Sex role identity, androgyny and sex role transcendence: A sex role strain analysis

This paper first reviews three different theoretical constructs concerning the psychological significance of sex role related characteristics in personal-ity functioning: sex role identity, androgyny, and sex role transcendence. A new conceptual analysis concerning sex-typing, sex role strain analysis, is presented. According to this analysis, the relationship between sex role related personality characteristics and psychological adjustment, especially self-esteem, is moderated by two variables: perception of the ideal member of the same sex, and sex role salience. These two variables; taken in con-junction with real self-concept, generate five sex role strain outcomes. The constructs of sex role identity, androgyny, and sex role transcendence are interpreted in terms of this sex role strain analysis. The implications of this analysis for current research and for understanding the dynamics of both individual and social change in sex roles are briefly described. The goal of this paper i s to present a new analysis of the relation-ship between personality characteristics traditionally associated with one sex or the other and psychological adjustment, especially self-esteem. This analysis, termed here sex role strain analysis, integrates disparate elements in previous theory and research in this area and suggests new directions for future research. To set the stage for this analysis, we first briefly review three major psychological constructs concerning the significance of sex role related personality charac-teristics: sex role identity, androgyny, and sex role transcendence. We wish to thank Bettie Arthur, Nancy Conklin, Jere Johnston, Anne Peplau, Paul Sus-lowitz, and reviewers for this journal for their helpful comments on an earlierdraft. The order of authorship was determined randomly. Requests for reprints should be addressed to Joseph H