Menstrual Distress and Sex-Role Attributes

The relationship between severity of menstrual distress, measured by the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire, and sex-role attributes, measured by the Bern Sex-Role Inventory, was examined for a group of 103 undergraduate women. Data were compared for women using and not using oral contraceptives and for women from different religious groups. Because trait anxiety, as measured by a 28-item short form adapted from the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale, was significantly correlated with menstrual distress, first-order correlations between distress and sex-role attributes partialled out anxiety scores. Although none of the sex-role attributes was significantly related to distress for the entire group or for the group of women using the pill, a significant positive relationship between masculinity and menstrual distress was noted for the group of women not using the pill. The pattern of results suggested that although sex role attributes and anxiety are related to reports of menstrual distress for Catholic women, only anxiety is associated with distress for Jewish women, and neither sex-role attributes nor anxiety is correlated with distress for Protestant women.     

The Impact of Parental Status and Gender Role Orientation on Caring and Postconventional Reasoning in Young Marrieds

This study was designed to examine the influence of sex and gender role orientation on adoption of the ethic of care and on postconventional reasoning in married men and women, with and without children. Parental status was unrelated to gender role orientation in men but was associated with masculinity in women, such that women with children had lower masculinity scores. Adoption of an ethic of care in men was a function of gender role orientation, such that only androgynous men did not evidence lower caring scores when they had children. Caring scores in women were a function of both parental status and masculinity, such that women with children who were high in masculinity evidenced lower caring scores. Postconventional reasoning as assessed by P scores on three dilemmas from the Defining Issues Test (DIT) were only influenced by sex and age but not by gender role orientation. Postconventional reasoning as assessed by ratings of all postconventional statements (R scores) was influenced by both sex and gender role orientation; in men, masculinity and femininity interacted such that androgynous and undifferentiated men evidenced higher R scores when they had no children, but only androgynous men with children evidenced high R scores. In women, gender role orientation did not impact R scores and neither did parental status. Multiple regressions indicated that for women, the interaction of masculinity and femininity, and caring scores, accounted for a significant amount of the variance in R scores. In men, none of the variables entered the equation. The implications for both Gilligan’s and Bem’s theories are discussed.     

Extraversion predicts individual differences in women’s face preferences

Extraversion is positively associated with various indices of women’s mate quality (e.g., facial symmetry and attractiveness). Since such indices are thought to predict variation in women’s preferences for masculine men, we investigated the relationships between each of the ‘Big 5’ personality factors and women’s preferences for facial masculinity. Extraversion, but not the other four personality factors, was positively correlated with women’s preferences for masculinity in men’s, but not women’s, faces. Additionally, extraversion mediated the positive relationship between women’s self-rated attractiveness and their preferences for masculinity in men’s faces, suggesting that extraversion may play a role in condition-dependent mate preferences. Unexpectedly, openness to experience was associated with women’s preferences for femininity in faces of both sexes and this association was independent of that between extraversion and women’s preferences for masculine men. This is the first study that we know of to implicate personality traits in individual differences in women’s preferences for masculine men.     

Psychological distress,problem solving,and coping reactions: Sex role differences

Previous research has demonstrated that psychological well-being and distress are strongly associated with masculinity, but unrelated to femininity. The present study provides for a replication of this literature in that results from 211 undergraduate students revealed that high-masculine subjects, compared to low-masculine persons, reported significantly lower scores on self-report measures of depression, state anxiety, and trait anxiety. No differences in distress were found as a function of sex or the femininity dimension. Further, high-masculine subjects, relative to low-masculine subjects, were also found to rate their problem-solving ability as more effective, to engage in more active-behavioral and less avoidance methods of coping in response to previously experienced stressful reactions and to engage in more problem-focused and less emotional-focused coping styles regarding stressful situations. Sex and femininity differences were not found related to differences in problem solving and coping. However, the relation between masculinity and distress was found to be nonsignificant when the variance due to coping was partialed out, suggesting that sex role relations to distress may be mediated by coping skills.Completion of this article occurred while Christine M. Nezu was affiliated with Beth Israel Medical Center-Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York.     

