Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Femininity”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 703 records · Page 39Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Interaction of sex role self-concept with relationship quality and relationship beliefs in married, heterosexual cohabiting, gay, and lesbian couples.

The relation between sex role self-concept (masculine, feminine, undifferentiated, and androgynous) and both relationship quality and dysfunctional relationship beliefs was examined in 370 monogamous partners who represented four types of couples (married, heterosexual cohabiting, gay, and lesbian). Analyses used both the individual partner and the couple as the unit of analysis. The individual partner analyses revealed that relationship quality and relationship beliefs differed by subjects' sex role self-concept. Androgynous and feminine subjects reported higher relationship quality than masculine and undifferentiated subjects; androgynous subjects had fewer "disagreement is destructive" beliefs than feminine subjects; and androgynous subjects had fewer "partner cannot change" beliefs than undifferentiated subjects. The couple analyses revealed a relation between partners' sex role self-concept only for the heterosexual cohabiting couples. For these couples, masculine men tended to pair with feminine or undifferentiated women, and androgynous partners tended to pair together. Relative to other couples, couples in which one or both partners were androgynous or feminine reported the highest relationship quality, whereas couples in which one or both partners were undifferentiated or masculine reported the lowest relationship quality. These effects did not vary by type of couple. The study concluded that sex role self-concept is a robust factor in appraisals of relationship quality. Relative to masculine and undifferentiated individuals, androgynous and feminine individuals report greater positive relationship functioning.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Cross-gender behavior and psychopathology in boy psychiatric outpatients.

One hundred 5- to 12-year-old boys referred for outpatient psychiatric evaluation were assessed for cross-gender behavior using the Child Behavior and Attitude Questionnaire (CBAQ) and the Child Game Participation Questionnaire (CGPQ), and for possible associated psychopathology using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and clinical psychiatric (DSM-III) diagnoses. On the two feminine scales of the CBAQ and CGPQ, 30 to 50% scored within defined clinical ranges. High feminine scale scorers did not have higher Total CBCL scores than lower feminine scale scorers, and scores on the feminine scales correlated minimally with scores on the CBCL broad and narrow-band behavior problem scales, except for a significant positive correlation with the Delinquent subscale. No particular clinical psychiatric diagnoses were significantly associated with high feminine scorers: however, high feminine behavior scorers tended to have more conduct problems and mixed adjustment disorders and less anxious and depressive psychopathology. Clinicians were not alert to the degree of cross-gender behavior found, perhaps due to the concomitant externalizing psychopathology and masculine behavior in these same patients.

Anxiety, Separation↗
PubMed1999

Gender-role differences in susceptibility to the influence of support availability on depression.

Previous gender-role research on depression has revealed a consistent inverse relationship between masculinity and depression, but a non-significant relationship between femininity and depression. In light of the stronger affiliative needs for feminine individuals, received social support was speculated to moderate the relationship between femininity and depression in the present research. In a longitudinal study of a sample of Hong Kong college students, the relationships among gender-role orientation, received social support, and depression were examined. Consistent with previous findings, masculinity and androgyny were inversely related to depression. Moreover, the present study supplemented previous research by revealing that femininity was related to depression through its interaction with received social support. When the amount of received social support was increased, femininity was associated with a reduction in depression level over time. In contrast, when the amount of received social support was decreased, depression tended to increase with femininity over time. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the gender-role literature.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1982

Patterns of intellectual functioning and spatial ability in boys and gender identity disorder.

Preadolescent boys with Gender Identity Disorder (N = 13), their brothers (N = 8) and boys referred for psychiatric assessment (N = 10) were administered age-appropriate Wechsler intelligence scales. Four hypotheses regarding patterns of intellectual functioning and spatial ability were tested. A previous suggestion that the development of boyhood femininity is associated with higher than average IQ was not supported, since the IQs of the feminine boys and their brothers did not differ. A report of enhanced verbal ability as compared with perceptual organization also was not replicated in these feminine boys. On Kaufman's "Freedom from Distractibility" factor, the feminine boys and their brothers obtained scores as low as the psychiatric controls; that is, all three groups were equally distractible. It was suggested that anxiety contributed to poor performance on this factor. Unlike the control groups, the feminine boys obtained low scores on a test of spatial ability (Block Design) as compared to their scores on a verbal task (Vocabulary). The association between a feminine gender role and relatively poor spatial ability was discussed.

