Sex-appropriate roles: Comparing the attitudes of civilian and military youth

Abstract

This paper compares attitudes toward sex-appropriate roles of military and civilian youth in America using multivariate analysis. Results revealed that military status itself did not directly affect perceptions of sex-appropriate roles. However, being in the military interacted with other control variables to reinforce and intensify present attitudes. Thus, women in the military held less traditional sex role attitudes than civilian women, while military men had more traditional sex role attitudes than civilian men. Those variables relating to sex role attitudes thus seem to have different consequences for military personnel and civilians.