Sex roles,stress, and distress: A study of person by situation contingency

Literature on the relationship between sex roles and adjustment has suggested that masculine traits, rather than the androgynous interaction of masculine and feminine traits, are associated with positive adjustment. Studies with noncollege student populations, however, raise questions as to the generalizability of these findings. Suggestions that sex role traits are associated with particular defensive styles raise the possibility that the sex role-adjustment link is mediated by situational factors. The present study assessed sex role orientation, depression, hostility, and stress in 105 students of nursing. Femininity predicted positive vocational adjustment within the group, masculinity was associated with lower levels of depression, and femininity predicted lower hostility. Within the sex role orientations studied, androgynous nurses reported lower depression and vocational stress than their undifferentiated counterparts. It is suggested that feminine sex roles, promoting an internalization of threat, aid positive adjustment in settings marked by joint instrumental and interpersonal demands.     

Sex differences, social desirability, masculinity, and the tendency to worry.

Relationships between worry and sex differences, social desirability, masculinity, and femininity were explored in this study. Data were obtained from 141 undergraduates who answered a questionnaire containing a worry scale, the Crowne-Marlowe (1964) Social Desirability Scale, the Bem (1974) Sex Role Inventory, the Trait Anxiety scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushene, 1970), and several demographic items. Women reported significantly higher levels of worry than men did, and worry was significantly correlated with lower social desirability and with lower masculinity but not with femininity. However, multiple regression strategies revealed that sex differences in reported worry cannot be accounted for solely by variations in social desirability and masculinity. Also, sex differences in the tendency to worry were not eliminated by statistically controlling for trait anxiety, social desirability, and masculinity simultaneously.     

The relationship of sex role identity and social and politicalattitudes

A study is reported of the relationship between conscious social role preferences, unconscious sexual identifications, and attitudes toward five categories of social and political issues. Based on factor scores of inventory items, the categories include political liberalism, birth control, sex role morality, racial discrimination, and the achievement ethic The population studied consisted of men and women from communities designated working class, middle class, and upper class Controlling for the effects of age, sex, marital status, occupation, education, and political party preference, results indicate statistically significant associations between conscious and unconscious masculinity and femininity and attitudes toward all five categories of issues The patterns of associations, however, are not always consistent Discussion includes a consideration of sex role identity as a value and the implication of sex role differentiation for the integration of personality as well as social institutions     

Androgyny and creativity: a study of the relationship between a balanced sex-role and creative functioning

The relationship between creativity and androgyny was studied in 163 women and men with the Creative Functioning Test (CFT) and the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). A 2 (femininity: high/low) x 2 (masculinity: high/low) x 2 (sex) ANOVA was conducted on subjects' CFT scores. A significant interaction effect between femininity and masculinity was found showing that subjects high on both femininity and masculinity (androgynous) and low on both scales (undifferentiated) reached higher CFT scores than female-typed and male-typed subjects. Further, a significant three-way interaction including sex of subject indicated that the former two-way interaction was accounted for by men only.     

Sex differences and similarities in job attribute preferences: a meta-analysis

Many researchers have studied sex differences in job attribute preferences. The authors meta-analyzed 242 samples collected from 321,672 men and boys and 316,842 women and girls in the United States between 1970 and 1998. Findings indicated significant (p < .05) sex differences on 33 of 40 job attribute preferences examined. The effect sizes were small. Of the 33 significant differences, 26 had average effect sizes of magnitude .20 or less. The directions of the differences were generally consistent with gender roles and stereotypes. Many job attributes became relatively more important to women and girls in the 1980s and 1990s compared with the 1970s, indicating that women's aspirations to obtain job attributes rose as gender barriers to opportunity declined.     

