Sex-role Differences Research Articles

Sex-role Differences in Appropriate Multiple-role Attire

As an individual interacts in a number of roles with contradictory expectations, role strain may occur. Appearance may assistfunctioning in multiple sex-roles. Students (n=1113) in introductory Psychology classes viewed slides of a hypothetical dual-career couple and made Likert-type ratings of their attire, for six situations. Four treatments, established by varying information presented with the slides, were subjected to nonparametric univariate and multivariate analyses. Hypothesis I, differences in appearance evaluations will not occur as a function of sex of individuals in diverse settings, was rejected. Hypothesis II, differences in appearance evaluations will not occur as a function of sex of evaluator, was (1) essentially accepted when treatments were pooled and evaluations were of stimulus figures of the same sex as evaluator, (2) rejected when treatments were separated, and (3) rejected when evaluations were of stimulus figures of the opposite sex as evaluator with treatments pooled and separated The findings suggest that appearance and situation interact, but how they interact differs according to sex of actor and sex of evaluator.

Work-Related Interests Among Industrial Pharmacists

A mail survey of 1,505 pharmacists in every major work setting and position was conducted. The purpose of this paper is to report the vocational interest profiles for 364 industrial pharmacists, 288 males and 76 females, employed in sales, marketing, administration, manufacturing/quality control, and research and development. Limitations include small samples for three female groups and the lack of a random sample. Patterns of interest profiles were remarkably consistent in most instances with respect to sex role differences, associated scales and related work activities. Among males, there were several group differences on the enterprising, social and realistic general interest scales, and on the sciences, mathematics, public speaking, law/politics, merchandising, business management and sales basic interest scales. Among females, there were group differences on the enterprising, conventional and sales scales. Group comparisons were made using the LSD procedure and alpha = 0.01. There were fewer signific...

Sex differences in environmental concern and knowledge: The case of acid rain

Several theories have been presented that predict differences between women and men in attitudes toward the environment due to differences in sex roles. Research on which these theories can be tested has tended to examine general environmental concern, and the results have generally been weak and inconclusive. Using an approach suggested in the literature, this study examines sex differences in concern and knowledge, using multi-item scales for each, about one environmental issue — acid rain. The results contradict the theories being tested, however: if there is a sex difference, men are found to be more concerned and knowledgeable about the environmental problem.

Précis ofVaulting Ambition: Sociobiology and the Quest for Human Nature

AbstractThe debate about the credentials of sociobiology has persisted because scholars have failed to distinguish the varieties of sociobiology and because too little attention has been paid to the details of the arguments that are supposed to support the provocative claims about human social behavior. I seek to remedy both deficiencies. After analysis of the relationships among different kinds of sociobiology and contemporary evolutionary theory, I attempt to show how some of the studies of the behavior of nonhuman animals meet the methodological standards appropriate to evolutionary research. I contend that the efforts of E. O. Wilson, Richard Alexander, Charles Lumsden, and others to generate conclusions about human nature are flawed, both because they apply evolutionary ideas in an unrigorous fashion and because they use dubious assumptions to connect their evolutionary analyses with their conclusions. This contention rests on analyses of many of the major sociobiological proposals about human social behavior, including: differences in sex roles, racial hostility, homosexuality, conflict between parents and adolescent offspring, incest avoidance, the avunculate, alliances in combat, female infanticide, and gene–culture coevolution.Vaulting Ambitionthus seeks to identify what is good in sociobiology, to expose the errors of premature speculations about human nature, and to prepare the way for serious study of the evolution of human social behavior.

Psychological distress, problem solving, and coping reactions: Sex role differences

Previous research has demonstrated that psychological well-being and distress are strongly associated with masculinity, but unrelated to femininity. The present study provides for a replication of this literature in that results from 211 undergraduate students revealed that high-masculine subjects, compared to low-masculine persons, reported significantly lower scores on self-report measures of depression, state anxiety, and trait anxiety. No differences in distress were found as a function of sex or the femininity dimension. Further, high-masculine subjects, relative to low-masculine subjects, were also found to rate their problem-solving ability as more effective, to engage in more active-behavioral and less avoidance methods of coping in response to previously experienced stressful reactions and to engage in more problem-focused and less emotional-focused coping styles regarding stressful situations. Sex and femininity differences were not found related to differences in problem solving and coping. However, the relation between masculinity and distress was found to be nonsignificant when the variance due to coping was partialed out, suggesting that sex role relations to distress may be mediated by coping skills.

Alcoholism in Mexican-Americans: intervention and treatment.

