A study on sex-typical childhood behaviors using the toy preference test

A study on sex-typical childhood behaviors using the toy preference test | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article A study on sex-typical childhood behaviors using the toy preference test Viola Trevisani, Denian Errigo, Lucia Palandri, Lisa De Pasquale, and 8 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7638744/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background/Objectives : We studied a population of 23 non-clinical Italian children (11 males), at the age of 15 months, with the aim of evaluating playing behaviors and potential sex differences by means of the toy preference test. Methods The test was carried out in free play mode and 3 sets of games were used: boy-related toys (blocks, a car, an excavator), girl-related toys (a doll, a kitchen, a tea set), and gender-neutral toys (a ball, a book, a soft toy). Results Boys spent more time playing with boy-related toys (median time: 225.27 s; 50.5% of total time) but also with girl-related toys (a tea set, a kitchen, a doll). In contrast, girls had a clear preference for girl toys (237.33 s; 48.6%) and spent a lot of time playing with neutral toys (136.92 s; 33%). A significant difference (p 0.001) was observed for the use of neutral toys, with which the girls spent more time, and boy-related toys (p 0.019), which were used more by the boys than by the girls. No differences for girl-related toys were detected within boys and girls. Girls never played with the excavator, preferring the tea set (16.6%) and the book (15.4%). Conclusions We observed that at 15 months, boys and girls already follow different developmental trajectories with regard to the selection of sex-related toys. Girls preferred to play with girl-related toys and gender-neutral toys while boys focused mainly on boy-related toys and spent a significant amount of time with the girl-related ones. Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Introduction Since the 1930s, dozens of studies have demonstrated the existence of sex differences in children's toy preferences. Boys and girls tend to prefer different types of toys, often aligning with traditional gender roles. These preferences can be observed as early as infancy and become more pronounced with age [ 1 , 2 ]. The observed gender differences in children's preferences may have their roots in biological predispositions that are subsequently shaped by social processes. Cultural norms and values, parental influence, media and advertising, peer influence, educational and social contexts, and historical and societal changes all contribute to the development of gender-typed toy preferences. Moreover, toys have been observed to influence the development of children's social and spatial skills, as well as to signal later developmental changes, including those related to sexuality and aggressive behavior [ 3 – 6 ]. Despite the large body of literature analyzing toy preferences by gender, there is no consensus on the extent of the differences. Studies on gender differences in toy play typically categorize toys into three main groups [ 1 ]: boy-related toys, these include items like cars, trucks, blocks, and action figures, often associated with physical activity, construction, and aggression; girl-related toys, which include dolls, kitchen sets, tea sets, and other items related to nurturing and domestic activities; and gender-neutral toys, like balls, books, and soft toys, which are not strongly associated with either gender. It can be posited that there is a general tendency for girls and boys to prefer different toys. However, the evidence supporting this gender effect is not always conclusive, and the observed differences are often contingent on the age of the population under analysis. For example, infants as young as 9 months old can show preferences for gender-typed toys. However, these preferences become more pronounced and consistent as children grow older [ 2 ]. The ability to identify and use gender labels for oneself and others, typically emerges around 18 to 21 months of age. This developmental milestone is sig-nificant because it coincides with an increase in gender-typed play behaviors. Zosuls et al. [ 7 ] found that children who began using gender labels also showed increased preferences for gender-typed toys. Several tests have been developed to investigate this aspect. One of the best known and most widely used is the Toy Preference Test (TPT), which can be administered to children from a minimum age of 3 months to a maximum age of 11 years [ 1 , 8 , 9 ]. The purpose of the test is to measure children's preferences for toys that are typically cate-gorized as masculine, feminine, or neutral. These tests help researchers understand how early gender-typed behaviors emerge and how they are influenced by social and cultural factors. The literature describes a variety of different assessment formats, but free play is the most consistent in its implementation. The distinctive feature of free play studies is the measurement of children’s preferences through their play behavior. However, the initial set of toys is typically predetermined by an external source, usually the researchers or other adults. Subsequently, the researchers categorize the selected toys according to gender, usually including those that have been assigned as gender-neutral a priori. The aim of our study is therefore to assess a population of Italian children, of both sexes, at the age of 15 months by means of the toy preference test and to evaluate toy’s preference and differences, if any, between the two sexes at an age before gender la-belling and gender identity. Materials and Methods Study population The present study focused on a subsample of an ongoing prospective birth-cohort study [ 10 , 11 ]. The primary cohort study included newborns whose mothers were of legal age (i.e., over 18 years old) at the time of delivery, demonstrated proficiency in the Italian language, and had a singleton pregnancy. In addition, infants were required to meet the following inclusion criteria: delivery at term (37–41 weeks postmenstrual age), appropriate for gestational age (AGA), and an Apgar score of ≥ 7 at five minutes post-birth. Follow-up assessments were conducted at 3, 6, 15, and 36 months of age. The eligibility criterion for this study was aligned with the methodology employed for the TPT at the 15-month follow-up visit, although only a subset of the original cohort consented to participate in the TPT. Toy preferences test administration Upon obtaining parental consent, each child was positioned at the center of a semi-circular arrangement of toys, selected by researchers and based on prior research on gender differences in play [ 1 , 8 , 12 – 16 ]. The assortment included toys traditionally related with male gender (blocks, a car, an excavator), female gender (a doll, a kitchen, a tea set), and gender-neutral toys (a ball, a book, a soft toy). The toys were placed in a semi-circle configuration, equidistant from the child's starting position, with no adjacent toys of the same category. Children were invited to engage freely with the toys. The parent remained seated on the periphery of the room and did not interact with the child. Each child participated in a single eight-minute play session. This duration was selected to maximize the range of observed outcomes, as it provided sufficient time for children to explore a variety of toys without being constrained by a limited selection [ 1 ]. Two independent raters, blinded to the study’s objectives, recorded the time (in seconds) the child spent interacting with each toy. Playtime was categorized into 'active play' (physical contact with toys) and 'involvement' (observing, pointing to, or moving behind toys). If the child engaged with multiple toys simultaneously, time was recorded for each toy in both categories. Total playtime was calculated by summing the durations of 'active play' and 'in-volvement,' providing data for each child as follows: Total absolute playtime (in seconds). Time spent playing with each of the nine toys and three toy categories (neutral, girl-related, male-related). Proportion (%) of total playtime spent with each toy and toy category. Statistical Methods Data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 20.0 (IBM SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). The characteristics of the cat-egorical variables were summarised by absolute and relative frequencies (percentages). Continuous variables were summarised as mean ± standard deviation or median and interquartile range (IQR), discrete quantitative variables as median and interquartile range. Non-parametric continuous variables were analyzed in relation to categorical variables using the Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Statistical signif-icance was determined at a threshold of p < 0.05. Results The study included 11 boys (mean age 15.59 ± 0.15 months) and 12 girls (mean age 15.56 ± 0.18 months) residing in the province of Modena, Italy, and born between 2019 and 2021. Table 1 presents the total play time, and the time spent playing with the three categories of toys (neutral-, girl-related and male-related toys). Overall, the girl-related toys were selected more frequently than the other categories, followed by male-related toys. Analysis of play times for each individual toy revealed that the entire sample spent the longest absolute time playing with the blocks (76.30 seconds), followed by the girl-related toys (tea set: 75 seconds; doll: 74.78 second; kitchen: 64 second). In terms of proportion of total play time (% of total time), the most utilized toys were the tea set (16.4%), followed by the blocks (15.3%) and the other girl-related toys (doll 14.68% and