How Chinese adolescent girls perceive gender roles: a psychographic study

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to replicate a psychographic segmentation of adolescent girls in Hong Kong. It attempts to see if the segmentation of Hong Kong girls according to the perceptions of gender roles and ideal female images can be generalized to girls in Mainland China. Design/methodology/approach – A convenience sample of 331 Shanghai female secondary school students aged 12 to 20 were asked to answer questions about gender roles, ideal female images, and their liking of international and Chinese brands. Factor analysis, cluster analysis, and discriminant analysis were conducted. Findings – Four segments of adolescent girls were identified and profiled. They were conformists, aggressive pursuers, image protectors, and single-handers. Research limitations/implications – The data were collected from a non-probabilistic sample of girls from Shanghai, which may not be representative of girls in other Mainland Chinese cities or elsewhere in greater China. Practical implications – Different marketing communication strategies can be adopted to make global and Chinese national brands more appealing to the different clusters. Originality/value – This has been the first study to cluster adolescent girls in Mainland China based on gender role perceptions.