THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE ONSET OF PUBESCENCE TO CERTAIN INTERPERSONAL ATTITUDES IN GIRLS

173 Pages·5.812 MB·English

by  GELFOND, ABRAHAM

Sponsoring Committee: Professor Edward L. Kemp, Associate
Professor Clara S. Platt, Assistant Professor
Bernard N. Kalinkowitz, and Associate
Professor John J• Kinse11a,
Special Consultant
THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE ONSET OF PUBESCENCE
TO CERTAIN INTERPERSONAL ATTITUDES IN GIRLS
ABRAHAM GELFOND
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy in the School of Education of
New York University
1952
m
STATEMENT
The student hereby guarantees that no part of
the dissertation or document which he has submitted
for publication has been heretofore published and (or)
copyrighted in the United States of America, except
in the case of passages quoted from other published
sources; that he is the sole author and proprietor
of said dissertation or document; that the dissertation
or document contains no matter which, if published,
will be libelous or otherwise injurious, or infringe
in any way the copyright of any other party, and
that he will defend, indemnify and hold harmless
New York University against all suits and proceedings
which may be brought and against all claims which
may be made against New York University by reason of
the publication of said dissertation or document.
Signature
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..................................... ii
LIST OF TABLES....................................... ill
Chapter
I. THE PROBLEM...................................... 1
Statement of the Problem......................... 1
Specific Problems.......... 1
Definition of Terms ............. ........... 2
Delimitations................................ 2
Assumptions................... .................. 3
Significance of the Study......................... 6
II. RELATED LITERATURE. ........ ....... 9
Sociological Aspects of Pubescence 9
Freudian Pubertal Theory............ 10
Early Studies of Pubescence...................... 15
Modern Studies of Pubescence....... 18
Comments on Related Literature ...... 22
III. SELECTION OF SUBJECTS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF
OF THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS............. 24
Selection of the Population.......... 24
Fathers1 Occupations........ 28
Religious Affiliation.................... 32
IV. TESTING, SCORING, AND COLLECTION OF DATA......... 34
The Test.............. 34
Testing Procedure.......... 35
Scoring .................... 37
Explanation of the Scoring Categories ..... 39
Collection of Data. ........................ 43
V. INTERPRETATION: ATTITUDES TOWARD PEERS.......... 54
Bases of Interpretation................... 54
Attitudes Toward Males of the Same Age........... 56
Attitudes Toward Females of the Same Age ........ 63
VI. INTERPRETATION: ATTITUDES TOWARD OLDERP ERSONS... 74
Attitudes Toward Older Males .... 74
Attitudes Toward Older Females ................. 83
Chapter Page
VII. INTERPRETATION: ATTITUDES TOWARD HERSELF......... 92
Outcomes of the Stories ...................... 92
Feelings.............. 101
Summary of Findings ....... 107
VIII. A COMPARISON OF SEVENTH AND NINTHG RADE GIRLS 110
The Project................................. 110
Attitudes Toward Peers .......... Ill
Attitudes Toward Older Persons......... 114.
Feelings ............ 117
Outcomes ................... 122
IX. EVALUATION OF THE FINE SCORING SCHEME FOR
PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES.................. 123
X. A PORTRAIT OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS........... 127
General Characteristics......................... 127
Some Effects of Pubescence........ ........ . 130
Pubertal Deviates ......................... 131
XI. SUMMARY........................................ 136
BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................ 142
APPENDICES..................... L47
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to express my indebtedness to Dr. Edward L.
Kemp, Dr. Bernard N. Kalinkowitz, Dr. Clara S. Platt, and Dr.
John J. Kinsella, who served as my sponsoring committee. Their
criticisms and suggestions were invaluable in the development
of this thesis. To Dr. Kemp, who served as chairman, 1 am
especially grateful for constructive and friendly guidance
from the planning of the outline until the final preparation
of the manuscript.
To my wife, Sylvia, Is due a full measure of appre­
ciation for her inspirational and material help.
The writer also wishes to thank Dr. Avrum H. Ben-
Avi for his helpful suggestions in formulating the outline;
Dr. Edwin B. Singer, who aided in the conception of this
study; and Dr. Ernest R. Wood for technical advice concerning
certain statistical problems.
To the nurses and teachers of the schools in which
the subjects of this study are students, I owe my gratitude.
Without their help this investigation would have been impos­
sible, yet they must remain anonymous so that the name of the
conmunity is not revealed.
I take this means of expressing my thanks to Columbia
University Press for permission to reproduce material from their
book nAdolescent Fantasy” by Perciv&l M. Symonds.
LIST OF TABLES
Number Page
I Premenarcheal and Postmenarcheal Groups Compared
in Respect to Age and Intelligence ........ 26
II Premenarcheal and Postmenarcheal Groups Compared
in Respect to Fathers1 Occupations and the
Subjects' Religious Affiliations............... 30
III Determination of Chi Square for the Distribution
of Occupations of Fathers of Premenarcheal and
Postmenarcheal Girls..... ................... 31