kitchen 14.4%). The toy with the lowest usage was the soft toy, with a duration of 16 seconds, representing 3.1% of the total time. Time spent playing according to sex When considering sex, the total play time was nearly identical between boys (mean time: 446.36 ± 37.66 s) and girls (mean time: 474.67 ± 54.68 s). However, females exhibited greater variability in total play time, ranging from 159 to 771 seconds, compared to 314 to 628 seconds in males. For boys, the median time (both in absolute and relative terms) spent playing with boy-related toys (225.27 s; 50.5%) was higher than the time spent with girl-related toys (188.09 s; 41.9%) and neutral toys (33 s; 7.6%). Conversely, girls showed a clear preference for girl-related toys (237.33 s; 48.6%) over boy-related toys (101.42 s; 18.4%) and also spent a considerable amount of time playing with neutral toys (136.92 s; 33%). It can thus be observed that in our population there is a significant discrepancy (p 0.001) in the utilization of neutral toys, predominantly employed by females, and boy-related toys (p 0.019), more frequently used by males. On the contrary, no significant differences were found in the use of girl-related toys in absolute terms (p 0.340), indicating that boys and girls spent an equivalent amount of time playing with girl-related toys. When analyzing the percentages of play time, differences between male and female participants persisted for boy-related (p = 0.001) and neutral (p = 0.005) toys (Fig. 1 ). Time spent playing with each toy according to sex The median percentage of time spent playing with each toy by males and females is detailed in Figure 2 and in Table 2. Boys played significantly more with the toy car (p = 0.026) and the excavator, which was never used by girls (p = 0.011). Girls, on the other hand, played significantly more with the book (p < 0.001). These differences persisted when analyzing the proportion of time spent with these toys. Boys used the car (p = 0.009) and excavator (p = 0.011) for a greater proportion of time, while girls used the book (p = 0.001) for a greater proportion of time. No significant differences were found in play time for the remaining toys (Table 2). Active Play and Involvement A distinction was made between active play and involvement (defined as looking at, pointing at, or moving behind a toy) to identify primary differences between sexes. Results indicated that girls spent more time in active play than boys, specifically with the book and the soft toy (p < 0.05). In terms of toy involvement, the only significant difference observed was for the excavator, which was preferred by boys (p < 0.001). Discussion Our observational study presents the results of 23 Italian children who underwent the toy preference test in a free play study at the age of 15 months. This age is prior to the typical onset of gender affirmation, recognition and labeling. The total duration of play observed in males and females appears to be similar. However, it is notable that the variability of playing time is much greater in females than in males, confirming findings from previous studies [ 17 , 18 ]. In our study, children played freely with three sets of toys (boy-related, girl-related, and neutral) and utilized all toys, with a notable preference for boy-related toys among boys and girl-related toys among girls. Several studies in the literature, conducted in populations of the same age, have shown similar findings [ 2 , 17 – 23 ]. Alexander and Saenz [ 24 ] explain that preference of boys for boy-related toys manifests between the ages of 12 and 18 months, with males beginning to utilize toys that align with their gender more frequently, exhibiting a reduction in the use of girl-related toys, such as dolls. Roopnarine [ 25 ] emphasizes that at 10 months of age, there is no gender preference in play for either sex, although girls utilize dolls more than other toys. When the games were decontextualized and presented to children individually by the experimenter, Fein et al. [ 26 ] observed that girls continued to reject boy-related toys, while boys played indifferently with both boy- and girl-related ones. This pattern of interest was also found in other studies where children played with peers of the opposite sex [ 27 , 28 ]. Our study also showed that at 15 months of age, there is no difference in the per-centage of time spent with girl-related toys, which are used equally by boys and girls. Similar findings were demonstrated in a meta-analysis by Todd et al. [ 2 ], suggesting that the age of the children in our population may be a contributing factor. The authors noted a positive correlation between the time spent playing with boy-related toys and age in males; younger children (up to ~ 20 months) play relatively more with girl-related toys. Despite the clear preference for girl-related toys among girls and boy-related toys among boys, the interest in neutral toys was markedly more pronounced among girls. Girls spent more than four times as much time playing with neutral toys as boys did. This discrepancy may be attributed to the fact that, at this age, boys are more engaged in gross motor activities during play, while girls are more involved in learning and person-al-emotional development. This finding contrasts with Rotsztein et al. [ 29 ], who reported that boys prefer boy-related toys and neutral toys at 13 months, whereas girls are in-different between boy- and girl-related toys (especially at 22 and 31 months). In terms of playing with individual toys, our data are consistent with previous studies. Boys showed particular interest in the toy car [8,30] and the excavator [ 19 , 20 , 22 ], whereas girls, as expected, played more with girl-related toys (doll, kitchen, and tea set). Although girls showed interest in the doll, a toy widely documented in the literature as a primary interest among females [ 8 , 19 , 20 , 22 ], they also showed particular interest in the book (a neutral toy), a category not yet identified as a prevalent interest among girls of a similar age group in existing literature. While our findings are consistent with various studies in the literature, our study has limitations, primarily related to the sample's characteristics, which are small in number and fairly homogeneous in terms of socioeconomic, anthropometric, and clinical char-acteristics. Therefore, it is recommended that the findings of this study be confirmed by other researchers. Additionally, during the implementation of the free play toy pref-erence test, parents were present in the examination room but did not interact with or influence the children's choice of toys. Finally, this is the inaugural Italian study to examine sex-typical behaviors in 15-month-old children using the Toy Preference Test. Conclusions In conclusion, the findings revealed that at 15 months of age, girls exhibited a preference for playing with girl-related toys and gender-neutral toys, utilizing the latter to a significantly greater extent than boys, who demonstrated a clear focus on boy-related toys and allocated a significant amount of time to girl-related ones. These findings suggest that prior to the onset of gender affirmation and recognition, boys and girls follow di-vergent developmental pathways concerning the selection of sex-related toys. Addi-tionally, the study highlighted greater variability in play behavior among females, consistency with previous research on gender-typed toy preferences, and the significant interest of girls in gender-neutral toys. Declarations Ethichal approval/consent to participate The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by Area Vasta Emilia Nord Ethics Committee (2018/num715). Informed consent to participation and publication of the data was obtained from caregivers of all individual participants included in the study. Consent to Publish declaration Not applicable Funding This study was partially funded by the research grant ‘University funding grant for interdisciplinary proposals year 2018’ emitted by the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy (Fondo di Ateneo per la Ricerca anno 2018. Progetto di ricerca interdisciplinare). Conflicts of interest/Competing interests The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. Availability of data and material (data transparency) The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation. Authors' contributions Conceptualization: VT, LL, EP; Methodology: LL, VT, NB; Formal analysis and investigation: LL, AL, BP; Writing - original draft preparation: VT, DE; Writing - review and editing: LL, ER, LI; Resources: LP, LDP. Acknowledgments We would like to thank all the families who decided to take part to the study. Moreover, we would like to thank the doctors of the Post graduate School of Pediatrics who helped in the recruitment process of the study, in particular: Righi B, Miceli A, Marrozzini L, Cattini U, Poluzzi F, Plessi C and to the residents in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine who helped with data and sample collecting, in particular: Maione D, Fioretti E, Arletti M, Panciroli G, Barbieri R, Lugli C, Scassaserra MR. References Alexander, G.M., Wilcox T., Farmer M.E. (2009). Hormone–behavior associations in early infancy. Hormones and Behavior, 56(5), 498-502. Alexander, G.M., & Saenz, J. (2012). Early androgens, activity levels and toy choices of children in the second year of life. Hormones and Behavior, 62(4), 500-504. Berenbaum, S.A., Hines, M. (1992). Early Androgens Are Related to Childhood Sex-Typed Toy Preferences. Psychological Science, 3(3), 203-206. Caldera, Y.M., Huston, A.C., O’Brien, M. (1989). Social Interactions and Play Patterns of Parents and Toddlers with Feminine, Masculine, and Neutral Toys. Child Development, 60(1), 70–76. Campbell, A., Shirley, L., Heywood, C., Crook, C. (2000). Infants’ visual preference for sex-congruent babies, children, toys and activities: A longitudinal study. