Comparison of Factors from the Bem Sex-Role Inventory for Male and Female College Students

Abstract

The 40 sex-typed items of the Bern Sex-role Inventory were analyzed by the principal components method for samples of 169 male and 206 female undergraduates. The Bern Sex-role Inventory assumes psychological masculinity (M) and femininity (F) as independent, unipolar dimensions of personality which can be measured using pools of items treated as homogeneous. The two analyses were compared with each other and with theoretical orthogonal factors of masculinity and femininity. The results indicated that the two sets of items measure the same constructs for males and females and show agreement with theoretical factors. In addition, the masculine items defined three small factors (rather than one) for each sex and eight feminine items showed poor agreement with the femininity factor. Suggestions for improving the inventory were presented.