A Comparison of the Bem Sex Role Inventory and the PRF ANDRO Scale

The Bem Sex Role inventory and the PRF ANDRO Scales were administered to 158 (59 males, 99 females) undergraduates enrolled in an introductory psychology course. Data analysis was carried out by examining the amount of agreement between the BSRI and the PRF ANDRO Scale in terms of assignment of sex-role outcome. When both sexes are combined, only 66 of 158 (42%) subjects fell in the same sex-role category.     

a comparison of the Bem Sex Role Inventory and the PRF ANDRO Scale

The Bem Sex Role Inventory and the PRF ANDRO Scales were administered to 158 (59 males, 99 females) undergraduates enrolled in an introductory psychology course. Data analysis was carried out by examining the amount of agreement between the BSRI and the PRF ANDRO Scale in terms of assignment of sex-role outcome. When both sexes are combined, only 66 of 158 (42%) subjects fell in the same sex-role category.     

Psychological androgyny and aspects of self-image in women and men

Although psychological androgyny has been theoretically related to greater interpersonal and situational adaptability, the relationship between the two has not been articulated. The present study hypothesized that the superior adaptability of psychologically androgynous persons would be evidenced in a coping style characterized by high self-monitoring, internal locus of control, and positive expectations of achievement and affiliation success. To assess this relationship, the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and seven self-report measures were completed by 236 college men and women. Analyses of variance, with participants categorized according to sex-role style, and multiple regression analyses of the BSRI femininity and masculinity scale scores for females and males on each of the self-report measures were conducted to test androgyny theory and alternative predictions. The analyses indicated that the predominance of masculine traits accounted more often than a combination of masculine and feminine traits for the more adaptive scores for both women and men. Only for expectations of affiliation success among women was there clear support for psychological androgyny theory.     

Transient depressive experiences and their relationship to gender and sex-role orientation

This study investigated the experience of normal depression in young adults and assessed the role of gender and sex-role orientation as mediators of transient depressive experiences. Seventy-two undergraduate students completed the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI), the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ), and a semistructured interview constructed to tap features of depressed mood. Factor analyses of the interview data produced six factors: self-reliance, self-blame, withdrawal, insufficient instrumentality, dependence, and externality. Gender-related differences emerged on the dependency scale of the DEQ. Sex-role differences also emerged such that the influence of sex-role orientation was greatest for males in the traditionally feminine areas of dependence and love relationships, while for females the stereotypically masculine concerns of control, activity, and efficacy were most affected by sex-role orientation.     

Influence of sex-role identity on two indices of social anxiety

The present study was conducted to determine the relationship between sex-role identity and two measures of self-reported social anxiety. The Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI), Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (SAD), and Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (FNE) were administered to 23 male and 26 female undergraduate students. Generally, sex role was associated with social anxiety for women, but not for men. Androgynous women reported the least anxiety, sex-role stereotyped women reported a moderate amount, and undifferentiated women reported the most anxiety of all groups. Results were interpreted in light of conflicting hypotheses of androgyny rather than masculinity being associated with greater adjustment and the value of a situational analysis of behaviors associated with sex-role orientation.     

The effects of interpersonal skills training on sex-role identity of premarital dating partners

The purpose of the present study was to assess the effects of a problem-solving skills training program on sex-role identity. It was hypothesized that individuals in a problem-solving skills training program would show greater movement toward androgyny relative to a control group. Twenty-six premarital couples were assigned to a problem-solving skills training program and 29 couples served as a contact control group. An analysis of covariance was performed on the Bem Scale masculine and feminine scores to test the effects of group and sex. Results indicated that the experimental group, as compared to the control group, was significantly higher on femininity following treatment. Discussion centered on the implications of being able to change sex-role identity as well as the need to further explore means of facilitating the development of androgyny in adults.     

Gender schema theory and sex role inventories: some conceptual and psychometric considerations

In this study we assessed whether the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and the PRF ANDRO are appropriate for investigations of gender schema theory (Bem, 1981a). Because these instruments were developed for entirely different theoretical purposes, it is important to empirically examine the validity of these measures for investigating the construct of gender schema. On the basis of the propositions of gender schema theory, we made several predictions about the psychometric properties that should be exhibited by a valid measure of this construct. Responses to the PRF ANDRO and the BSRI were factor analyzed separately for sex-typed and non-sex-typed groups. Results show consistent and theoretically predictable differences in the factor solutions of these two groups. The sex-typed or gender-schematic group obtained bipolar factors, with masculine items loading with one sign, whereas feminine items loaded with the other sign on each factor. Also, sex of subject loaded highly on almost every factor for this group. The non-sex-typed group, however, obtained few such distinctly dichotomous factors, and sex of subject loaded only on the weaker factors. Results are interpreted as providing support for the construct validity of at least the BSRI and the PRF ANDRO for use in researching the implications of this approach.     