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 18(4), 479-498. Davis, J.T.M., & Hines M. (2020). How Large Are Gender Differences in Toy Preferences? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Toy Preference Research. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(2), 373-394. Fein, G., Johnson, D., Kosson, N., Stork, L., Wasserman, L. (1975). Sex Stereotypes and Preferences in the Toy Choices of 20-Months-Old Boys and Girls. Developmental Psycology, 11(4), 527-528. Goldman, J.A., Smith, J., Keller, E.D. (1982). Sex-Role Preference in Young Children: What are We Measuring? The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 141(1), 83-92. Jacklin, C.N., Maccoby, E.E., Dick, A.E. (1973). Barrier Behavior and Toy Preference: Sex Differences (And Their Absence) in the Year-Old Child. Child Development, 44(1), 196–200. Jadva, V., Hines, M., Golombok, S. (2010). Infants’ Preferences for Toys, Colors, and Shapes: Sex Differences and Similarities. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 1261-1273. Jirout, J. J., & Newcombe, N. S. (2015). Building blocks for devel- oping spatial skills: Evidence from a large, representative U.S. sample. Psychological Science, 26(3), 302–310. Kung, K. T. F., Li, G., Golding, J., & Hines, M. (2018). Preschool gender-typed play behavior at age 35 years predicts physical aggression at age 13 years. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 47(4), 905–914. Lamminmäki, A., Hines, M., Kuiri-Hänninen, T., Kilpeläinen, L., Dunkel, L., Sankilampi, U. (2012). Testosterone measured in infancy predicts subsequent sex-typed behavior in boys and in girls. Hormones and Behavior, 61(4), 611-616. Le Maner-Idrissi, G. (1996). An Internal Gender System at 24 Months. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 11(3), 301–312. Li, G., Kung, K. T. F., & Hines, M. (2017). Childhood gender-typed behavior and adolescent sexual orientation: A longitudinal pop- ulation-based study. Developmental Psychology, 53(4), 764–777. Liu, L., Escudero, P., & Robbins, R. A. (2020). Factors affecting infant toy preferences: Age, gender, experience, motor development, and parental attitude. Infancy, 25(5), 593-617. Lloyds, B., & Smith, C. (1985). The social representation of gender and young children's play. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 3, 65-73 Lucaccioni, L., Palandri, L., Passini, E., Trevisani, V., Calandra, Buonaura F., Bertoncelli, N., Talucci, G., Ferrari, A., Ferrari, E., Predieri, B., Facchinetti, F., Iughetti, L., Righi, E. (2023). Perinatal and postnatal exposure to phthalates and early neurodevelopment at 6 months in healthy infants born at term. Frontiers in Endocrinology (Lausanne), 14:1172743. O’Brien, M., Huston, A.C. (1985) Development of sex-typed play behavior in toddlers. Developmental Psychology, 21(5), 866-871. Pasterski, V.L., Geffner, M.E., Brain, C., Hindmarsh, P., Brook, C., Hines, M. (2005). Prenatal hormones and postnatal socialization by parents as determinants of male-typical toy play in girls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Child Development, 76(1), 264-78. Roopnarine, J. L. (1986). Mothers’ and fathers’ behaviors toward the toy play of their infant sons and daughters. Sex Roles, 14(1–2), 59–68 Rotsztein, B., & Zelazo, P. R. (2000). The development of sex-typed toy preferences and symbolic play behavior. Presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC. Serbin, L.A., Poulin-Dubois, D., Colburne, K. A., Sen, M. G., & Eichstedt, J. A. (2001). Gender stereotyping in infancy: Visual preferences for and knowledge of gender-stereotyped toys in the second year. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 25(1), 7–15. Todd, B. K., Barry, J. A., Thommessen, S. A. O. (2017). Preferences for ‘Gender-typed’ Toys in Boys and Girls Aged 9 to 32 Months. Infant and Child Development, 26:e1986. Trevisani, V., Palandri, L., Righi, B., Maione, D., De Pasquale, L., Tagliafico, E., Grisolia, C., Tagliazucchi, M., Predieri, B., Iughetti, L., Righi, E., Lucaccioni, L. (2024). The assessment of urinary sexual hormones within minipuberty and correlations with anthropometrics in a cohort of healthy term children. Journal of Endocrinology Investigation. Epub ahead of print. van de Beek, C., van Goozen, S.H., Buitelaar, J.K., Cohen-Kettenis, P.T. (2007) Prenatal sex hormones (maternal and amniotic fluid) and gender-related play behavior in 13-month-old Infants. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 38(1), 6-15. Wong, W. I., & Yeung, S. P. (2019). Early gender differences in spatial and social skills and their relations to play and parental socialization in children from Hong Kong. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48, 1589–1602. Zosuls K.M., Ruble D.N., Tamis-Lemonda C.S., Shrout P.E., Bornstein M.H., Greulich F.K (2009). The acquisition of gender labels in infancy: implications for gender-typed play. Developmental Psychology, 45(3):688-701. Zosuls, K.M., Ruble, D.N., Tamis-LeMonda, C.S. (2014). Self-socialization of gender in African American, Dominican immigrant, and Mexican immigrant toddlers. Child Development, 85(6), 2202-17. Tables Table 1 - Absolute total playing time (s) and percentage of playing time (%) in the total population (n=23). Mean SD Median Percentiles 25° 75° Total time s 461.65 158.92 475.00 324.00 587.00 Neutral toys s 87.22 80.55 59.00 16.00 119.00 % 20.8 21.5 15.1 2.6 25.9 Girl-related toys s 213.78 140.25 163.00 115.00 313.00 % 45.4 22.0 40.6 28.8 60.0 Boy-related toys s 160.65 140.36 132.00 34.00 262.00 % 33.8 27.7 30.0 11.1 54.1 Table 2 - Absolute time spent playing each game expressed in seconds and % by the study population divided by sex. Total time playing (s) % Total time playing (s) Males Females p Males Females p Doll 41.00 (0.00 – 120.00) 11.50 (0.00 – 87.50) 0.706 6.68 (0.00 – 19.11) 3.51 (0.00 – 3.80) 0.706 Kitchen 35.00 (0.00 – 92.00) 68.50 (0.50 – 122.50) 0.589 7.33 (0.00 – 23.25) 13.63 (0.09 – 27.98) 0.598 Tea set 13.00 (1.00 – 142.00) 37.00 (17.75 – 143.25) 0.309 2.74 (0.30 – 31.18) 16.58 (4.96 – 29.88) 0.389 Blocks 58.00 (10.00 – 130.00) 43.50 (0.00 – 82.50) 0.456 12.80 (3.16 – 29.01) 10.27 (0.00 – 14.63) 0.456 Car 33.00 (17.00 – 140.00) 6.00 (0.00 – 39.25) 0.026 9.09 (3.58 – 43.11) 0.89 (0.00 – 7.64) 0.009 Excavator 8.00 (0.00 – 164.00) 0.00 (0.00 – 0.00) 0.011 1.77 (0.00 – 32.17) 0.00 (0.00 – 0.00) 0.011 Ball 0.00 (0.00 – 29.00) 1.50 (0.00 – 49.25) 0.634 0.00 (0.00 – 6.40) 0.46 (0.00 – 12.22) 0.587 Book 0.00 (0.00 – 5.00) 78.00 (31.25 – 112.75) <0.001 0.00 (0.00 – 0.91) 15.39 (7.67 – 22.41) 0.001 Soft toy 5.00 (0.00 – 10.00) 9.00 (0.00 – 27.50) 0.314 1.22 (0.00 – 3.09) 2.79 (0.00 – 7.14) 0.285 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7638744","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":527567949,"identity":"c051c899-09cf-4fb3-a600-aef3dbbdef24","order_by":0,"name":"Viola Trevisani","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABCUlEQVRIie3QMUvDQBTA8VcC1+Vs1ivV5Cs86aIg+lUSCmYSVydJObxJ9/RbZHRwuOOGLvkAKXURoZNCsym06NGUdMnF1eH+w/EI+fGOA3C5/mMe9GQ99VJzsGA/ABA7AUOwIeMDsZqG1MVpM1oIzj0pv2Bz67MJX38/nyX5kj/k1csFDMK0nWgSqUfA81kWi+FTwW7yVyUW2eraerEhpygpIGKhBBwJQ8pYLKnUnURtDLkqFK+2giVYkx8r8T2KerelP01HZku0J7KDkEgf4xjZfCpGJ4KdzgxZZHJCCYlaCfG1evu4C9Dn/ffqU9yHgzJZlWt5GYRctq+p363lG+343+VyuVx/9AuC41rVmiSIxgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5224-8073","institution":"University of Modena and Reggio Emilia","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Viola","middleName":"","lastName":"Trevisani","suffix":""},{"id":527567950,"identity":"3ba3273c-d229-4233-b975-8305d0b1f679","order_by":1,"name":"Denian Errigo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Modena and Reggio Emilia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Denian","middleName":"","lastName":"Errigo","suffix":""},{"id":527567951,"identity":"5af8f59c-e4b1-4eb4-be9a-ec43053c2f86","order_by":2,"name":"Lucia Palandri","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Modena and Reggio Emilia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lucia","middleName":"","lastName":"Palandri","suffix":""},{"id":527567952,"identity":"4cd13da5-ba95-4959-93d4-72d5150610dd","order_by":3,"name":"Lisa De Pasquale","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Modena and Reggio Emilia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lisa","middleName":"","lastName":"De Pasquale","suffix":""},{"id":527567953,"identity":"7a92202b-7a3e-48ec-a622-a39077c1b419","order_by":4,"name":"Erica Passini","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Modena and Reggio Emilia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Erica","middleName":"","lastName":"Passini","suffix":""},{"id":527567954,"identity":"9e06a7cb-b59c-4e05-9aa3-ea68c924acf1","order_by":5,"name":"Antonella Luglio","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Modena and Reggio Emilia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Antonella","middleName":"","lastName":"Luglio","suffix":""},{"id":527567955,"identity":"aaacb267-a242-4d86-b570-6176503dc1df","order_by":6,"name":"Natascia Bertoncelli","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Modena Policlinico di Modena: Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Modena","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Natascia","middleName":"","lastName":"Bertoncelli","suffix":""},{"id":527567956,"identity":"2917bc4d-f7f5-49a7-a8ea-11966983dc4c","order_by":7,"name":"Simona Filomena Madeo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Modena Policlinico di