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PubMed1978

Effects of three conditions of administration on Bem Sex Role Inventory scores.

In order to assess the validity of the technique employed in selecting items for the Bern Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) 58 male and 62 female undergraduates took the BSRI under three different sets of instructions. Both males and females were able to produce extremely masculine and extremely feminine BSRI profiles which differed (p < .01) from their own BSRI profiles. The results support Bem's (1974) assertion that the BSRI Masculinity and Femininity scales are comprised of items which are consistent with widely held sex-role sterotypes.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1979

Personality characteristics of androgynous and sex-typed females.

Personality characteristics of androgynous and sex-typed females identified by the gem Sex-Role Inventory were studied using the California Psychological Inventory. The results indicated that sex-typed females showed personality characteristics associated with traditional sex-role stereotypes while androgynous females showed both masculine nd feminine characteristics. There was an indication that androgynous and masculine females were better adjusted socially than feminine or undifferentiated females.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1984

Effects of instructions and rating scales on item selection for the BSRI scales.

Walkup and Abbott (1978) stated that Edwards and Ashworth's (1977) failure to replicate Bem's (1974) selection of items for the Masculinity and Femininity Scales of the Bern Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) may be attributed to differences in the instructions and anchored rating scales used in the two studies. The present study tested the hypothesis that presence of various interaction effects involving instructions and rating scales would influence the acceptability of items for the BSRI Masculinity and Femininity Scales. Results based on the evaluation of individual items by Bem's item selection criteria in each of the four experimental conditions obtained by systematically manipulating two instructions (Bem's and Edwards' instructions) and two rating scales (Bem's and Edwards' rating scales) and also those based on the analysis of variance of item mean desirability ratings from the four experimental conditions supported the hypothesis.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1992

The derivation of gender-role scales GM and GF for MMPI-2 and their relationship to Scale 5 (Mf).

Separate scales for masculine and feminine gender roles (GM and GF, respectively) were developed for the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) based on the item endorsements of men and women in the restandardization sample. Each scale reflects the pattern of answers of a majority of the members of the respective sexes. There are no items in common between the two scales, and they correlate -.10 with each other for both men and women. Distributional, temporal stability, and internal consistency characteristics were analyzed, as well as their item overlap and correlations with the basic profile scales. These separate unipolar scales were contrasted with Scale 5 (the Masculinity-Femininity scale, Mf), the traditional measure of these constructs in the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). The conjoint use of GM and GF to form gender-role groups is recommended to supplement and clarify the ambiguity of midlevel scores on Scale 5.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Relationships of objective and projective dependency scores to sex role orientation in college student participants.

Research on the dependency-sex role orientation relationship indicates that when objective dependency measures are used, participants show positive correlations between dependency and femininity scores, and negative correlations between dependency and masculinity scores. In this study, a mixed-sex sample of 87 undergraduates (47 women and 40 men) completed widely used objective and projective measures of dependency, and a self-report measure of sex role orientation. Consistent with previous studies in this area, high objective dependency scores were associated with high femininity scores and low masculinity scores in participants of both sexes. There were no relationships between projective dependency scores and sex role orientation scores in participants of either sex. Findings are discussed in the context of theoretical frameworks that distinguish "implicit" dependency needs from "self-attributed" dependency needs. The role that sex role socialization experiences play in determining participants' willingness to acknowledge dependency-related traits and behaviors on self-report tests is also discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Psychological needs associated with MMPI-2 scales in a nonclinical sample.