Psychological androgyny and personality adjustment in college and psychiatric populations

In two separate studies, 106 female and 84 male undergraduates and 48 female and 48 male psychiatric inpatients were administered the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and the Faschingbauer Abbreviated Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. The masculine, feminine, androgynous, and undifferentiated groups identified from the BSRI differed on a variety of personality scales in both normal and clinical populations. Androgynous females were significantly lower on the Depression (D) and Social Introversion (Si) scales than feminine females, and, in the college sample, were also lower on the Schizophrenia and Mania scales than masculine females. In the hospitalized male sample, this pattern was partially sustained, with androgynous and masculine subjects being significantly less deviant than feminine on the Si scale, and tending to score lower on the D scale. In the group of college males, androgynous males scored lower on the Si scale than feminine males. Hypotheses concerning the relationship of sex-role flexibility (androgyny) to mental health appear to be supported for females in both college and psychiatric populations by these results. These results also indicate that sex-role conformity may relate differently to personality development and psychological functioning for males and females.     

“Masculinity,” “femininity,” and adjustment in college men

The regression of adjustment—indexed by measures of anxiety and depression— on “masculinity” (instrumentality) and “femininity” (expressiveness)—as assessed by the BSRI, PRF ANDRO, and the Short BSRI—was studied in 122 college men. The findings revealed that: (a) anxiety and depression marked a single adjustment factor; (b) self-esteem mediated the relationships between instrumentality, expressiveness, and adjustment, such that when the variance due to it was removed, neither instrumentality nor expressiveness accounted for significant variance in Anxiety-Depression; (c) the Short BSRI index of expressiveness behaved differently from the other indices and more like that of the PAQ; (d) instrumentality and expressiveness interacted significantly, such that instrumentality was positively associated with adjustment for those with low or average expressiveness and expressiveness was positively associated with adjustment only for those with low or average instrumentality; and (e) men high in instrumentality and low in expressiveness reported slightly higher adjustment than “androgynous” men.     

Parental antecedents of sex-role orientation in college men and women

Parental modeling and reinforcement antecedents of masculine, feminine, androgynous, and undifferentiated sex-role orientation were tested for 228 college men and women using self and parent versions of the Bem Sex Role Inventory and the Parent Behavior Form. Parent scale differences indicated that psychological androgyny is associated with high levels of masculinity and femininity in both parents, with high levels of warmth and involvement, particularly with the same-sex parent, and, in females, with maternal cognitive/achievement encouragement. Sex typing occurred where both parents modeled traditional sex-role attributes and, for females, with extreme closeness with father in the absence of maternal cognitive/intellectual encouragement. An undifferentiated sex-role orientation was associated with low emotional and cognitive involvement with father in males and with an undifferentiated but emotionally involved mother in females. Finally, cross-sex typing in both sexes was associated with parental rejection, low feminity in both parents, and an absence of warmth or cognitive encouragement from either parent. These findings confirm and expand those of an earlier study for androgynous subjects, but differ markedly for cross-sex-typed subjects.     

Masculine Instrumentality and Feminine Expressiveness: Their Relationships with Sex Role Attitudes and Behaviors

Data from the Bern Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ) Masculinity and Femininity scales have led to the hypothesis that androgynous individuals are more "behaviorally flexible" than others, manifesting both masculine and feminine role behaviors. Sex-role androgyny is also said to have other beneficial consequences such as high self esteem. The content of these instruments, however, is largely confined to socially desirable instrumental (masculine) and expressive (feminine) personality traits. A review of the literature indicates that these abstract trait dimensions have only minimal relationships with sex-role attitudes and sex-role behaviors not tapping instrumentality and expressiveness, and provide little support for the general behavioral flexibility hypothesis. Although PAQ and BSRI findings cannot be generalized to sex-role behaviors in general, the literature suggests that instrumentality and expressiveness per se have important implications. Appreciation of their contributions may be advanced more rapidly if these trait dimensions are disentangled from global concepts of sex-roles or masculinity, femininity, and androgyny.     

Convergent and discriminant validity of selected masculinity and femininity scales

Using Campbell and Fiske's (1959) multitrait-multimethod matrix technique and Jackson's (1975) multimethod factor analysis, convergent and discriminant validity were investigated for masculinity and femininity scales from the Adjective Check List, Bem Sex Role Inventory, and PRF ANDRO Scale as compared with measures of dominance and nurturance. Results indicated very good convergent and discriminant validity for the masculinity and femininity scales from the Adjective Check List and Bem Inventory, but not for the PRF ANDRO Scale. Implications of these results for research on sex roles and psychological androgyny are discussed.     