Modena: Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Modena","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Simona","middleName":"Filomena","lastName":"Madeo","suffix":""},{"id":527567957,"identity":"2f7c4a4f-28ad-4811-8ecd-fa9466119484","order_by":8,"name":"Barbara Predieri","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Modena and Reggio Emilia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Barbara","middleName":"","lastName":"Predieri","suffix":""},{"id":527567958,"identity":"61ca178b-66a7-42a4-9ed0-7e5e41d514a7","order_by":9,"name":"Lorenzo Iughetti","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Modena and Reggio Emilia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lorenzo","middleName":"","lastName":"Iughetti","suffix":""},{"id":527567959,"identity":"ec66ed4d-fcb2-4a5d-8ea3-c9286af68b3d","order_by":10,"name":"Elena Righi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Modena and Reggio Emilia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Elena","middleName":"","lastName":"Righi","suffix":""},{"id":527567960,"identity":"d75eda5c-0ffd-4344-9c9c-d84f927fd628","order_by":11,"name":"Laura Lucaccioni","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Modena and Reggio Emilia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Laura","middleName":"","lastName":"Lucaccioni","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-09-17 10:05:38","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7638744/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7638744/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":94388764,"identity":"aaae354b-71db-404c-a59b-28732b7d4e57","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-27 13:51:10","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":123797,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Figure1.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7638744/v1/377c6418538115ec1b253562.docx"},{"id":94390180,"identity":"3c995eeb-788b-44bb-9ab4-2e377cafa471","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-27 13:52:05","extension":"docx","order_by":2,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":28164,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Table1.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7638744/v1/3cc25d9f983572babe034f3d.docx"},{"id":94388256,"identity":"1015981d-9a50-4fdd-81d8-bc35e0fac6a3","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-27 13:50:50","extension":"docx","order_by":3,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":90577,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Figure2.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7638744/v1/3b91db6103b958cf3223624e.docx"},{"id":94389911,"identity":"1d10cc8b-8e77-4e7c-b6f1-ba23bb7007aa","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-27 13:51:58","extension":"docx","order_by":4,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":26013,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Table2.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7638744/v1/23ee8c0847e41a2c1b8ff1dc.docx"},{"id":94390511,"identity":"85566ddf-52a4-402e-8eb1-0d3133fbceb1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-27 13:52:20","extension":"xml","order_by":5,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":11960,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"itjpITJPD2501071.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7638744/v1/211ee95b15213174efdda339.xml"},{"id":94389809,"identity":"cf415919-ef40-422a-8968-e2cc5740d76e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-27 13:51:51","extension":"xml","order_by":6,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":1067,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ITJPD250107125102.go.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7638744/v1/16ca9e5822f7ba0d5a92afe3.xml"},{"id":94389484,"identity":"ac17196b-79bb-4536-b50e-9c05aecb3cd2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-27 13:51:45","extension":"xml","order_by":7,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":866,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ITJPD2501071Import.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7638744/v1/c44b1a899b53630bea3ccc9e.xml"},{"id":94388231,"identity":"080062b6-bfa8-4a0a-9a0c-6f2fcb53c8d0","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-27 13:50:50","extension":"xml","order_by":8,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":83849,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ITJPD25010710enriched.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7638744/v1/5a62d64d7f8e76eae2f8e441.xml"},{"id":94390014,"identity":"6df8aa22-d8a7-4146-9ec9-ad974773fee7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-27 13:52:00","extension":"png","order_by":9,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":99508,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7638744/v1/cc2fdb9bb411c5f67d7178f2.png"},{"id":94388785,"identity":"593a4016-9000-44e9-ac2a-44ab2cb56493","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-27 13:51:10","extension":"jpeg","order_by":10,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":194685,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage2.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7638744/v1/cde844fbbdec1116d66b2c69.jpeg"},{"id":94389241,"identity":"5b818f70-5090-4b67-a3e1-255a922b9359","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-27 13:51:31","extension":"png","order_by":11,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":22405,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7638744/v1/3bbf62755ee5c96a0105f30f.png"},{"id":94389428,"identity":"f2138700-5f1c-4033-a249-044f11fb0c4b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-27 13:51:41","extension":"png","order_by":12,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":53910,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7638744/v1/04efc61d9f943fa6049490d3.png"},{"id":94388165,"identity":"64b8f3b2-5708-40aa-be14-1ee2717a1fb1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-27 13:50:48","extension":"xml","order_by":13,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":82510,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ITJPD25010710structuring.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7638744/v1/ba90243bc2af98524da31d52.xml"},{"id":94390896,"identity":"6b36755c-b332-4dbf-943e-73a9134c40fb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-27 13:52:32","extension":"html","order_by":14,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":93938,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"earlyproof.html","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7638744/v1/b873a9824db68ab97b05a6d8.html"},{"id":94389912,"identity":"1d5f70a7-133f-45c1-89dc-9f6c5a3fc600","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-27 13:51:59","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":144826,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eComparison of the male (n=11) and female (n=12) population in terms of total absolute time in seconds (left) and percentage of playing time (right) dedicated to the different categories of toys.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e*=p\u0026lt;0.001\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7638744/v1/e705ccd6cbc800a77663cac2.png"},{"id":94389857,"identity":"41d47a19-602a-4a34-8ad2-bb78ec00fe06","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-27 13:51:54","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":176610,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMedian percentages of playing times for the males (n=11) and females (n=12). Shades of orange represent girl-related toy, s shades of green represent boy-related toy, shades of yellow represent neutral toys\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7638744/v1/962ee0c7a2a489a8735ed499.png"},{"id":109382265,"identity":"5e5e4ccd-7cbb-4b4c-8394-7b7d834e2ec5","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-16 18:27:10","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":560786,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7638744/v1/4534b40c-40b4-4955-956f-a00dc2208f93.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eA study on sex-typical childhood behaviors using the toy preference test\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eSince the 1930s, dozens of studies have demonstrated the existence of sex differences in children's toy preferences. Boys and girls tend to prefer different types of toys, often aligning with traditional gender roles. These preferences can be observed as early as infancy and become more pronounced with age [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe observed gender differences in children's preferences may have their roots in biological predispositions that are subsequently shaped by social processes. Cultural norms and values, parental influence, media and advertising, peer influence, educational and social contexts, and historical and societal changes all contribute to the development of gender-typed toy preferences.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMoreover, toys have been observed to influence the development of children's social and spatial skills, as well as to signal later developmental changes, including those related to sexuality and aggressive behavior [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR4 CR5\" citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e]. Despite the large body of literature analyzing toy preferences by gender, there is no consensus on the extent of the differences.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStudies on gender differences in toy play typically categorize toys into three main groups [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e]: boy-related toys, these include items like cars, trucks, blocks, and action figures, often associated with physical activity, construction, and aggression; girl-related toys, which include dolls, kitchen sets, tea sets, and other items related to nurturing and domestic activities; and gender-neutral toys, like balls, books, and soft toys, which are not strongly associated with either gender.