Questionnaire Scales for the Assessment of Atypical Gender Development in Girls and Boys

Abstract

To facilitate the assessment of problems of gender identity development in both physically normal and intersexual children, we describe the modification of an existing parent-administered questionnaire for boys and the development of an analogous new questionnaire for girls. Pertinent items were drawn from the literature and from our own case material. Questionnaires were administered as part of a battery to a demographically diverse community sample of the parents of 687 boys and girls age 6-10 years. Scales assessing aspects of gender role behavior and identity ("gender scales") were constructed on the basis of the results of a factor analysis. By design, the scales permit the characterization of a child's gender-role behavior and identity in relation to both gendertypical boys and gender-typical girls. The gender scales show appropriate internal consistency. Demonstration of validity is complemented by clinical case illustrations. As indicated by hierarchical regression analysis, the demographic factor...