Assessment of sex-role stereotyping among male and female psychologist practitioners

Seventy-seven female and 86 male psychologist practitioners filled out the Bem Sex Rote Inventory to describe either a healthy adult male, healthy adult female, or healthy adult, sex unspecified. Analyzing the data according to Bem's classification of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny produced a significant Scale X Condition interaction with male and female practitioners ascribing significantly more masculine than feminine traits to healthy adult men, yet displaying no comparable differences when rating healthy adult women. Analyzing the data according to Spence's classification of masculine, feminine, androgynous, and undifferentiated produced a Group X Condition interaction with practitioners ascribing significantly more masculine traits to healthy adult men and significantly more feminine traits to healthy adult women. Reanalyses omitting "masculine" and "feminine" from Bem's fist of sex-typed traits produced nonsignificant results. The relationship of this to recent criticisms of the construct validity of the BSRI and to the validity of earlier results of therapist sex-role bias was discussed.     

性别角色和主观幸福感的关系模型：基于中国大学生的检验

在西方文化下,关于理想的性别角色类型主要存在三种观点：一致性模型、双性化模型、男性化模型。按照一致性模型,具有男性化特质的男性和具有女性化特质的女性是最为理想的;按照双性化模型,在男性化特质和女性化特质两个维度上得分都高的个体社会适应性最强而且心理最健康;按照男性化模型,男性化特质才是心理健康和社会适应的主要决定因素。研究运用大样本的网络数据,探讨在中国文化下,上述三个模型在中国的适用性,具体地,在性别角色类型和主观幸福感的关系上的适用性。结果发现：双性化模型得到支持,同时具有男性化特质和女性化特质的个体主观幸福感最高;男性化模型和一致性模型都没有得到支持。这表明在当代西方文化下的理想模型——男性化模型并不适用于中国,理想的性别角色模型具有文化特异性。这一结果不仅增进和丰富了人们对文化对心理和行为的影响的认识,还对我国目前青少年良好个性品质的塑造和培养以及心理健康教育的实践具有重要指导作用     

A critical appraisal of the PRF ANDRO scale

A factor analysis of the PRF ANDRO reveals a structure reflecting the PRF scales from which the items came. It is argued that there is little value in combining a conglomeration of items from different Personality Research Form scales as has been done with the MASCUL and FEMIN scales of the PRF ANDRO. Rather, relevant intact PRF scales should be considered as separate predictors, for example in regression equations. Alternatively, if single scales are required to represent masculinity and femininity, it is suggested that PRF dominance and nurturance, the scales from which MASCUL and FEMIN draw a plurality of their items respectively, are more suitable than the two PRF ANDRO scales. These latter scales are less internally consistent and show less convergence with other sex-role scales than PRF dominance and nurturance.     

Sex-role orientation and attachment styles of sex offenders

Given the increase of individuals who have a history of sexual offenses, there has been an increase in research on the etiology of sex-offending behavior. The present purpose was to evaluate the relationship between sex-role orientation and attachment styles of males who were sex offenders. Analysis yielded statistically significant differences between comparison (n = 22) and clinical groups (n = 21) in gender roles, with little sign of the androgynous gender type for sex offenders. The offender group showed significantly lower frequency of androgyny scores and significantly higher scores on feminine and undifferentiated orientations, supporting the theoretical view of sex offenders as being "cross-sex-typed." In addition, the sex offender group had a significantly higher mean score on anxious-avoidant relationship attachment. Based on the present findings, there appears to be a need to help sex offenders explore how their gender roles may relate to their sex-offending behavior and assist sex offenders in the development of adaptive relationships with reduced anxiety and ambivalence.     

A critical appraisal of the PRF ANDRO scale

A factor analysis of the PRF ANDRO reveals a structure reflecting the PRF scales from which the items came. It is argued that there is little value in combining a conglomeration of items from different Personality. Research Form scales as has been done with the MASCUL and FEMIN scales of the PRF ANDRO. Rather, relevant intact PRF scales should be considered as separate predictors, for example in regression equations. Al ternati vely, if single scales are required to represent masculinity and femininity, it is suggested that PRF dominance and nurturance, the scales from which MASCUL and FEMIN draw a plurality of their items respectively, are more suitable than the two PRF ANDRO scales. These latter scales are less internally consistent and show less convergence with other sex-role scales than PRF dominance and nurturance.     

The relationship of sex-role orientation to self-perceived health status in middle-aged males

The purpose of this study was to determine how sex-role orientation was related to self-perceived health status among a group of middle-aged males. A nonprobability sample of 237 male volunteers between the ages of 40 and 59, of whom 88.7% were engaged in professional occupations, completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and two separate measures employed to assess self-perceived health status. As predicted, the results indicated that on both measures of self-perceived health status, the middle-aged men with a traditional male sex-role orientation or those in the masculine classification reported lower self-perceived levels of health than did males considered to be androgynous. In this sample of professional middle-aged males, an androgynous sex-role orientation was, therefore, associated with higher levels of self-perceived health than was a traditional male sex-role orientation. Finally, an unhypothesized finding was that the men in the undifferentiated category also evidenced lower levels of self-perceived health than males who were androgynous.This research was part of a doctoral dissertation submitted to the University of Maryland, College Park.