Status and comparison of gender role development between Chinese and American sixth grade students / 中国学校卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To understand the status of gender role development of sixth grade students, and to provide cross cultural theoretical basis for strengthening gender role of students in gender sensitive period.@*Methods@#Cluster sampling and random cluster sampling method were used to select primary school students from Indiana US and China for gender role study. There are 202 valid questionnaires for American primary school students and 554 for Chinese primary school students. The overall situation of gender role of Chinese primary school students and demographic specific characteristics was analyzed, and was compared with counterparts in the US.@*Results@#The overall gender role of Chinese primary school students was typically developed, with 41.2% androgyny, 13.4 % masculine, 11.2% feminine, and undifferentiated, 34.3%. Gender role develops faster in girl(29.2%) than that of boys( 39.4 %)( χ 2=4.13, P <0.05). The proportion of androgyny of Chinese students was significantly higher than that of the US(26.2%) ( χ 2=8.86, P <0.01), and the proportion of feminization in the US(17.3%) was significantly higher than that of China ( χ 2=4.34, P <0.05).@*Conclusion@#The development of gender role among contemporary primary school students is greatly improved, although boys gender role needs more guidance than girls. The development of gender role among Chinese primary school students is better than that of the US, which enhances our cultural competence in the future.