In the literature on adults, there is an abundance of studies in which there are clear gender differences in the overt expression of vulnerability. Significantly more females than males have been found to express vulnerability. Similar findings have been reported in the adolescence literature, indicating that these gender differences begin much earlier than adulthood. However, the age at which these gender differences occur is not known because few studies have investigated these behaviors in early or middle childhood. The primary focus of this study was to determine if there are gender differences in young children's help-seeking behavior and at what age these differences emerge. The type of help children sought and the orientation of their statements were also examined. Sixty-four preschoolers and kindergarteners from lower and upper-middle socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds were engaged by 1 male or 1 female researcher on 4 non-sex-typed tasks. Key variables that were examined were the number of requests for help, latency to request help, types of request, and types of orientation. The results of this study revealed that, between 3 and 6 years of age, girls sought help more often and more rapidly than boys. Children from lower SES backgrounds sought significantly more help than children from upper-middle SES backgrounds. Similarly, preschoolers sought help more often and more rapidly than kindergarteners. Females made significantly more direct requests whereas males made significantly more references of having difficulty with the tasks. Furthermore, preschoolers made significantly more statements that were oriented to the experimenter and task. Lastly, the results revealed clear gender differences that emerge as early as 3 years of age. These findings are important because help-seeking behavior is related to achievement (Lee, 1997; Ryan, Patrick, & Shim, 2005). Therefore, training boys who are avoidant help-seekers to seek appropriate help as well as training psychologists, teachers, and parents to identify those who are avoidant help seekers may help children increase their academic performance and experience success in school.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.103206 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Koulnazarian, Manouchak. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology.) |
| Rights | © Manouchak Koulnazarian, 2007 |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002666290, proquestno: AAINR38599, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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