Do Parents Shape or Respond? Evidence for a Child-Driven Model of Literary Venue Engagement across Cultures

Background Sex differences in literacy behaviors are consistently observed across cultures, but their developmental origins remain contested: Do they emerge through top-down parental socialization, or from child-driven preferences that shape parental engagement? This study examines these competing models of how the home literacy environment (HLE) develops. Methods Using data from the 2009 and 2018 waves of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), we conducted mediation analyses with over 82,000 parent-child dyads across 14 countries. We examined sex differences in children's enjoyment of bookstore/library visits and parental frequency of taking children to such venues, controlling for parental enjoyment and children's reading and mathematics achievement. Results Across all participating countries, parents reported taking daughters to bookstores or libraries more frequently than sons, and girls reported greater enjoyment of such visits. Mediation analysis revealed a stark asymmetry: children's enjoyment was statistically associated with mediating 62.3% of the sex difference in parental behavior, while parental behavior was associated with mediating only 6.0% of the sex difference in children's enjoyment. This more than ten-fold difference remained robust even after comprehensive controls. Cross-cultural analysis revealed that the magnitude of these sex differences is largest in the most gender-egalitarian societies, with greater child autonomy as the underlying mechanism for this "gender-equality paradox." Conclusions These findings support a child-driven model in which parental engagement responds to children's demonstrated interests rather than primarily shaping them. The results highlight the central role of child motivation and suggest that interventions, particularly for boys, should focus on cultivating intrinsic interest and supporting responsive parenting.