Sex Role Identity among College Students: A Cross-Cultural Analysis

Abstract

This study compared sex role identity of male andfemale college students (N = 763) from four ethnicdracial groups: 203 Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico (PR-PR) (F = 126; M = 77); 197 Puerto Ricans in the United States (PR-US) (F = 124; M = 73); 198 White-American (Anglo) students (F = 105; M = 93); and 170Black-American students (Blacks) (F = 80; M = 90) using the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). The majority (51.4%) of males andfemales of the total sample studied were classified as androgynous, indicating high degrees of both masculine and feminine traits. Women of the four ethnic/racial groups were similar with regard to their scores on the feminine scale but differed on the masculine scale, with Blackwomen scoring highest, Anglo women lowest, and Puerto Rican women with intermediate scores. Males from the group were not significantly different from each other on the masculine scale of the BSRI whereas on the feminine scale, Puerto Rican men in Puerto Rico and in the United States scored higher on the femininity scale than did Anglos and Blacks.