The psychological needs derived from the Adjective Check List (ACL; Gough & Heilbrun, 1983b) that are associated with MMPI-2 scales were studied among 198 nonclinical participants. Both the Depression (D) and Psychasthenia (Pt) scales were negatively correlated with needs for achievement and dominance and positively correlated with needs for abasement and succorance (dependence). The Schizophrenia (Sc) scale was negatively associated with need for affiliation and positively associated with need for abasement. The Social Introversion (Si) scale was associated negatively with needs for achievement, dominance, affiliation, heterosexuality, exhibition, and autonomy and associated positively with needs for succorance, abasement, and deference, reflecting good construct validity for Scale Si. MMPI-2 Masculinity-Femininity (Mf) did not correlate with the ACL Masculinity and Femininity scales, suggesting poor concurrent validity for Mf.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Construct validity of the relationship profile test: impact of gender, gender role, and gender role stereotype.

Research supports the construct validity of the Relationship Profile Test (RPT; Bornstein & Languirand, 2003), a 30-item, self-report measure of destructive overdependence (DO), dysfunctional detachment (DD), and healthy dependency. In this investigation, we assessed the relationships of gender, gender role, and gender role stereotype ratings to RPT subscale scores. In Study 1, we replicated earlier patterns of gender differences in RPT scores, assessed cross-sample consistency in gender difference effect sizes, and provided preliminary nonclinical norms for the RPT subscales. Study 2 showed that--as expected--DO items are perceived as stereotypically feminine, whereas DD items are perceived as stereotypically masculine. In Study 3, we examined the relationships of RPT subscale scores to masculinity, femininity, and androgyny scores. We discuss the theoretical, empirical, and clinical implications of these findings.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Measurement of agency, communion, and emotional vulnerability with the Personal Attributes Questionnaire.

Factor analytic studies of the 24-item Personal Attributes Questionnaire (Spence & Helmreich, 1978) have reported inconsistent results, and a previous confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated inadequate fit for factors corresponding to Masculinity, Femininity, and Masculinity-Femininity scales. In this research, we used CFA in a college sample (N = 382) to evaluate the 3-factor model, and we revised scales by eliminating 6 misspecified items. The revised model fit well in another college sample (N = 230). We renamed the revised scales Agency, Communion, and Emotional Vulnerability. In relation to Five-factor theory, Emotional Vulnerability and Communion correlated well with Neuroticism and Agreeableness, respectively, and Agency had moderate correlations with Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness. Psychometric results in the context of current theory suggest that Agency (Masculinity) may not be a fully adequate measure of the agency construct.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1977

Male rats with inherited insensitivity to androgen show reduced sexual behavior.

Pseudohermaphroditic Stanley-Gumbreck male rats showed infrequent and incomplete copulatory responses to receptive females. Administration of testosterone propionate produced no increase in this behavior. Injections of estradiol and progesterone induced the pseudohermaphrodites to exhibit lordosis when mounted by stimulus males, but feminine responses were no more frequent than those of normal males given the same hormonal treatment. The hypothesis is suggested that early in development sufficient endogenous testis hormone is produced to cause normal desensitization of feminine behavioral mechanisms to estradiol, but that mechanisms for male behavior are not normally sensitized to testosterone.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Sex-dependent differences in estrogen regulation of choline acetyltransferase are altered by neonatal treatments.

We investigated whether estrogenic actions of testosterone during development which mediate the suppression of feminine reproductive behavior and cyclic gonadotropin secretion also contribute to reported sex differences in the induction of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) after estrogen priming in the diagonal band region of the preoptic area. Newborn female rats received estradiol (E2 females); newborn males received 1,4,6-androstatrien-3,17-dione (ATD), an inhibitor of aromatase (ATD males); and some of both sexes received vehicle treatment (control). In adulthood, feminine sexual behavior (lordosis) was tested after E2 plus progesterone priming. The neonatal treatments reversed the sex-specific response pattern; E2 females were defeminized and displayed minimal lordosis, as did control males, while ATD males showed maximal lordosis, as did control females. E2 was then administered, and ChAT activity was measured in the horizontal and vertical nuclei of the diagonal bands (hDB and vDB, respectively). Controls exhibited the normal sex-specific response to E2. Females showed increased ChAT activity in the hDB and unaltered activity in the vDB: males had unaltered ChAT activity in the hDB and decreased activity in the vDB. In neonatally treated males and females, ChAT activity after E2 administration was not altered from the normal sex-specific pattern in the hDB, i.e. all females showed increased hDB ChAT after E2, and no male responded. In the vDB, groups defeminized in terms of lordosis (E2 females and control males) showed higher ChAT activity in the absence of E2 priming, and E2 treatment decreased vDB ChAT in these groups. In addition, ATD males showed a unique response to E2 in the vDB, namely increased ChAT activity. Although neonatal E2 and ATD treatments did not completely reverse the sex-specific pattern of E2 priming on ChAT activity, the results obtained suggest that a net increase in diagonal band cholinergic function, as indexed by increased ChAT activity after E2 priming, may contribute to the ability of hormones to induce lordosis and/or LH surges.

