The Gender Socialization of Children Growing Up in Nontraditional Families

We study how childhood exposure to a nontraditional family (a working married mother, a married mother that is the primary breadwinner, or a non-married mother) affects gender role attitudes in young adulthood. Boys and girls develop more liberal gender attitudes when they spend more time with a non-married mother. In intact families, boys' gender attitudes, more than girls', appear positively influenced by the role model of a working mother, especially if she is also the primary breadwinner. However, the effect of childhood exposure to a mother with greater economic power on boys' gender attitudes is smaller in more gender conservative families.