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt can be posited that there is a general tendency for girls and boys to prefer different toys. However, the evidence supporting this gender effect is not always conclusive, and the observed differences are often contingent on the age of the population under analysis. For example, infants as young as 9 months old can show preferences for gender-typed toys. However, these preferences become more pronounced and consistent as children grow older [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. The ability to identify and use gender labels for oneself and others, typically emerges around 18 to 21 months of age. This developmental milestone is sig-nificant because it coincides with an increase in gender-typed play behaviors. Zosuls et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e] found that children who began using gender labels also showed increased preferences for gender-typed toys.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSeveral tests have been developed to investigate this aspect. One of the best known and most widely used is the Toy Preference Test (TPT), which can be administered to children from a minimum age of 3 months to a maximum age of 11 years [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e]. The purpose of the test is to measure children's preferences for toys that are typically cate-gorized as masculine, feminine, or neutral. These tests help researchers understand how early gender-typed behaviors emerge and how they are influenced by social and cultural factors.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe literature describes a variety of different assessment formats, but free play is the most consistent in its implementation. The distinctive feature of free play studies is the measurement of children\u0026rsquo;s preferences through their play behavior. However, the initial set of toys is typically predetermined by an external source, usually the researchers or other adults. Subsequently, the researchers categorize the selected toys according to gender, usually including those that have been assigned as gender-neutral a priori.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe aim of our study is therefore to assess a population of Italian children, of both sexes, at the age of 15 months by means of the toy preference test and to evaluate toy\u0026rsquo;s preference and differences, if any, between the two sexes at an age before gender la-belling and gender identity.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Materials and Methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eStudy population\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe present study focused on a subsample of an ongoing prospective birth-cohort study [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e]. The primary cohort study included newborns whose mothers were of legal age (i.e., over 18 years old) at the time of delivery, demonstrated proficiency in the Italian language, and had a singleton pregnancy.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn addition, infants were required to meet the following inclusion criteria: delivery at term (37\u0026ndash;41 weeks postmenstrual age), appropriate for gestational age (AGA), and an Apgar score of \u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;7 at five minutes post-birth. Follow-up assessments were conducted at 3, 6, 15, and 36 months of age. The eligibility criterion for this study was aligned with the methodology employed for the TPT at the 15-month follow-up visit, although only a subset of the original cohort consented to participate in the TPT.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eToy preferences test administration\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUpon obtaining parental consent, each child was positioned at the center of a semi-circular arrangement of toys, selected by researchers and based on prior research on gender differences in play [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR13 CR14 CR15\" citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e]. The assortment included toys traditionally related with male gender (blocks, a car, an excavator), female gender (a doll, a kitchen, a tea set), and gender-neutral toys (a ball, a book, a soft toy).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe toys were placed in a semi-circle configuration, equidistant from the child's starting position, with no adjacent toys of the same category. Children were invited to engage freely with the toys. The parent remained seated on the periphery of the room and did not interact with the child. Each child participated in a single eight-minute play session. This duration was selected to maximize the range of observed outcomes, as it provided sufficient time for children to explore a variety of toys without being constrained by a limited selection [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwo independent raters, blinded to the study\u0026rsquo;s objectives, recorded the time (in seconds) the child spent interacting with each toy. Playtime was categorized into 'active play' (physical contact with toys) and 'involvement' (observing, pointing to, or moving behind toys). If the child engaged with multiple toys simultaneously, time was recorded for each toy in both categories.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTotal playtime was calculated by summing the durations of 'active play' and 'in-volvement,' providing data for each child as follows:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eTotal absolute playtime (in seconds).\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eTime spent playing with each of the nine toys and three toy categories (neutral, girl-related, male-related).\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eProportion (%) of total playtime spent with each toy and toy category.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eStatistical Methods\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eData analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 20.0 (IBM SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). The characteristics of the cat-egorical variables were summarised by absolute and relative frequencies (percentages). Continuous variables were summarised as mean\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;standard deviation or median and interquartile range (IQR), discrete quantitative variables as median and interquartile range. Non-parametric continuous variables were analyzed in relation to categorical variables using the Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Statistical signif-icance was determined at a threshold of p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe study included 11 boys (mean age 15.59\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.15 months) and 12 girls (mean age 15.56\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.18 months) residing in the province of Modena, Italy, and born between 2019 and 2021.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;1 presents the total play time, and the time spent playing with the three categories of toys (neutral-, girl-related and male-related toys). Overall, the girl-related toys were selected more frequently than the other categories, followed by male-related toys.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnalysis of play times for each individual toy revealed that the entire sample spent the longest absolute time playing with the blocks (76.30 seconds), followed by the girl-related toys (tea set: 75 seconds; doll: 74.78 second; kitchen: 64 second). In terms of proportion of total play time (% of total time), the most utilized toys were the tea set (16.4%), followed by the blocks (15.3%) and the other girl-related toys (doll 14.68% and kitchen 14.4%). The toy with the lowest usage was the soft toy, with a duration of 16 seconds, representing 3.1% of the total time.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTime spent playing according to sex\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen considering sex, the total play time was nearly identical between boys (mean time: 446.36\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;37.66 s) and girls (mean time: 474.67\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;54.68 s). However, females exhibited greater variability in total play time, ranging from 159 to 771 seconds, compared to 314 to 628 seconds in males.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor boys, the median time (both in absolute and relative terms) spent playing with boy-related toys (225.27 s; 50.5%) was higher than the time spent with girl-related toys (188.09 s; 41.9%) and neutral toys (33 s; 7.6%). Conversely, girls showed a clear preference for girl-related toys (237.33 s; 48.6%) over boy-related toys (101.42 s; 18.4%) and also spent a considerable amount of time playing with neutral toys (136.92 s; 33%).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt can thus be observed that in our population there is a significant discrepancy (p 0.001) in the utilization of neutral toys, predominantly employed by females, and boy-related toys (p 0.019), more frequently used by males. On the contrary, no significant differences were found in the use of girl-related toys in absolute terms (p 0.340), indicating that boys and girls spent an equivalent amount of time playing with girl-related toys. When analyzing the percentages of play time, differences between male and female participants persisted for boy-related (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.001) and neutral (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.005) toys (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eTime spent playing with each toy according to sex\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe median percentage of time spent playing with each toy by males and females is detailed in Figure 2 and in Table 2.