Abstract
This study reports on the psychometric properties of the Femininity Ideology Scale (FIS) from the responses of 407 undergraduate participants in the USA. Factor analysis supported the five factor structure. Cronbach alpha coefficients of the factors and total scale were adequate. Support for discriminant validity was found after examining the relationship between the FIS and the Bem Sex Role Inventory, which measures feminine traits. Support for convergent validity was found after examining, first, with the entire sample, the relationships between the FIS and the Male Role Norm Inventory, and second, with the female sample, the relationships between the FIS and the Feminist Identity Development Scale. We also found that FIS scores vary in relationship to the social contextual variables of race/ethnicity and sex.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abreau, J. M., Goodyear, R. K., Campos, A., & Newcomb, M. D. (2000). Ethnic belonging and traditional masculinity ideology among African Americans, European Americans, and Latinos. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 1, 75–86.
Bargad, A., & Hyde, J. (1991). Women’s studies: A study of feminist identity development in women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 15, 181–201.
Bartlett, M. S. (1954). A note on the multiplying factors for various chi square approximations. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series B, 16, 296–298.
Bem, S. (1974). The measurement of psychological androgyny. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 155–162.
Bem, S. (1981). Gender schema theory: A cognitive account of sex-typing. Psychological Review, 88, 354–364.
Berger, J. M., Levant, R. F., McMillan, K. K., Kelleher, W., & Sellers, A. (2005). Impact of gender role conflict, traditional masculinity ideology, alexithymia, and age on men’s attitudes toward psychological help seeking. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 6, 73–78.
Bradshaw, C. K. (1994). Asian and Asian American women: Historical and political considerations in psychotherapy. In L. Comas-Diaz & B. Greene (Eds.), Women of color: Integrating ethnic and gender identities in psychotherapy (pp. 72–113). New York: Guilford.
Burgess, N. J. (1994). Gender role revisited: The development of the woman’s place among African American women in the United States. Journal of Black Studies, 24, 391–401.
Catell, R. B. (1966). The scree test for the number of factors. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 1, 245–276.
Cohen, J. (1977). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (revised edition). New York: Academic.
Davis, F. (1987). Antecedents and consequents of gender role conflict: An empirical test of sex role strain analysis (Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University). Dissertation Abstracts International, 48(11), 3443.
Eisler, R. M. (1995). The relationship between masculine gender role stress and men’s health risk: The validation of a construct. In R. F. Levant & W. S. Pollack (Eds.), A new psychology of men (pp. 207–225). New York: Basic Books.
Franklin, A. V. (1998). A comparative analysis of African Americans and European-Americans perceived gender roles using the Femininity Ideology Scale. Master’s thesis, Florida Institute of Technology.
Good, G. E., & Mintz, L. B. (1990). Gender role conflict and depression in college men: Evidence for compounded risk. Journal of Counseling and Development, 69, 17–21.
Gronemeyer, K. M. (1998). Age-related differences in endorsement of traditional femininity roles using the femininity ideology scale. Master’s thesis, Florida Institute of Technology.
Hochschild, A. (1997). The second shift: Working parents and the revolution at home. New York, NY: Viking.
Kaiser, H. F. (1974). An index of factorial simplicity. Psychometrika, 39, 31–36.
Lehman, P. (2000). A validity study of the femininity ideology scale. Master’s thesis, Florida Institute of Technology.
Levant, R. (1996). The new psychology of men. Professional Psychology, 27, 259–265.
Levant, R. F., & Fischer, J. (1998). The male role norms inventory. In C. M. Davis, W. H. Yarber, R. Bauserman, G. Schreer, & S. L. Davis (Eds.), Sexuality-related measures: A compendium, 2nd edn (pp. 469–472). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Levant, R. F., Hirsch, L., Celentano, E., Cozza, T., Hill, S., MacEachern, M. (1992). The male role: An investigation of norms and stereotypes. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 14, 325–337.
Levant, R., & Majors, R. (1997). An investigation into variations in the construction of the male gender role among young African-American and European-American women and men. Journal of Gender, Culture and Health, 2, 33–43.
Levant, R., Majors, R., & Kelley, M. (1998). Masculinity ideology among young African-American and European-American women and men in different regions of the United States. Cultural Diversity and Mental Health, 4, 227–236.
