Abstract
The three primary purposes of this investigation are: (1) to apply confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to responses from three instruments [Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), Comrey Personality Scale (CPS), and Australian Sex Role Scale (ASRS) developed by Antill and his colleagues] designed to measure masculinity (M) and femininity (F); (2) to determine the correlation between M and F on each instrument and to relate the results to the design of the instrument; and (3) to describe a new theoretical model that posits global M and global F to be multifaceted, higher order constructs. When CFA was used to define one M and one F factor from responses to each instrument, the disattenuated correlations between M and F were +0.58 (BSRI), −.50 (ASRS), and −1.0 (CPS). Thus, responses from two instruments supported the separation of M and F, but differed in the direction of the correlation for the two traits, while the third provided remarkably strong support for a bipolar MF continuum. Despite the apparent inconsistency, the observed correlations were explicable in terms of the design of each instrument. While the two-factor model provided a reasonable fit for the BSRI, more complicated models were better able to fit responses to the ASRS and CPS. Results from this investigation and other research were used to formulate a new theoretical model.
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The authors wish to thank Douglas Farnill, Ian Ball, and Andres Comrey for providing us with data from previous research used in this study. The authors would also like to thank Samuel Ball, Jenifer Barnes, and Raymond Debus for their helpful comments on drafts of this manuscript.
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Marsh, H.W., Myers, M. Masculinity, femininity, and androgyny: A methodological and theoretical critique. Sex Roles 14, 397–430 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288424
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288424