In our first set of studies, we found that girls with CAH are more interested in boys' toys and less interested in girls' toys than are girls without CAH (the girls were between 3 and 12 years old).
We saw this difference in a number of ways. When the girls played with a standard set of toys, girls with CAH played more with boys' toys, such as cars, trucks, and Lincoln Logs, and less with girls' toys, such as dolls and kitchen toys, than did their sisters.
When the children told us about their activities, girls with CAH reported playing more with boys' toys and less with girls' toys. And when parents told us about their children's activities, they reported the same pattern.
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In our next set of studies, we asked whether girls with CAH continue to be interested in "boy-typical" activities in adolescence. We asked both teenagers and parents about the teenager's typical activities and also asked the teenagers about their career interests.
We found that teenage girls with CAH continue to be more interested in activities that are usually preferred by boys.
For example, teenage girls with CAH are more likely than girls without CAH to participate in activities like sports, working with engines and electronics, and building models, and to be interested in a career as an engineer, architect, or airline pilot.
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We emphasize three points about these results.
First, although girls with CAH are different from girls without CAH in both childhood and adolescence, they are not the same as boys in their activities; in fact, their interests are different from those of boys and of girls without CAH.
Second, there is variation among the girls in this study, just as there is variation among girls in the general population. Some girls with CAH do not like boys' activities, and some girls without CAH do.
Third, although the interests of girls with CAH may not be "girl-typical," this in no way suggests that there is something wrong with them.
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