The study examines the acquisition of gender constancy in children as it relates to cultural, socioenvironmental, or individual differences. Gender constancy refers to the stages from simple identification of biological sex of self and others, to the understanding that one's sex is stable over time, and to comprehension of one's sex as consistent across situations. The sample consisted of 48 children between the ages of three and nine from Belize, Kenya, Nepal, and Samoa. The children were observed and interviewed by native observers who were trained by the experimenters. A sixteen-item test included questions such as: Are you a girl or a boy? Were you ever a little boy or girl? Could you ever be a boy/girl? When you grow up will you be a mommy or daddy? If you (insert sex task appropriate to the culture) would you be a girl or boy? Results indicate that the great majority of children in these cultures progress through the same stages, although in general at later ages, as do children in the United States. The conclusion is that possibly a universality exists in the orderly progression from the acquisition of simple identity through the acquisition of consistency in children's ability to understand sex gender constancy. (Author/KC)