Gender differences in emotional closeness between preschool children and their mothers

The emotional closeness between mothers and their children was examined to determine if mother-daughter pails exhibit closer emotional relationships than mother-son pairs. Forty-one mother-child predominantly Caucasian dyads were videotaped during a semistructured play setting, The children were 4 (10 males and 10 females) and 5 years of age (10 males and II females). Emotional closeness was defined as physical proximity mutual eye contact and global level of enjoyment. Results demonstrated that compared to boys, girls were physically closer to their mothers, engaged in more mutual eye contact with their mothers, and were rated higher on global enjoyment. Results are consistent with Chodorow's theory that gender identity development is related to the emotional relationships that develop between children and their mothers.