Gendered themes in family reminiscing

Previous research conducted in laboratory settings has shown reliable gende r differences in autobiographical memory. However, these studies have prima rily focused on structural or emotional aspects of memory narratives told t o an unfamiliar experimenter. The present study extends this literature by investigating gender differences in social references and interpersonal the mes in parent-child narratives about the past. Participants were 17 white, middle-class children and their mothers and fathers, who were interviewed w hen children were 40 and 70 months of age. Parent-child narratives about sh ared activities in the past, as well as narratives about parents' own child hood, were examined. Results indicated that when discussing shared events, both parents talked in similar ways across children, although fathers refer red to self more than mothers. However both parents referred to their girls more than their boys. Regarding event themes, parents discussed more socia l events with girls than with boys. Children themselves showed different ge ndered patterns; girls mentioned self and others, and relationships more th an boys did, and children mentioned self and others more often when talking with fathers than with mothers. With respect to narratives about parents' childhood experiences, however, no gender differences were observed, save t hat parents referred to others more often in retrospective narratives told to girls than to boys. These findings suggest that gendered behaviours are best understood within the specific contexts and purposes of relational int eractions.