Abstract

A multilevel analysis conducted with a cross-sectional sample of 324 pre -adolescents (N= 324) in grades five and six (Mage = 11.5) of girls (N= 170) and boys from three mixed-gender primary school schools in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and two mixed-gender schools in Barranquilla, Colombia (N= 174) was used to examine the effect of group norms on peer perceived gender typicality. Group level variables including descriptive same-gender and other-gender group norms for each of the social behaviors. SES, culture, and gender were examined as moderators of the association between four forms of gendered social behaviors, specifically care, justice, physical aggression, and relational aggression, and children’s perceptions of their peers as being typical members of their cis gender group categories. Multilevel modeling indicated distinct patterns of effects for the level 2 group variables on the intercept and slope for each of the four social behaviors. For the intercept, same-gender and other-gender group means were positively associated with gender typicality for three (care, justice and relational aggression) of the four behaviors. For the slope – gender typicality was high when other-gender group means for physical aggression, relational aggression and care were low. Only relational aggression was found to be a significant predictor at level 1. SES and place effects also found. The findings show that perceptions of gender typicality are contextually determined.