A new meta-analysis of 30 years of research in emotion expression in children found small but significant gender differences that were consistent with gender stereotypes. However, investigators also found that these gender differences varied depending on the social context.
When children were observed with strangers or with peers, boys and girls are more likely to show emotions consistent with gender stereotypes. But, when children were observed with their parents, boys and girls were very similar in their emotion expressions.
The article appears online ahead of print in Psychological Bulletin. Tara Chaplin, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale, is lead author.
Read more:
PubMed.gov: Gender Differences in Emotion Expression in Children: A Meta-Analytic Review
GoodTherapy.org: Do Boys and Girls Express Their Emotions Differently?