Maternal dominance and the conception of sons

Abstract

Previous research (Grant, 1990, 1992) suggests that the sex of the infant is linked to maternal dominance, although it is unclear from existing studies whether women have obtained higher dominance ratings merely as a consequence of already carrying a male foetus. In an effort to overcome this problem, self-report personality measures of dominance were completed by mothers of one- and two-year-old infants before they became pregnant again. In two independent studies (during 1983-84 and 1990-91), women who later conceived male infants scored significantly higher on dominance than those who later conceived female infants. The results of an analysis of all studies (N = 6) done on this topic (1969-91), are also presented, as are the results of an analysis of the four studies in which subjects were either not pregnant or were eight weeks pregnant or less. In both the combined analyses, those women who later bore sons were significantly more likely to have scored higher on the tests of dominance than those who later bore daughters (chi2 p < .0001).

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