IV Determination of Chi Square for the Distribution
of Religious Affiliations of Premenarcheal and
Postmenarcheal Girls......................... 32
V Significance of Variance Differences in Premen­
archeal and Postmenarcheal GroupB in Three
Scoring Categories as Determined by the F Test. 47
VI Significance of Variance Differences as Deter­
mined by the F Test, Between Those Groups of
Seventh and Ninth Grade Girls Shoving Signifi­
cant Mean Differences in Test Scores........... 51
VII Attitudes Toward Uales of the Same Age: A
Comparison of Premenarcheal and Postmenarcheal
Girls.................... 58
VIII Attitudes Toward Uales of the Same Age: Com­
parisons of (l) 7th Grade Premenarcheal and
9th Grade Postmenarcheal Girls, and (2) 7th
Grade Postmenarcheal and 9th Grade Premen­
archeal Girls......... 62
IX Attitudes Toward Females of the Same Age: A
Comparison of Premenarcheal and Postmenarcheal
Girls...................................... 64
X Attitudes Toward Females of the Same Age: Com­
parisons of (1) 7th Grade Premenarcheal and
9th Grade Postmenarcheal Girls, and (2) 7th
Grade Postmenarcheal and 9th Grade Premen­
archeal Girls ................. 70
iii
Number Pag®
XI Attitudes Toward Older Males : A Comparison of
Premenarcheal and Postmenarcheal Girls.......... 76
XII Attitudes Toward Older Males: Comparisons of
(l) 7th Grade Premenarcheal and 9th Grade Post­
menarcheal Girls, and (2) 7th Grade Postmen-
archeal and 9th Grade Premenarcheal Girls 78-79
XIII Attitudes Toward Older Females: A Comparison
of Premenarcheal and Postmenarcheal Girls..... 84-
XIV Attitudes Toward Older Females: Comparisons
of (l) 7th Grade Premenarcheal and 9th Grade
Postmenarcheal Girls, and (2) 7th Grade Post­
menarcheal and 9th Grade Premenarcheal Girls.. 86-87
XV Feelings and Outcomes: A Comparison of Pre­
menarcheal and Postmenarcheal Girls........... 93-94
XVI Feelings and Outcomes: Comparisons of (1) 7th
Grade Premenarcheal and 9th Grade Postmen­
archeal Girls, and (2) 7th Grade Postmen­
archeal and 9th Grade Premenarcheal Girls..... 97-100
XVII Seventh Grade Girls and Ninth Grade Girls Com­
pared in Respect to Sums of Test Scores In­
volving Relationships with Girls of the Same
Age................................... ....... 112
XVIII Seventh Grade Girls and Ninth Grade Girls Com­
pared in Respect to Sums of Test Scores In­
volving Relationships with Boys of the Same
Age.......................................... 113
XIX Seventh Grade Girls and Ninth Grade Girls Com­
pared in Respect to Sums of Test Scores In­
volving Relationships with Older Males 115
XX Seventh Grade Girls and Ninth Grade Girls Com­
pared in Respect to Sums of Test Scores In­
volving Relationships with Older Females...... 116
XXI Seventh Grade Girls and Ninth Grade Girls Com­
pared in Respect to Sums of Test Scores In­
volving Feelings and Outcomes....... 118-119
iv
Number Page
XXII Sums of Test Scores of Premenarcheal and Post­
menarcheal Girls, Means, and Significance
of Differences Between Means as Tested by
t Ratios.................................... 150-154
XXIII Significance of Differences Between Means of
Sums of Test Scores of (1) 7th Grade Pre­
menarcheal and 9th Grade Postmenarcheal Girls,
and (2) 7th Grade Postmenarcheal and 9th
Grade Premenarcheal Girls, as Tested by t
Ratios...................................... 156-164
▼
CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM
Statement of the Problem
The problem is to investigate the impact of puberty-
on girls as evidenced by the direction and extent of certain
modifications of interpersonal attitudes.
The relationship between puberty and its psychologi­
cal concomitants has been studied to a limited extent only.
Furthermore, the availability of projective techniques makes
it possible to pursue such investigation on bases differing
from and more fundamentally revealing than those of earlier
studies•
Specific Problems
It is proposed that one of the more meaningful ways
of assessing personality is to study the manner in which an
individual perceives himself in relation to others. The fol­
lowing specific attitudes in the subjects of this study will
be investigated.
1. The attitudes of the subject toward males of the same age.
2. The attitudes of the subject toward females of the same age.
3. The attitudes of the subject toward older males.
4. The attitudes of the subject toward older females.
5. The attitudes of the subject toward herself.
Definition of Terms
By puberty is meant the occurrence of the menarche.
It is recognized that pubescence covers a period of time in­
volving manifold psychological and physiological changes which
take place before and after the initial menstrual flow. How­
ever, the menarche serves as a convenient approximate midpoint
of the process* Wayne Dennis^- found that nearly all studies
which have related behavior to some stage of adolescence
in girls have employed this criterion. He accepted this defi­
nition pending knowledge of finer distinctions.
The word attitude is used within the framework of
Allport*s definition; nAttitude should be employed when the
disposition is bound to an object or value, that is to say,
when it is aroused by a well defined class of stimuli, and
when the individual feels toward these stimuli a definite
attraction or repulsion."^
DeHwH tafcionfi
This study is limited to girls in the seventh, eighth,
and ninth grades of the public schools of a suburban New Jersey
community. It is within these grades that girls ordinarily
achieve the menarche.
1* Wayne Dennis, ”The Adolescent”, in Manual of ChUd
Psychology edited by Leonard Carmichael, p. 638.
2* Gordon W. Allport, Personality-A Psychological Inter­
pretation. p. 294*