Studies have shown that Hispanic males have higher rates of heavier drinking and problems associated with drinking than the general population. The authors discuss Mexican-American cultural and religious views on alcohol consumption and sex-role differences that influence drinking behavior and intervention. Then, drawing on their experience with a chemical dependence program that serves a catchment area that is one-fifth Mexican-American, they discuss how clinicians can work with cultural beliefs and practices to effectively treat Mexican-American alcoholics within a traditional treatment program.

Preoccupation with stereotyped sex role differences, ideal body weight, and stress in college women showing anorexic characteristics

The relationships between two aspects of the female role, stress, and anorexic personality characteristics were explored in an effort to cast some light on the antecedents to anorexia nervosa. The degree to which college women were concerned with traditional sex-role distinctions and the extent to which they idealized a low body weight were considered as critical variables associated with being an adult woman in our society. Women sharing anorexic characteristics were less concerned about traditional stereotyping of behavior than controls and did not select a lower ideal body weight. However, both variables functioned as moderators of stress among women with anorexic personality characteristics. If the female with anorexic characteristics also displayed a concern with traditional sex-role differences or a lower ideal body weight, she was vulnerable to excessive stress. These effects were not apparent among control females. Parallel analysis of the sample based upon the presence or absence of bulimic characteristics failed to disclose any comparable trends.

Gender and sex role differences in the perception of social support

This study examined the relationships among support types (i.e., emotional, instrumental, and nonintimate social participation), gender, sex role orientation, and stress level among college undergraduates (N=253). Dependent variables included need, perceived availability, and satisfaction with support. Sex differences were found only in emotional support, with men reporting less need, perceived availability, and marginally less satisfaction than women. The only gender by sex role interaction was on need for emotional support. Traditional sex-typed men reported less need than traditional women, whereas there was no difference between androgynous men and women. While sex differences do exist for emotional support, the effects of sex role orientation on perceptions of social support appears to be somewhat circumscribed.

Sex Roles, Parenthood, and Marital Adjustment: A Comparison of Blacks and Whites

This study examined the effects of children and sex roles of partners on marital adjustment of blacks versus whites. Participants in the study were 416 volunteers consisting of 94 black couples and 113 white couples. Married partners individually completed Bern's Sex-Role Inventory, the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Inventory, and a demographic data sheet. Results from analysis of individual data showed sex-role type differences in marital adjustment for blacks but not for whites Marital adjustment of undifferentiated blacks was significantly lower than that of masculine, feminine, and androgynous blacks. Results of analysis of couple sex-role data revealed differences in marital adjustment for blacks and whites due to type of couple sex-role dyad, but no dyads had significantly higher or lower adjustment sc ores than all other dyads. Results also showed a significant linear inverse relationship between children and marital adjustment, except among white males. A significant race difference in marital ...

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.

Suicide in later life: Some putative causes with implications for prevention

Research that has examined factors presumed to cause suicide is reviewed. The roles of physical illness, loss and isolation, sex role differences, economic conditions, attitudes, depression and hopelessness, and life satisfaction are considered. The relevance of these factors to a person-environment interaction perspective is discussed. Baechlor has suggested that suicide is always a solution to a problem and the implications of this fomulation for prevention are discussed. Educational, nontraditional, and policy implications are emphasized.

The Development of Sex Role Stereotypes in the Third Year: Relationships to Gender Labeling, Gender Identity, Sex-Types Toy Preference, and Family Characteristics

The onset and development of preschoolers' awareness of sex role stereotypes, gender labeling, gender identity, and sex-typed toy preference were explored in 26-, 31-, and 36-month-old children. Gender labeling, gender identity, sex-typed toy preferences, and awareness of adult sex role differences were observed in significantly more 26-month-old children than would have been expected by chance. Verbal gender labeling was observed in a majority of 26-month-olds, while verbal and nonverbal gender identity were observed in a majority of 31-month-olds. Nonverbal gender labeling and awareness of adult sex role differences were observed in a majority of children by 36 months. No evidence of awareness of sex differences in children's toys was found in the majority of children at any age. Awareness of sex role differences in children's toys was not related to awareness of adult sex role differences. Brighter children were more aware of adult sex role differences. Sex-typed toy preference was not related to awareness of sex role differences but was related to gender identity. Predictors of sex role development included the mothers' employment, and the father's personality traits, attitudes toward women, and sex-typed activities in the home. Implications for theories of early sex role development are discussed.

Sex-role differences in children's identification with counterstereotypical televised portrayals

Studies of television's effects on children's sex-role learning suggest that the medium's current contribution is toward traditional sex-role development, but the medium may be effective in fostering nontraditional sex-role learning. The purpose was to determine television's effectiveness in promoting nonsexist role learning among children with different sex-role orientations. The Bem Sex Role Inventory was adapted to empirically define the sex-role preferences of 124 girls and 114 boys, aged 9 to 12. After viewing a television program designed to diminish sex-role stereotypes, respondents indicated the extent of their identification with the characters. The results suggest that androgynous children tend to be as likely as feminine children, and more likely than masculine children, to identify with nontraditional televised models.

