Title:
The relationship of age and gender to sex role self image as reported by eighth, ninth, eleventh, and twelfth grade students using the BEM sex role inventory
Author:
Dee Noonberg
Thesis Advisor:
Martin Sherman
Committee Member:
Faith Gilroy
Committee Member:
Charles Thompson
Degree Granting Institution:
Loyola University Maryland--College of Arts and Sciences
Place:
Baltimore (Md.)
Publisher:
Loyola University Maryland
Date Created:
1979
Type of Resource:
text
Genre:
thesis
Language:
eng
Format:
application/pdf
Physical Form:
electronic
Digital Source:
reformatted digital
Abstract:
This study investigated the hypothesis that sex role endorsement, using the Bem Sex Role Inventory (1974), would show a significant difference among the eighth, ninth, eleventh, and twelfth grades, the direction of effect going from more highly sex typed in earlier adolescence to more androgynous in later adolescence. Although there are inconsistencies in the literature concerning an individual's development toward or acceptance of an androgynous self concept, evidence appeared more strongly in favor of a developmental pro- gression from a stereotyped self image to a more flexible, androgynous self image. Results indicated no significant difference among the four grades, but did reveal eighth grade females to be significantly more androgynous than twelfth grade females. Males across all grades revealed the same relative degree of androgyny. A second hypothesis sought to confirm consistent findings within the literature regard- ing the tendency for males to be more highly sex typed than females. Results were as predicted. Boys were found to be significantly higher in their endorsement of masculine items than girls were in their endorse- ment of feminine items. Additional analysis of the data showed that males were significantly higher on the masculine items than females were on those same items. Also, females were significantly higher on the feminine items than the males were on those items. Thus, each sex endorsed more strongly those items deemed more socially desirable for their gender. This tendency to polarize in all the grades may have accounted for the lack of significant results for the first hypothesis. Last, it was found that girls were more androgynous than boys in grades eight and nine, with no significant difference in grade eleven. In grade twelve, boys and girls differed significantly, each side deviating in opposite directions from the maximum androgynous position. The results in this study emphasize the need for more research concerning the acceptance or rejection of androgyny as a self image in different stages of child and adult development for both sexes.
Subject:
Androgyny (Psychology)
Subject:
Sex role
Degree:
Master of Arts
Level:
Master
Discipline:
Psychology
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Identifier:
NoonbergD-79
