The relationships among expression of affection, gender of family members, and family situations

The purpose of this study was to analyze previously collected data on the expression of affection among family members with respect to gender of family members, family activities, and family member responses. Research questions included examining (a) if there were differences in the way fathers and mothers expressed affection and social interaction to sons and two daughters and in children's responses to that affection and social interaction; (b) if there were differences in the way sons and daughters expressed affection and social interaction to fathers and to mothers and in parents' responses to that affection and social interaction; and (c) if there were differences in the way fathers and mothers expressed affection and social interaction to one another and in their responses to those behaviors.

The subjects consisted of 11 Caucasian, intact, middle-class families (22 parents and 24 children) with one child in daycare. Six in-home observations of five family routines were conducted. The routines were pre-dinner activities, dinner, post-dinner activities, a verbal game, and a construction game. Measures included the operational definitions of smiles, affectionate words, active affectionate physical contact, passive affectionate physical contact, and social interaction. Two types of reactions were measured: positive and neutral. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to analyze the data.

The results indicated gender differences in the expression of social interaction from parents to sons. Compared to fathers, mothers expressed more social interaction to sons and sons expressed more social interaction to mothers. Also, mothers expressed more passive affectionate physical contact to sons than did fathers. No other differences were found. The results were discussed in terms of specific aspects of the methodology that could be strengthened in future studies.