Response styles to sadness are related to sex and sex-role orientation

Nolen-Hoeksema's (1987) response style theory states that women ruminate on sadness more than men, and that men distract themselves from sadness more than women. These response styles are assumed to develop through the socialization of sex-appropriate behavior. The present study extended this argument by examining the relation of sex-role orientation to response styles in an adult sample. It was hypothesized that greater femininity is associated with more rumination and less distraction in response to sadness, and that greater masculinity is associated with less rumination and more distraction in response to sadness. Male and female undergraduates completed the short form of the BSRI and a coping measure. Consistent with expectations, subjects' sex-role scores were significant predictors of coping responses. Higher femininity was associated with more rumination, whereas higher masculinity was associated with more distraction. As in previous research, sex differences emerged. Female subjects relative to male subjects reported more rumination and less distraction in response to sadness. The sex-role findings are discussed in relation to current conceptualizations of femininity and masculinity measures, and in relation to sex-role differences in depression.     

Sex-role related personality traits and irrationality

Among undergraduate psychology students, masculinity and femininity scores on the Personal Attributes Questionnaire were correlated with a measure of irrational value orientation. Both for women and men significant negative correlations between masculinity and irrationality were found. Feminity and irrationality proved to be unrelated in both sex groups. Finally, no interaction effect of masculinity and feminity on irrationality was obtained.     

Gender,sex roles,and attitudes toward war and nuclear weapons

The observation that men are usually more supportive of war than women had led several authors to suggest that masculinity plays a causal role in the decision to make war and stockpile nuclear arms. In order to examine the relationship between sex role orientation and attitudes towards war and nuclear weapons, gender and measures of sex role orientation were used to predict three attitudes about nuclear weapons and the use of military force. Two specific and two classes of hypotheses regarding the possible relationships among these variables were tested: masculinity, femininity, Masculinity × Femininity interaction, and Gender × Sex Role Orientation hypotheses. The results provided limited support only for the femininity hypothesis—that attitudes toward war are associated with feminine traits. However, neither masculinity nor femininity was found to be the only mediators of the gender/war attitude relationship, indicating that sex role orientation (and especially masculinity) should be given less emphasis when trying to explain the relationship between gender and attitudes toward war.The author gratefully acknowledges the helpful comments of Douglas Kenrick, Nancy Russo, and an anonymous reviewer on a earlier version of this paper.     

Masculinity,femininity, and self-esteem: A multitrait-multimethod analysis

A multitrait-multimethod matrix analysis was conducted to determine (1) the degree to which self-report trait and behavior measures of sex role orientation converge, (2) the degree to which measures of masculinity and self-esteem can be discriminated, and (3) the relative degree of relationship of trait and behavior measures of sex role orientation to self-esteem. The results indicated that trait and behavior measures of masculinity and femininity showed little convergence, that trait masculinity did not meet the criteria for discrimination from self-esteem, and that trait masculinity was more strongly correlated with self-esteem than was behavior masculinity. These results were stronger for women than for men.I would like to express my appreciation to John Millar and Shauna Gatten for their assistance in data collection and coding, and to Paul Biner and an anonymous reviewer for their comments on earlier drafts of this article.     

Sex and sex role effects on achievement strivings: Dimensions of similarity and difference

Models of gender differences in achievement were examined to explore their accuracy and redundancy Self-reports of successes and failures of females and males were content analyzed The eight dimensions postulated by Bakan (1966, agentic-communal), Stem and Bailey (1973, task-social), Kipins (1974, other-directed, inner-directed), and Veroff (1977, impact-process) were collapsed into only two dimensions using factor analysis A domain dimension was used to consider the task (agentic) vs social (communal) nature of the achievement activities that were undertaken A performance evaluation dimension referred to whether people used intrinsic (inner-directed, process) or extrinsic (other-directed, impact) factors in evaluating their performance Analyses using measures of sex role identification, and the stereotypic masculinity or femininity of subjects’ achievements suggested (1) Sex role stereotypes are intimately related to the domains of achievement goals, however, women and men did not differ in the kinds of activities (domains) that they reported, and (2) women (intrinsic) and men (extrinsic) differed in how they defined success and failure, but these performance evaluation styles were not strongly related to sex role identification     

Psychological correlates of attitudes toward men

The relation between attitudes toward men and a number of personality, attitude, and health factors was studied. The 379 respondents (176 men, 203 women) completed the Attitudes Toward Men Scale (A. N. lazzo, 1983) and measures of the Big Five personality factors, conservatism, male bashing, attitudes toward women, sex role, locus of control, and health (including depression, anxiety, and self-esteem). A regression analysis using correlates of attitudes toward men indicated that, among women, femininity and self-esteem were important in predicting attitudes toward men. Among men, masculinity, self-esteem, and age were most important in predicting attitudes toward men.     