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBoys played significantly more with the toy car (p = 0.026) and the excavator, which was never used by girls (p = 0.011). Girls, on the other hand, played significantly more with the book (p \u0026lt; 0.001).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese differences persisted when analyzing the proportion of time spent with these toys. Boys used the car (p = 0.009) and excavator (p = 0.011) for a greater proportion of time, while girls used the book (p = 0.001) for a greater proportion of time. No significant differences were found in play time for the remaining toys (Table 2).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eActive Play and Involvement\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA distinction was made between active play and involvement (defined as looking at, pointing at, or moving behind a toy) to identify primary differences between sexes. Results indicated that girls spent more time in active play than boys, specifically with the book and the soft toy (p \u0026lt; 0.05). In terms of toy involvement, the only significant difference observed was for the excavator, which was preferred by boys (p \u0026lt; 0.001).\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eOur observational study presents the results of 23 Italian children who underwent the toy preference test in a free play study at the age of 15 months. This age is prior to the typical onset of gender affirmation, recognition and labeling.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe total duration of play observed in males and females appears to be similar. However, it is notable that the variability of playing time is much greater in females than in males, confirming findings from previous studies [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn our study, children played freely with three sets of toys (boy-related, girl-related, and neutral) and utilized all toys, with a notable preference for boy-related toys among boys and girl-related toys among girls. Several studies in the literature, conducted in populations of the same age, have shown similar findings [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR18 CR19 CR20 CR21 CR22\" citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e]. Alexander and Saenz [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e] explain that preference of boys for boy-related toys manifests between the ages of 12 and 18 months, with males beginning to utilize toys that align with their gender more frequently, exhibiting a reduction in the use of girl-related toys, such as dolls. Roopnarine [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e] emphasizes that at 10 months of age, there is no gender preference in play for either sex, although girls utilize dolls more than other toys.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen the games were decontextualized and presented to children individually by the experimenter, Fein et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e] observed that girls continued to reject boy-related toys, while boys played indifferently with both boy- and girl-related ones. This pattern of interest was also found in other studies where children played with peers of the opposite sex [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOur study also showed that at 15 months of age, there is no difference in the per-centage of time spent with girl-related toys, which are used equally by boys and girls. Similar findings were demonstrated in a meta-analysis by Todd et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e], suggesting that the age of the children in our population may be a contributing factor. The authors noted a positive correlation between the time spent playing with boy-related toys and age in males; younger children (up to ~\u0026thinsp;20 months) play relatively more with girl-related toys.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDespite the clear preference for girl-related toys among girls and boy-related toys among boys, the interest in neutral toys was markedly more pronounced among girls. Girls spent more than four times as much time playing with neutral toys as boys did. This discrepancy may be attributed to the fact that, at this age, boys are more engaged in gross motor activities during play, while girls are more involved in learning and person-al-emotional development. This finding contrasts with Rotsztein et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e], who reported that boys prefer boy-related toys and neutral toys at 13 months, whereas girls are in-different between boy- and girl-related toys (especially at 22 and 31 months).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn terms of playing with individual toys, our data are consistent with previous studies. Boys showed particular interest in the toy car [8,30] and the excavator [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e], whereas girls, as expected, played more with girl-related toys (doll, kitchen, and tea set). Although girls showed interest in the doll, a toy widely documented in the literature as a primary interest among females [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e], they also showed particular interest in the book (a neutral toy), a category not yet identified as a prevalent interest among girls of a similar age group in existing literature.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile our findings are consistent with various studies in the literature, our study has limitations, primarily related to the sample's characteristics, which are small in number and fairly homogeneous in terms of socioeconomic, anthropometric, and clinical char-acteristics. Therefore, it is recommended that the findings of this study be confirmed by other researchers. Additionally, during the implementation of the free play toy pref-erence test, parents were present in the examination room but did not interact with or influence the children's choice of toys.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFinally, this is the inaugural Italian study to examine sex-typical behaviors in 15-month-old children using the Toy Preference Test.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusions","content":"\u003cp\u003eIn conclusion, the findings revealed that at 15 months of age, girls exhibited a preference for playing with girl-related toys and gender-neutral toys, utilizing the latter to a significantly greater extent than boys, who demonstrated a clear focus on boy-related toys and allocated a significant amount of time to girl-related ones. These findings suggest that prior to the onset of gender affirmation and recognition, boys and girls follow di-vergent developmental pathways concerning the selection of sex-related toys. Addi-tionally, the study highlighted greater variability in play behavior among females, consistency with previous research on gender-typed toy preferences, and the significant interest of girls in gender-neutral toys.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eEthichal approval/consent to participate\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by Area Vasta Emilia Nord Ethics Committee (2018/num715). Informed consent to participation and publication of the data was obtained from caregivers of all individual participants included in the study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eConsent to Publish declaration\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot applicable\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eFunding\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study was partially funded by the research grant ‘University funding grant for interdisciplinary proposals year 2018’ emitted by the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy (Fondo di Ateneo per la Ricerca anno 2018. Progetto di ricerca interdisciplinare).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eConflicts of interest/Competing interests\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eAvailability of data and material (data transparency)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eAuthors' contributions\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConceptualization: VT, LL, EP; Methodology: LL, VT, NB; Formal analysis and investigation: LL, AL, BP; Writing - original draft preparation: VT, DE; Writing - review and editing: LL, ER, LI; Resources: LP, LDP.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe would like to thank all the families who decided to take part to the study. Moreover, we would like to thank the doctors of the Post graduate School of Pediatrics who helped in the recruitment process of the study, in particular: Righi B, Miceli A, Marrozzini L, Cattini U, Poluzzi F, Plessi C and to the residents in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine who helped with data and sample collecting, in particular: Maione D, Fioretti E, Arletti M, Panciroli G, Barbieri R, Lugli C, Scassaserra MR.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlexander, G.M., Wilcox T., Farmer M.E. (2009). Hormone\u0026ndash;behavior associations in early infancy. Hormones and Behavior, 56(5), 498-502.