The Structure of Masculinity/Femininity: An Application of Confirmatory Factor Analysis to Higher-Order Factor Structures and Factorial Invariance.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the factor structure of responses to the masculinity/femininity (MF) scale of the Comrey Personality Scales for males (N = 366) and females (N = 384). The study also illustrates the use of confirmatory factor analysis for testing hierarchical factor structures and factorial invariance. The MF scale consists of M and F items designed to measure five distinguishable components of MF. Neither a one-factor solution with a single bipolar MF factor, nor a two-factor solution with separate M and F factors, was able to fit the data. However, a five-factor solution derived from the design of the MF scale provided an adequate fit, and the relationships among the five first-order factors could be explained by a single higher-order, bipolar MF factor. Contrary to the findings and proposals from androgyny research, when separate masculinity and femininity constructs were defined, the correlation between the constructs was nearly - 1.0. The findings argue that MF is a multifaceted, hierarchical construct instead of either a single bipolar MF construct, or separate M and F factors.