Construction and Validation of the Gender Apperception Test-GAT for Children

Silvana B. Gaino, Francisco Baptista Assumpção Jr.², Gerson Silva Santos Neto, Victor Galvao

Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Bahia’s Reconcavo, Santo Antonio de Jesus, Brazil.
Institute of Psychology, University of Sao Paulo, S?o Paulo, Brazil.
Universidade Federal do Reconcavo da Bahia, Cruz das Almas, Brazil.
Institute of Psychology, University of Sao Paulo, S?o Paulo, Brazil.

DOI: 10.4236/psych.2013.411128                

Abstract

Objective: This study had objectives as the construction and validation of an instrument to assess the factors associated to the formation of gender identity considering the role of toys and childish games, easily applicable and possible to be used in a wide range of contexts with children aged from 4 to 6 years old. Method: The Gender Apperception Test (GAT—originally TAG in BR-Portuguese), formed by 51 items, was applied in 303 children (171 boys and 132 girls) from public and private schools. Results: The internal consistency of the items was very satisfactory presented in Cronbach’s Alphas of 0.92. Conclusions: GAT’s psychometric parameters were satisfactory, indicating that this is an alternative way for empirical investigations and applied works in different institutions, capable of guiding measures intended to assess and keep up with the development of children’s gender identity concept.

Keywords

Gender Identity; Toys and Games; Children Evaluation

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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