Girls’ and boys’ choices of peer behavioral characteristics at age five

We analyzed age differences in the behavioral profiles of the girls and boys chosen as play partners by same- and cross-sex peers at age 5 and the influence of these choices on subsequent behavior at 9 in a sample of 107 Spanish children. Girls chose girls who had an interest in resources and affective leadership, whereas boys chose boys interested in sport and rejected those preferring role-taking play. Both girls and boys who were preferred by boys at 5 showed low levels of maladaptive behaviors. We suggest that children’s selection of the type of play and behavior of their same-sex peers could be considered a relevant mechanism for explaining the adaptive role of sex segregation during childhood.