Viljemässig kontroll i förändring: En jämförande studie om könsskillnader i viljemässig kontroll bland barn i Sverige

Sammanfattning: 57 nine to ten year old children, from two small towns in the south of Sweden, were tested for gender differences in effortful control. Data was collected via caregivers completing the Temperament in Middle Childhood Questionnaire (TMCQ). A two- tailed t test was performed to examine whether a real difference between boys and girls exists. Results showed a significant gender difference in two measured variables; effortful control and its perceptual sensitivity component. The results were compared with earlier studies in the field, using effect sizes from abroad (d = 1.21) and Sweden (d = .32). Consistent with another Swedish study the effect size results suggests smaller gender differences in effortful control in Sweden (d = .55) compared to the foreign studies. However, due to the small sample size and the fact that the compared studies were conducted in different countries and under different circumstances, no conclusions can be drawn from these results, nor can the results be generalized to other groups.