Gender differences in the politicization of American children

Resaerch on preadult political socialization conducted prior to the women's movement and the rise of feminist consciousness indicated that girls lagged behind boys in many aspects of their political development. Studies in the 1970s showed that this gap was closing. We examine preadult political orientations in the 1980s, and discover that the optimism of prior research is perhaps premature. Significant gender-related differenes exist for girls and boys, as well as for their parents, on a variety of measures of Evidence suggests that these distinctions are passed on through the socialization process in the family at least to some degree. Structural and cultural factors may further contribute to the persistence of gender-based distinctions in politicization.