The effects of sex-role traits on three aspects of psychological well-being in a sample of middle-aged women

The research assessed the effects of sex-role attributes on the mental health of a middle-class sample of 97 middle-aged women. Participants completed the PRF-Andro and questionnaires measuring three aspects of psychological well-being. More feminine women reported a greater degree of symptom distress (p<.05); more masculine women reported higher self-esteem and a greater sense of mastery (ps<.01). However, differences in (a) home versus work involvement and (b) reactions to the empty nest implied that androgynous and masculine women derived their sense of mastery from different social roles. The importance of examining role commitments and satisfactions in understanding the relationships between sex roles and mental health among different age groups of adult women is discussed.     

GENDER, JOB AND FAMILY CONDITIONS, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS

This study examined the hypothesis that gender differences in psycho-logical distress are mediated by job and family role conditions. Previous research has failed to directly test such mediational hypotheses but rather has inferred effects of role conditions from simple role-occupancy variables. The sample consisted of full-time employed married respondents including 161 women with full-time employed spouses, 142 men with nonemployed spouses, and 126 men with full-time employed spouses. Although the sample reported low psychological symptomatology overall, the women in dual-earner families reported more psychological symptomatology than did either group of men. Hierarchical regression equations indicated that work and family conditions fully attenuated this gender differential. Women in dual-earner families also reported less job enrichment, less time at work, and more household labor inequity than did either group of men. They also reported more childcare difficulty than did men with nonemployed spouses. Work-family interference predicted psychological symptomatology and partially accounted for its relationship with some job and family conditions. We discuss processes through which gender affects psychological distress.     

The influence of facial masculinity and voice pitch on jealousy and perceptions of intrasexual rivalry

The assessment of same-sex individuals as intrasexual competitors may depend in part on the perceived mate value of potential rivals. Men’s and women’s preferences for vocal and facial masculinity suggest that feminine women and masculine men may be perceived as more threatening intrasexual competitors. We tested the influence of men’s and women’s vocal and facial masculinity on preferences for who should accompany romantic partners on a weekend trip and on jealousy in response to imagined flirting. We found that men and women preferred their partners to be accompanied by people who had less masculine/feminine voices, and were more jealous in response to people who had relatively more masculine/feminine voices. Women, but not men, rated faces with exaggerated sex-typical characteristics as undesirable travel companions for their romantic partners and reported more jealousy in response to imagined flirting from such faces. We also found that participants who rated masculine male and feminine female stimuli as more attractive also perceived such stimuli as greater intrasexual threats, demonstrating individual differences in competition-related social perceptions. Our findings indicate that perceptions related to intrasexual competition are related to cues to underlying mate quality, which may aid in effective mate guarding.     

Masculinity,Femininity, Sexual Dysfunctional Beliefs,and Rape Myth Acceptance Among Heterosexual College Men and Women

Previous research has found links between masculinity, femininity, cognition, and rape myth acceptance. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether sexual dysfunctional beliefs—beliefs about sexuality and gender roles that have been linked to sexual disorders—explain variance in rape myth acceptance beyond that explained by an individual’s masculinity or femininity. Heterosexual college men and women in the U.S. (N = 840) completed a survey online. We found that, among men, masculinity was not associated with rape myth acceptance but that male sexual dysfunctional beliefs were positively associated with rape myth acceptance. Among women, femininity was negatively associated with rape myth acceptance but female sexual dysfunctional beliefs were positively associated with rape myth acceptance. These results suggest that, among both men and women, sexual dysfunctional beliefs are better predictors of rape myth acceptance than masculinity and femininity.