An Analysis of Factors Influencing the Development of Sex Role Identity and Sex Role Attitudes of Contemporary Black Women.

This study investigated the relationship between masculine and feminine personality attributes, personal characteristics, and sex role attitudes among contemporary black women. The major dependent variables were sex role identity and sex role attitudes. The major independent variables were childhood socialization experiences, parental and familial attributes, demographic characteristics, attitudes toward mothering, self esteem and psychological well being. The major objective of the analysis was better underst and ing of the developmental antecedents of sex role identity and sex role attitudes of black women. The primary sample consisted of 123 adult black women interviewed in a major mid-western city. A white comparison sample (n = 46) was used to examine racial differences. Sex role identity was measured by the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ) and the New Sex Role Index (NSRI). Medians were computed and the high-low groups were crossed to form the following categories: and rogynous, feminine, masculine, and undifferentiated. Categorized scores for both measures were combined for analyses. The findings suggest that encouragement of an equal balance of male and female characteristics is the child rearing model preferred by parents of the women in the sample. Sex role identity was found to be significantly related to closeness and positiveness toward parents and happiness while growing up. Women in the and rogynous category were more likely to be positively identified with both parents. Those in the femine and masculine categories identified more strongly with the same-sexed parent. The presence of father was a positive factor in the respondent's development. Women reared with a father present exhibited higher levels of self esteem and identified with more liberal sex role attitudes. Demographic and status characteristics were found to have varied affects on the dependent variables. Father's education, for example, was not related to either sex identity or attitudes. However, the better educated the mother the more liberal the respondent's belief about the female role. Age and family income were unrelated to sex role identity. Religious denomination was also not related to sex role identity, but religions intensity was related to both variables. Feminine identified women were reared in more religious households and had more traditional sex role ideologies. Masculine identified women were more likely to go to college, but they were as likely as feminine women to have children and enjoy mothering. The economic status of the family of origin, mother's education, respondent's education, and marital status were all related to feeling comfortable with other women. These findings suggest that expectations and status variables have an impact on female peer interactions. Racial differences were found between the black women and the white comparison sample. Black women were more and rogynous and white women were more undifferentiated in sex role identity. However, black women report more traditional beliefs about the female role, while the white women in this analysis were more liberal. These findings suggest that sex roles are an integration of both expressive and instrumental spheres for black women. Sex role identity and sex role attitudes appear to be separate personality issues for black women. and rogynous black women reported higher self-esteem and lower levels of anxiety and depression than feminine and undifferentiated women. The strong consistent relationship between self-esteem and and rogyny suggests that and rogyny measures may be confounded with measures of psychological adjustment. More research is needed on the parent child relationship, socialization practices, and the impact of self-concept, sexual identity and sex role attitudes on marital interaction and life satisfaction of black Americans.PhDSocial psychologyUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/158217/1/8116199.pd