Sex Differences in Children's Risk-Taking Behavior

Abstract

GINSBURG, HARVEY J., and MILLER, SHIRLEY M. Sex Differences in Children's Risk-taking Behavior. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1982, 53, 426-428. Sex differences in risk taking were examined by observing 480 3to 11-year-old children at 4 different risk-taking locations at the San Antonio zoo. Frequency counts of boys and girls were made at the elephant rides, burro exhibit, children's petting zoo, and along a steep embankment of the San Antonio River. Baseline observations were made at the entrance of the zoo to ensure that boys and girls were equally represented. Girls were just as likely as boys to enter the zoo. However, at all 4 of the risktaking situations, significantly more boys than girls engaged in risk-taking behavior. More boys than girls rode the elephants, petted the burro, fed the animals, and climbed the river embankment. Older boys and girls were more likely to take these risks than younger children. Thus, males, especially older ones, engaged in more risk-taking behavior than females within the context of this descriptive, naturalistic study.