Portuguese Children's Knowledge of Sex Stereotypes: Effects of Age, Gender, and Socioeconomic Status

Williams and Best's (1982) study of the development of sex-stereotype knowledge among young children in 24 countries was extended to Portugal. Subjects were 444 children (5-, 8-, and 11-year-olds), with each age group evenly divided by gender, and each age/gender group evenly divided into three levels of socioeconomic status (SES). Subjects were administered the Sex Stereotype Measure II (SSM II) in which children select between male and female silhouettes as the person described in brief stories containing highly sex-typed psychological characteristics (aggressive, emotional, etc.). The results of the study indicated a regular increase in sex-stereotype knowledge across the age range studied, an increase in sex-stereotype knowledge with increasing SES, a greater knowledge of female stereotype traits than male stereotype traits, and tendencies for the effects of age and SES to be more dramatic for male than for female stereotype items. Results were compared with previous findings in Brazil and other Latin American countries, and with the findings from Williams and Best's 24-country study.