Often certain types of toys are considered more appropriate either for boys or for girls to play with. Therapists often use toys to engage children in intervention activities to promote skill development. This study investigated the gender stereotype perspectives of children's toys held by adults who were and were not parents. Fifty-two…

Investigated impact of Derman Sparks' Anti-Bias Curriculum on gender role stereotyping. Found that children who experienced the curriculum were more aware of anti-bias gender roles than children from a contrast center. Asian children were less aware than non-Asian Australian children, but both showed increasing awareness after intervention. There…

Considers the relationship between sex role, identity, and self-esteem by testing a model within two societies (India and Australia) with markedly different levels of sex role salience at the cultural level. Results reveal this to be an important moderating variable. (Author/LHW)

Reports the results of a study investigating the Australian child's concept of family, and suggests some implications for early childhood teachers. (Author/MP)

Data from a cross-cultural sample of tribal societies suggest that rape is part of a cultural configuration which includes interpersonal violence, male dominance, and sexual separation. Rape is interpreted as the sexual expression of these forces in society where harmony between men and their environment has been severely disrupted. (Author/MJL)

Exploratory in nature because of its small foreign-born sample, this working paper represents a first step in efforts by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (IFS) to examine the role of the family among the major immigrant groups in Australia. Comparisons are made between foreign-born and Australian-born families based on data collected in…

A study compared the attitudes of high school students from three countries--Australia, Portugal, and the United States--concerning the importance of work, home, and family in their lives. By administering appropriate national versions of the Salience Inventory and the Career Development Inventory to 114 Australian, 158 Portuguese, and 204…

This article offers a strategy for using Australian women's history in a United States women's history survey course. To develop the theme of gender relations in settler societies, the author recommends using transnational categories, such as gender frontier and settler colonialism, direct comparisons between Australian and American women's…

Studies the effects of sex, age, occupation, and experience of sexual harassment (SH) on attitudes to and perceptions of SH. Results from 196 participants reveal males to be more tolerant of SH, females experienced more SH than males, and males and females perceived the same incidents as sexual harassment. Education is viewed as necessary to…

The purpose of this cross-national descriptive study is to measure the extent of children's sexual knowledge and sexual understanding at various ages and to identify what processes of thought children use in trying to explain biological functions and the phenomena of their own bodies as they grow and change. Sexual thinking is defined as thinking…

A comparative analysis of family policy in various nations looks at state financial support for families and in particular how professional women in academia fare internationally with respect to state support for their families. The analysis includes a review of the general development of family support through the industrial revolution and the…