Discuss the development of gender identity in middle childhood, including the self-evaluations that affect adjustment

What will be an ideal response?

Answer: Children who were strongly gender-typed relative to their agemates in early childhood usually remain so in middle childhood. Nevertheless, overall changes do occur, with boys' and girls' gender identities following different paths. From third to sixth grade, boys tend to strengthen their identification with "masculine" personality traits, whereas girls' identification with "feminine" traits declines. Girls often describe themselves as having some "other-gender" characteristics. And whereas boys usually stick to "masculine" pursuits, many girls experiment with a wider range of options—from cooking and sewing to sports and science projects—and more often consider traditionally male future work roles, such as firefighter or astronomer. These changes reflect a mixture of cognitive and social forces. School-age children of both sexes are aware that society attaches greater prestige to "masculine" characteristics. For example, they rate "masculine" occupations as having higher status than "feminine" occupations, and an unfamiliar job as higher in status when portrayed with a male worker than a female worker. Messages from adults and peers are also influential. Parents are especially disapproving when sons, as opposed to daughters, cross gender lines. Simiarly, a tomboyish girl can interact with boys without losing the approval of her female peers, but a boy who hangs out with girls is likely to be ridiculed and rejected.
As school-age children make social comparisons and characterize themselves in terms of stable dispositions, their gender identity expands to include the following self-evaluations, which greatly affect their adjustment:
• Gender typicality—the degree to which the child feels similar to others of the same gender.
• Gender contentedness—the degree to which the child feels comfortable with his or her gender assignment.
• Felt pressure to conform to gender roles—the degree to which the child feels parents and peers disapprove of his or her gender-related traits.