Androstatrienes↗

PubMed2000

Patient-blaming and representation of risk factors in breast cancer images.

Media coverage of some cancers in the past often equated cancer with a death sentence. Breast cancer coverage in 1990s magazines, however, has become less fatalistic, more frequent, and discusses a broader range of issues than before. This study examined whether the visual images accompanying magazine articles about breast cancer have also evolved. We used Goffman's (1976) rituals of subordination to measure patient-blaming and subordinating, disempowering images. We also analyzed race/ethnicity, body type, and age of females in the images to gauge whether these demographic risk factors were represented in a random sample of images from nine magazines over a 30-year period. Magazines analyzed represented three genres-women's magazines, fashion/beauty, and general news. Findings suggest that patient-blaming images have decreased in some categories and women portrayed are slightly more representative of risk factors of age and race/ethnicity. Magazine images tended to reinforce stereotyped portrayals of femininity to the detriment of cancer patients. Fashion/beauty magazines, aimed at younger women, were most likely to portray breast cancer images in stereotyped, patient-blaming ways, with the least representative images of risk factors. The social construction of feminine beauty seems to overpower accuracy in creating these images.

Bibliometrics↗

PubMed1998

Gender role orientation as a correlate of perceived health, health behavior, and qualitative well-being in older women.

This study investigated the relationships of gender role orientations (Feminine, Masculine, & Androgynous) with self-perceived health status, health behavior, and qualitative well-being experience in a simple random sample of community-dwelling older women (N = 70). Instruments used were The Bem Sex Role Inventory (Bem, 1974); The Seniors' Lifestyle Inventory (Schwirian, 1991); and The Integration Inventory (Ruffing-Rahal, 1991). Findings revealed the greatest number of significant positive correlations with the Feminine orientation; Androgyny was significantly linked with qualitative well-being and with a positive self-comparison in relation to peers and Masculinity was positively linked with health behavior. Findings are interpreted in light of successful aging issues for older women.

Aged↗

PubMed2001

The impact of men's and women's retirement on marital relations: a comparative analysis.

The study examined whether men's and women's retirement have a differential impact on several aspects of marital life: Power relations (as reflected in decision-making), spousal resources, division of household tasks, and quality of marriage. Questionnaires were distributed to a sample of 519 pre-retired and retired Israelis. The findings indicate that in general, both men's and women's retirement have a similar impact on marital relations in all of the areas examined. No appreciable change in spousal resources was found after retirement, but there was evidence of change in decision-making patterns about spending time and carrying out feminine and general tasks. Retired respondents of both sexes reported fewer marital complaints than the pre-retired respondents, but also expressed less marital enjoyment. It was also found that men's retirement has a different impact than women's retirement on decisions about house-hold affairs and performance of feminine tasks. In addition, gender-based differences were found in several areas, irrespective of employment status. The women reported higher quality of marriage than did the men, and more resources for strengthening the family, whereas the men perceived themselves as making more decisions in the important areas of life, as more hardy, and as controlling the family's financial resources.

Aged↗

PubMed1977

Components of sexual identity.

