparison group; however, their preference for female playmates, as compared to that of both comparison boys' groups, did not reach significance. Moreover, according to the activity log data, boys with GID, like the two comparison boys' groups, played significantly more often with male playmates and engaged significantly more often in masculine-typed play than the nonreferred girls.Ph.D