Gender and Sex-Role Differences in Intimacy of Self-Disclosure

The present study examined the relationship of gender and sex-role type to intimacy of self-disclosure. Participants wrote descriptions of themselves which were supposedly to be given to another person, whom they were led to believe they would later meet. Women were significantly more intimate in their self-disclosures than were men. Differences in intimacy of disclosure were also found for different sex-role types, but contrary to expectations, femininity was not positively related to disclosure. Instead, masculinity was negatively related to intimacy of self-disclosure.

The Structure of Sex-Role Attitudes in a French Student Population: A Factorial Analysis

Dimensions of sex-role attitudes are examined by means of separate factor analyses for French college men and women. The results indicate that the structure of sex-role attitudes based on the emergence of four factors is moderately different for men and women (for males-personality disposition and role sharing, women 's self-fulfillment, nontraditional wife role, economic responsibility; for females-domesticity, personality disposition, women's self-fulfillment, economic responsibility). Correlation analysis of the factors reinforces the same basic conclusion. Differences between the sexes exist relative to the scope of the dimension, the degree of emphasis, the rank order and organization of the attitudes. The traditional emphasis on sex-role differences appears to be still a relevant approach in studying sex-role attitudes of a college population in France. Interpretation of results focus on the French culture.

The Living Arrangements of Older Residents: The Role of Gender, Marital Status, Age, and Family Size

ABSTRACTThis paper reports findings from a study of 400 community-dwelling persons aged 65 and over. The stratified random sample resides in a city in Ontario, Canada, with a population of 260,000. A profile of their living arrangements is presented and then analysed with respect to respondent characteristics. Each of gender, marital status, and age are related to living arrangements at statistically significant levels, but control analyses indicate that gender is the most salient respondent characteristic. The authors argue that these observed gender differences in living arrangements are a reflection of sex role differences in today's older population. To the extent that these roles change, so too will the living arrangements of men and women. For both the present and future, differences by gender must be taken into account in housing and income policies.

Sex-Role Differences in the Relational Control Dimension of Dyadic Interaction

(1983). Sex-Role Differences in the Relational Control Dimension of Dyadic Interaction. Women's Studies in Communication: Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 96-104.

Sex Role Ideology and Delinquency

This article explores the hypothesis that the great difference between rates of delinquency and criminality of males versus females results from differences in sex roles promulgated by the culture. Here, “sex role” is conceptualized as an ideology about the behavior proper for members of a gender category, and is measured by two questionnaire scales: The Villemez-Touhey Index and a new College Sex Role Index. A survey incorporating these scales and a number of self-report delinquency questions was administered to students at the University of Washington, 498 women and 364 men. Results showed no influence of sex role ideology on deviant behavior among men, and only a very fragmentary influence among women. The Villemez-Touhey Index did correlate with use of alcohol and drugs and with sexual behavior. It is suggested that “sex role” refers to a cluster of phenomena, rather than being a unitary concept, and that the influence of social bonds or organizations is required to render any part of it salient for crime and delinquent behavior.

Factors Affecting Early and Late Deciders of Voluntary Childlessness

Summary Few comparisons have been made between adults who make early, explicit decisions not to have children, and others who reach voluntary childlessness through a series of postponements. The present Australian study using questionnaire responses examined possible background, sex role, and other differences between 55 early deciders and 23 childless respondents labelled as postponers. Early deciders were more likely to have been raised in smaller families and to believe that their childlessness was influenced by concerns with overpopulation. While there were fewer differences in sex role beliefs, early deciders reported more negative reactions to their childlessness than postponers. They highlighted being labelled as selfish and as child-haters, and avoided places with parents and children.

Licensed Practical Nurses' Sex Role Stereotypes

Thirty-two licensed practical nurses rated the concepts “an adult male patient” and “an adult female patient” on a set of semantic differential scales prior to listening to and rating one of four simulated patients. The simulated patients were two males and two females, with the characteristics of the females matched exactly to the males. Within each sex, the simulated patients differed according to emotional style (“calm” vs. “excited”); the diagnosis ascribed to the patients also was manipulated. The results suggest that not only were there significant traditional sex-role differences in the perceptions and evaluations of typical adult male and adult female patients, but these stereotypical attitudes were reflected in ratings of specific patients. Although the female simulated patients were exact matches of the males, the latter were consistently evaluated more positively and were more likely to be seen as possessing traditional male traits. These sex-role stereotypes were not attenuated by individual patient characteristics (emotionality or diagnosis) nor by the subjects' own attitudes toward women.