Levant, R. F., & Richmond, K. (2007). A program of research on masculinity ideologies using the male role norms inventory. Journal of Men’s Studies, 15, 130–146.
Levant, R. F., Richmond, K., Majors, R., Inclan, J. E., Rossello, J. M., Heesacker, M., et al. (2003). A multicultural investigation of masculinity ideology and alexithymia. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 4, 91–99.
Lippa, R. A. (2005). Subdomains of gender-related occupational interests: Do they form a cohesive bipolar M-F dimension? Journal of Personality, 73, 693–730.
Mahalik, J., Morray, E., Coonerty-Femiano, A., Ludlow, L., Slattery, S., & Smiler, A. (2005). Development of the conformity to feminine norms inventory. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 52, 417–435.
Marsh, H. W., & Bryne, B. M. (1991). The differentiated additive androgyny model: Relations between masculinity, femininity and multiple dimensions of self-concept. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 811–828.
Myers, J., & Well, A. (1995). Research design & statistical analysis. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
O’Neil, J. M., Helms, B. J., Gable, R. K., David, L., & Wrightsman, L. S. (1986). Gender role conflict scale: College men’s fear of femininity. Sex Roles, 14, 335–350.
Omar, G. A. (1998). Marital and parental status as variables in perceived gender roles using the femininity ideology scale. Master’s thesis, Florida Institute of Technology.
Orlofsky, J. L., & O’Heron, C. A. (1987). Stereotypic and nonstereotypic sex role trait and behavior orientations: Implications for personal adjustment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 1034–1042.
Padavic, I., & Reskin, B. (2002). Women and man at work. London: Pine Forge.
Pleck, J. H. (1981). The myth of masculinity. Cambridge, MA: MIT.
Pleck, J. H. (1995). The gender role strain paradigm: An update. In R. F. Levant & W. S. Pollack (Eds.), A new psychology of men (pp. 11–31). New York: Basic Books.
Pleck, J. H., Sonenstein, F. L., & Ku, L. C. (1994). Attitudes toward male roles: A discriminate validity analysis. Sex Roles, 30, 481–501.
Sharpe, M. J., & Heppner, P. P. (1991). Gender role, gender-role conflict, and psychological well-being in men. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 38, 323–330.
Spence, J. T. (1993). Gender-related traits and gender ideology: Evidence for a multifactorial theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 624–635.
Spence, J. T., & Buckner, C. E. (2000). Instrumental and expressive traits, trait stereotypes, and sexist attitudes: What do they signify? Psychology of Women Quarterly, 24, 44–53.
Spence, J. T., & Helmreich, R. L. (1978). Masculinity and femininity: Their psychological dimensions, correlates, and antecedents. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Stevens, E. (1994). Marianismo: The other face of machismo in Latin America. In G. M. Yeager (Ed.), Confronting change, challenging tradition: Women in Latin American history. Wilmington: Jaguar Books.
Thompson, E. H., & Pleck, J. H. (1995). Masculinity ideology: A review of research instrumentation on men and masculinities. In R. F. Levant & W. S. Pollack (Eds.), A new psychology of men (pp. 129–163). New York: Basic Books.
Tolman, D., & Porche, M. (2000). The adolescent femininity ideology scale: Development and validation of a new measure for girls. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 24, 365–376.
Torres, J. B. (1998). Masculinity and gender roles among Puerto Rican men: machismo on the U.S. mainland. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 68, 16–26.
Acknowledgement
Ronald Levant and Katherine Richmond contributed nearly equally to this research project and the order of authorship between them was determined by a coin toss. We also want to acknowledge the contributions of Dr. Carol Philpot, who, when she was a professor at the Florida Institute of Technology, organized a group of Master’s students that developed the Femininity Ideology Scale (FIS) and reported work on it in their theses. Finally, we want to acknowledge the help with statistical analysis of our late friend and colleague, Dr. Al Sellers.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Levant, R., Richmond, K., Cook, S. et al. The Femininity Ideology Scale: Factor Structure, Reliability, Convergent and Discriminant Validity, and Social Contextual Variation. Sex Roles 57, 373–383 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9258-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9258-5