This paper examines the four components of sexual identity: biological sex, gender identity, social sex-role, and sexual orientation. Theories about the development of each component and how they combine and conflict to form the individual's sexual identity are discussed. As defined here, social sex-role includes the individual's femininity and masculinity. Sexual orientation includes the individual's physical and affectional sexual preferences for relationships with members of the same and/or opposite biological sex. This paper may help to clarify meanings of the following terms used in research on sexual identity; sex, gender, femininity, masculinity, heterosexuality, and homosexuality.

Child Rearing↗

PubMed1978

Methodology for studying discrimination based on sexual orientation and social sex-role stereotypes.

This article presents the methodology used in collecting data for the study of the relationship of sexual orientation and social sex-role to the protection of civil liberties. The methodology is designed to determine how departures in sexual orientation and social sex-role are the basis for the abridgment of civil liberties. Departure in sexual orientation is defined as physical sexual activity involving individuals of the same sex. Departure in social sex-role stereotypes is defined as departing from or conforming to the feminine stereotype for men, the feminine stereotype for women, the masculine sterotype for men, and the masculine stereotype for women.

Adult↗

PubMed1981

Sexual identity and self-concept.

This study investigated the relationship among gender, social sex roles, and sexual orientation as components of sexual identity, and the relationship of these components to the overall self-concept. It was found that each component was individually important in the relationship of sexual identity to self-concept. The interaction between sex and sexual orientation suggested that different combinations of the female, male, heterosexual, and homosexual components had different relationships to self-concept. Women had higher scores than men on moral-ethical and family self-concepts. Homosexual persons as a group had self-concepts in the normal range, though they showed a greater number of minor deviations across several areas of self-concept than did their heterosexual counterparts. The homosexual sample endorsed more sex roles typical of the opposite sex than did the heterosexual sample, but the two groups did not differ in frequency of same-sex roles. Sex roles were related to self-concept in men but not in women. Among men, masculine and androgynous sex roles were associated with positive self-concept while feminine and undifferentiated sex roles were associated with less positive self-concepts. This supports the model of sex roles in which femininity and masculinity are conceived of and measured as separate dimensions.

Adult↗

PubMed1983

Psychological characteristics of bisexual, heterosexual and homosexual women.

One hundred and twenty-five female volunteers completed a questionnaire designed to measure masculinity, femininity, body cathexis, and self-esteem. Women were categorized as bisexual, heterosexual or homosexual according to self-labeling and according to erotic preference. The proportion of androgynous and undifferentiated individuals was much greater among self-labeled homosexual women. Feminine individuals were conspicuously under-represented among self-labeled homosexual and bisexual women. Women who reported both opposite-sex and same-sex sexual experiences, regardless of their self-label or erotic preference, were more agentic (i.e., possessed more socially desirable masculine traits), more satisfied with their bodies and its functions, more satisfied with both their sexual activities and their biological sex, and more satisfied with themselves and their abilities than were women who only reported opposite-sex sexual experiences.

Body Image↗

PubMed1992

Femme on the streets, butch in the sheets? Lesbian sex-roles, dyadic adjustment, and sexual satisfaction.

Recent research suggests that butch-femme role playing in lesbian couples has diminished and been replaced with androgynous attitudes and behaviors. Are lesbians, however, able to maintain an androgynous approach when it comes to lovemaking? Or does the bedroom give way to the powerful influence of traditional gender-based norms for sexual behavior? What implications does the choice of sex-roles have for relationship and sexual satisfaction in lesbian couples? The present study of 111 lesbians explores the relationship between sex-role self-perceptions, sexual satisfaction, and sexual fulfillment. Findings indicate that lesbians perceive themselves as significantly more feminine when they are interacting sexually than their overall or global sex-role perception. Furthermore, lesbians who view themselves as either androgynous or feminine in a sexual context had the highest level of sexual satisfaction and dyadic adjustment among all four sex-role groups.

Adaptation, Psychological↗