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlexander, G.M., \u0026amp; Saenz, J. (2012). Early androgens, activity levels and toy choices of children in the second year of life. Hormones and Behavior, 62(4), 500-504.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBerenbaum, S.A., Hines, M. (1992). Early Androgens Are Related to Childhood Sex-Typed Toy Preferences. Psychological Science, 3(3), 203-206.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCaldera, Y.M., Huston, A.C., O\u0026rsquo;Brien, M. (1989). Social Interactions and Play Patterns of Parents and Toddlers with Feminine, Masculine, and Neutral Toys. Child Development, 60(1), 70\u0026ndash;76. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCampbell, A., Shirley, L., Heywood, C., Crook, C. (2000). Infants\u0026rsquo; visual preference for sex-congruent babies, children, toys and activities: A longitudinal study. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 18(4), 479-498.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDavis, J.T.M., \u0026amp; Hines M. (2020). How Large Are Gender Differences in Toy Preferences? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Toy Preference Research. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(2), 373-394. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFein, G., Johnson, D., Kosson, N., Stork, L., Wasserman, L. (1975). Sex Stereotypes and Preferences in the Toy Choices of 20-Months-Old Boys and Girls. Developmental Psycology, 11(4), 527-528.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGoldman, J.A., Smith, J., Keller, E.D. (1982). Sex-Role Preference in Young Children: What are We Measuring? The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 141(1), 83-92.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJacklin, C.N., Maccoby, E.E., Dick, A.E. (1973). Barrier Behavior and Toy Preference: Sex Differences (And Their Absence) in the Year-Old Child. Child Development, 44(1), 196\u0026ndash;200. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJadva, V., Hines, M., Golombok, S. (2010). Infants\u0026rsquo; Preferences for Toys, Colors, and Shapes: Sex Differences and Similarities. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 1261-1273.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJirout, J. J., \u0026amp; Newcombe, N. S. (2015). Building blocks for devel- oping spatial skills: Evidence from a large, representative U.S. sample. Psychological Science, 26(3), 302\u0026ndash;310.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKung, K. T. F., Li, G., Golding, J., \u0026amp; Hines, M. (2018). Preschool gender-typed play behavior at age 35 years predicts physical aggression at age 13 years. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 47(4), 905\u0026ndash;914. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLamminm\u0026auml;ki, A., Hines, M., Kuiri-H\u0026auml;nninen, T., Kilpel\u0026auml;inen, L., Dunkel, L., Sankilampi, U. (2012). Testosterone measured in infancy predicts subsequent sex-typed behavior in boys and in girls. Hormones and Behavior, 61(4), 611-616.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLe Maner-Idrissi, G. (1996). An Internal Gender System at 24 Months. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 11(3), 301\u0026ndash;312.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLi, G., Kung, K. T. F., \u0026amp; Hines, M. (2017). Childhood gender-typed behavior and adolescent sexual orientation: A longitudinal pop- ulation-based study. Developmental Psychology, 53(4), 764\u0026ndash;777. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLiu, L., Escudero, P., \u0026amp; Robbins, R. A. (2020). Factors affecting infant toy preferences: Age, gender, experience, motor development, and parental attitude. Infancy, 25(5), 593-617.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLloyds, B., \u0026amp; Smith, C. (1985). The social representation of gender and young children\u0026apos;s play. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 3, 65-73\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLucaccioni, L., Palandri, L., Passini, E., Trevisani, V., Calandra, Buonaura F., Bertoncelli, N., Talucci, G., Ferrari, A., Ferrari, E., Predieri, B., Facchinetti, F., Iughetti, L., Righi, E. (2023). Perinatal and postnatal exposure to phthalates and early neurodevelopment at 6 months in healthy infants born at term. Frontiers in Endocrinology (Lausanne), 14:1172743.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eO\u0026rsquo;Brien, M., Huston, A.C. (1985) Development of sex-typed play behavior in toddlers. Developmental Psychology, 21(5), 866-871. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePasterski, V.L., Geffner, M.E., Brain, C., Hindmarsh, P., Brook, C., Hines, M. (2005). Prenatal hormones and postnatal socialization by parents as determinants of male-typical toy play in girls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Child Development, 76(1), 264-78. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRoopnarine, J. L. (1986). Mothers\u0026rsquo; and fathers\u0026rsquo; behaviors toward the toy play of their infant sons and daughters. Sex Roles, 14(1\u0026ndash;2), 59\u0026ndash;68 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRotsztein, B., \u0026amp; Zelazo, P. R. (2000). The development of sex-typed toy preferences and symbolic play behavior. Presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSerbin, L.A., Poulin-Dubois, D., Colburne, K. A., Sen, M. G., \u0026amp; Eichstedt, J. A. (2001). Gender stereotyping in infancy: Visual preferences for and knowledge of gender-stereotyped toys in the second year. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 25(1), 7\u0026ndash;15.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTodd, B. K., Barry, J. A., Thommessen, S. A. O. (2017). Preferences for \u0026lsquo;Gender-typed\u0026rsquo; Toys in Boys and Girls Aged 9 to 32\u0026thinsp;Months. Infant and Child Development, 26:e1986.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTrevisani, V., Palandri, L., Righi, B., Maione, D., De Pasquale, L., Tagliafico, E., Grisolia, C., Tagliazucchi, M., Predieri, B., Iughetti, L., Righi, E., Lucaccioni, L. (2024). The assessment of urinary sexual hormones within minipuberty and correlations with anthropometrics in a cohort of healthy term children. Journal of Endocrinology Investigation. Epub ahead of print.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003evan de Beek, C., van Goozen, S.H., Buitelaar, J.K., Cohen-Kettenis, P.T. (2007) Prenatal sex hormones (maternal and amniotic fluid) and gender-related play behavior in 13-month-old Infants. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 38(1), 6-15.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWong, W. I., \u0026amp; Yeung, S. P. (2019). Early gender differences in spatial and social skills and their relations to play and parental socialization in children from Hong Kong. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48, 1589\u0026ndash;1602. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eZosuls K.M., Ruble D.N., Tamis-Lemonda C.S., Shrout P.E., Bornstein M.H., Greulich F.K (2009). The acquisition of gender labels in infancy: implications for gender-typed play. Developmental Psychology, 45(3):688-701.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eZosuls, K.M., Ruble, D.N., Tamis-LeMonda, C.S. (2014). Self-socialization of gender in African American, Dominican immigrant, and Mexican immigrant toddlers. Child Development, 85(6), 2202-17.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"},{"header":"Tables","content":"\u003cp\u003eTable 1 - Absolute total playing time (s) and percentage of playing time (%) in the total population (n=23).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n \u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMean\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSD\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMedian\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePercentiles\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e25\u0026deg;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e75\u0026deg;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTotal time\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003es\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e461.65\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e158.92\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e475.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e324.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e587.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNeutral toys\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003es\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e87.22\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e80.55\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e59.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e16.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e119.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e20.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e21.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e15.1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e25.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGirl-related toys\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003es\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e213.78\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e140.25\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e163.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e115.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e313.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e45.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e22.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e40.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e28.