ABSTRACT
Parent-child interaction pattern not only affects their perception of home but also influences their interaction at school and their overall development. Warm home environment with positive interaction patterns have been found to promote maturity, better adjustment and social competence among children (Hart, Newell, and Olson, 2003; Lindsay and Mize, 2000). When it comes to Indian homes, often a gender difference can be noted, owing to the differential social roles assigned to both the genders. Gender differences in perception of home environment, however, have rarely been explored. The present study, therefore aims to investigate gender differences in perceived home environment among preadolescents and adolescents.
Around 792 boys and girls of age range 7–16 years (Mean age=11.55; SD=2.87; Male=51%, Female=49%; Adolescents=51%, Preadolescents=49%) from middle-class Bengali families and staying with their parents, were administered the shortened Home Environment Inventory (HEI) (Datta and Dutta, 2018; Mishra, 1989) in group sessions. There were seven domains of the scale, namely, Protectiveness, Punishment, Reward, Social Isolation, Rejection, Deprivation of Privileges, and Nurturance. 202Data were analyzed using parametric inferential statistics and Trajectory analysis.
One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that significant gender differences do exist in all domains of perceived Home Environment except Rejection, Nurturance, and Reward. Similarly, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed that the gender differences exist for all domains of the Home Environment except for Nurturance, Reward, and Rejection after taking age as covariate. Finally, Trajectory Analysis tracked linear, quadratic, and cubic trajectories of the changes in the domains of perceived Home Environment for males and females.
There is no doubt that gender differences in the perceived home environment of preadolescents and adolescents do exist and vary as a function of their age. Moreover, this perception changes differentially for males and females across their developmental years. Findings are discussed in the light of previous findings and theories.
