The purpose of this study was to examine relations among children's sex, mothers' child rearing, and children's prosocial behaviors. The subjects were 50 boys and 50 girls, 5 years old, and their mothers. The children were selected from four different...
The purpose of this study was to examine relations among children's sex, mothers' child rearing, and children's prosocial behaviors. The subjects were 50 boys and 50 girls, 5 years old, and their mothers. The children were selected from four different classes at two kindergartens.
Mother's child rearing practice was assessed by the Parenting Dimensions Inventory(1987). Children's prosocial behaviors were measured in two different ways; the Prosocial Behavior Questionnaire for teachers(1981) and the observation in a poster making activity. The data were analyzed by Pearson's correlations and t-tests.
The results were as follow. First, the teacher ratings and structured observation on children's prosocial behaviors were moderately related. Second, girls were rated as being more prosocial than boys by the teachers. No sex difference, however, was revealed in the structured observation. Third, children's prosocial behaviors were positively related to mothers' nurturance and reasoning, and negatively related to the amount of control in the mother's child rearing.