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e60.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eBoy-related toys\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003es\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e160.65\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e140.36\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e132.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e34.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e262.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e33.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e27.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e30.0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e11.1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e54.1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e2\u003c/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;- Absolute time spent playing each game expressed in seconds and % by the study population divided by sex.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n \u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"3\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTotal time playing (s)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"3\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e% Total time playing (s)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMales\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFemales\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMales\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFemales\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDoll\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e41.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 120.00)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e11.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 87.50)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.706\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e6.68\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 19.11)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.51\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 3.80)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.706\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKitchen\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e35.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 92.00)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e68.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.50 \u0026ndash; 122.50)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.589\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e7.33\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 23.25)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e13.63\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.09 \u0026ndash; 27.98)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.598\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTea set\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e13.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(1.00 \u0026ndash; 142.00)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e37.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(17.75 \u0026ndash; 143.25)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.309\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.74\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.30 \u0026ndash; 31.18)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e16.58\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(4.96 \u0026ndash; 29.88)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.389\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBlocks\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e58.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(10.00 \u0026ndash; 130.00)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e43.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 82.50)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.456\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e12.80\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(3.16 \u0026ndash; 29.01)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e10.27\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 14.63)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.456\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCar\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e33.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(17.00 \u0026ndash; 140.00)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e6.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 39.25)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e0.026\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e9.09\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(3.58 \u0026ndash; 43.11)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.89\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 7.64)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e0.009\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eExcavator\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 164.00)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 0.00)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e0.011\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.77\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 32.17)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 0.00)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e0.011\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBall\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 29.00)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 49.25)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.634\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 6.40)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.46\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 12.22)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.587\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBook\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 5.00)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e78.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(31.25 \u0026ndash; 112.75)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026lt;0.001\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 0.91)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e15.39\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(7.67 \u0026ndash; 22.41)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e0.001\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSoft toy\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 10.00)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e9.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 27.50)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.314\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.22\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 3.09)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.79\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(0.00 \u0026ndash; 7.14)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.285\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7638744/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7638744/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eBackground/Objectives\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e: We studied a population of 23 non-clinical Italian children (11 males), at the age of 15 months, with the aim of evaluating playing behaviors and potential sex differences by means of the toy preference test.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe test was carried out in free play mode and 3 sets of games were used: boy-related toys (blocks, a car, an excavator), girl-related toys (a doll, a kitchen, a tea set), and gender-neutral toys (a ball, a book, a soft toy).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eBoys spent more time playing with boy-related toys (median time: 225.27 s; 50.5% of total time) but also with girl-related toys (a tea set, a kitchen, a doll). In contrast, girls had a clear preference for girl toys (237.33 s; 48.6%) and spent a lot of time playing with neutral toys (136.92 s; 33%). A significant difference (p 0.001) was observed for the use of neutral toys, with which the girls spent more time, and boy-related toys (p 0.019), which were used more by the boys than by the girls. No differences for girl-related toys were detected within boys and girls. Girls never played with the excavator, preferring the tea set (16.6%) and the book (15.4%).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusions\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe observed that at 15 months, boys and girls already follow different developmental trajectories with regard to the selection of sex-related toys. Girls preferred to play with girl-related toys and gender-neutral toys while boys focused mainly on boy-related toys and spent a significant amount of time with the girl-related ones.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"A study on sex-typical childhood behaviors using the toy preference test","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-10-25 14:25:14","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7638744/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"11c4052c-ab2b-45c7-84d7-23ea28e0db27","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 25th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"decision","content":"Reject after review","date":"2026-05-16T14:25:45+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-16T18:27:02+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-10-25 14:25:14","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7638744","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7638744","identity":"rs-7638744","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}