Though a common thought is that boys who have strong bonds with their mothers could face backlash from other male students, a new study by an ASU professor indicates that this relationship could be beneficial to young boys’ health.
Carlos Santos, author of the study and an assistant research professor for the School of Social and Family Dynamics, found that young boys resisting the stereotypes of hyper-masculinity and not sharing their emotions can lead to strong relationships with their peers.
Santos said he believes that a boy’s tendency to avoid these stereotypes can often be traced back to the boy having a good relationship with his mother.
“Mothers came up across the board as something that was particularly predictive of boys’ willingness to resist these stereotypes,” Santos said.
Santos added that while other relationships — particularly with siblings — can play a factor in emotional development, a boy’s relationship with his primary caretaker is highly influential in future relationship development.
“The security you feel with that person is important,” Santos said. “It serves as a model from which you can base other relationships in your life.”
For the study, Santos followed the lives of 426 middle school boys in New York City from the time they entered middle school to the time they left. Santos began his research in 2004 as part of research with New York University and presented it at an American Psychological Association Symposium in August.
For the study, Santos used a survey called the Children’s Depression Inventory, which is a five to 10 minute test designed to monitor the negative mood and self-image of children ages 7 to 17.
Though a temptation might be to attach the characteristics Santos is advocating to a young boys’ sexuality, he cautioned that his findings were much more about analyzing relationships than determining sexual identity.
“Often, folks make the mistake of interpreting this research as being about sexuality, but it has nothing to do with that,” Santos said. “I have no idea what the orientation of these kids is, nor am I interested in it.”
Santos’ focus on redefining stereotypes is shared by an upcoming program at ASU, called the Sanford Harmony program, to which he maintains a fellowship.
The program, which was funded by United National Corporation CEO Denny Sanford and run by the School of Social and Family Dynamics, was designed to make a difference in how boys and girls treat and view masculinity and femininity.
The programs’ website stated that young boys can often be separated from girls at young ages and would like schools to break away from that standard.
“The fact that children play primarily with same-sex peers is widely recognized,” according to program director Carol Martin’s website.
Though Sanford’s program outlines ways for schools to foster interaction between the sexes, secondary education junior Jen Steinfeld believes most early schools are doing enough.
“I think schools gave equal opportunities for activities with members of the same and opposite sexes,” Steinfeld said. “If there was separation, it was based on personal choice.”
Reach the reporter at michael.reppenhagen@asu.edu
