2018 Volume 32 Issue 1 Pages 1-13
This study investigated the effects of attributional complexity and gender role attitudes on social distance in various family types and children living in families of those types. A betweenparticipants factorial design was used to evaluate family types (living with one's biological parents, living with a single parent, living in a step family, living with foster parents, and living in an institution), attributional complexity (high vs. low), and gender role attitudes (traditional vs. egalitarian). The results were as follows: (1) participants with an egalitarian attitude towards gender roles and high attributional complexity were more likely to be accepting of children living in an institution, (2) a child’s aggressiveness was not biased towards a particular family type, and (3) attributional complexity and gender role attitudes influenced the psychological acceptance of atypical family types and children living in those types of families. Psycho-educational programs that promote egalitarian attitudes towards gender roles and high attributional complexity are needed in order to achieve social inclusion in which people accept any family type and children from various types of families.
