Perceptions of Women's Roles Among Community College Women

This article explores dimensions and correlates of attitudes toward appropriate sex-based behavior and sex-related issues among college-age and adult women at a public community college. Ninety-eight women averaging age 18.5 and 111 women averaging 39 years of age completed closed-ended questionnaires. Factor analysis revealed three primary attitude dimensions: sex-specific activities (attitudes toward activities appropriate for males and females); woman's movement and ERA (attitudes toward participants in the woman's movement and ERA); and fundamental differences between sex roles (attitudes toward the genesis and propriety of divisions of labor between the sexes). Correlations between dimensions were slight to moderate, and lower for returning women than for young women. Returning women are significantly more traditional on the third dimension and slightly, but not significantly, more egalitarian on the first two dimensions. Correlation and multiple-regression analyses confirm the importance of participation in the woman's movement in explaining attitudes; sociopolitical variables explain little of the observed variance. It is suggested that women returning to school may enhance support for feminist beliefs.