Child↗
PubMed1978

The identification of the social sex-role stereotypes.

The purpose of this study was to identify the social sex-role stereotypes that exist in the nation. The hypothesis for this study was that the stereotypes for femininity and masculinity are dimorphous. To determine the extent of dimorphism, four social sex-role stereotypes were examined: masculine men, feminine women, feminine men, and masculine women. Three hundred female and male respondents from all regions of the nation, who varied in age, ethnicity, education, sexual orientation, and social sex-role, completed a questionnaire by listing the characteristics people expected a masculine man, a feminine woman, a feminine man, and a masculine woman to have. The results supported the hypothesis that the stereotypes for femininity and masculinity are dimorphous.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Personality, longevity, and successful aging among Tokyo metropolitan centenarians.

The purpose of our study was to examine two hypotheses: 1) that androgyny and Type B behavior are related to longevity; and 2) that personality characteristics associated with longevity may also be related to successful aging. Participants were eighty-two centenarians (37 men and 45 women) who were compared with 605 elderly in their sixties, seventies, and eighties. Both groups were living in the Tokyo metropolitan area. We used the Bem Sex Role Inventory and Bortner Pattern A Behavior Scales to measure personality, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Cattell Anxiety Scale to measure successful aging. We found that androgyny was not more prominent among centenarians than masculinity, femininity, or undifferentiated. In fact, more femininity was observed. Additionally, we found that more women were classified as feminine than were men. The results indicated more Type B's among centenarians than among those in their sixties and more women than men showed Type B behavior. Our hypothesis that Type B behavior is related to longevity was supported. We observed lower self-esteem for femininity than for either the masculinity or androgyny. We also observed that anxiety was lower for femininity than masculinity but higher than androgyny among women. Type B women showed lower self-esteem than Type A women. Type B men showed lower anxiety than Type A men. We conclude that femininity is related to longevity and that androgyny may be related to successful aging. Further, we suggest that Type B behavior is associated with longevity, but its relationship to successful aging differs between men and women.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Gender appropriateness of symptom criteria for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional-defiant disorder, and conduct disorder.

We examined the gender appropriateness of the DSM-IV symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and conduct disorder (CD). In Study 1, 100 mothers (35 of children with and 65 of children without ADHD) rated how gender-typical and problematic they saw DSM-IV symptoms of ADHD, ODD, and CD; feminine descriptions of ADHD, ODD, and CD behaviors that we created; and relationally and overtly aggressive behaviors. Mothers rated the DSM-IV symptoms and overt aggression as boy-descriptive, and the feminine items that we created and relational aggression as girl-descriptive. Mothers saw the feminine items as less problematic than the masculine items. In Study 2, for 80 girls (40 with and 40 without ADHD), mothers' ratings on the feminine items were related to the corresponding DSM-IV symptoms, and to general psychopathology and impairment. Most correlations were significant and support the construct validity of the feminine items.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Alcohol dependence and gender-role orientation.

OBJECTIVE: The overall increase of female alcoholism is supposed to be associated with the change of the traditional female role, and it is especially seen as a consequence of role convergence or gender-role conflicts. The aim of the present pilot study is to explore whether the approach of gender-role orientation would be empirically useful in contributing to these hypotheses. METHOD: One hundred twelve patients with alcohol dependence meeting DSM-III-R criteria were explored after detoxification; gender-role orientation was measured by a German version of the "Extended Personal Attributes Questionnaire", categorising gender-role orientation into four subgroups: masculine, feminine, androgynous, and undifferentiated. RESULTS: In comparison with a population-based sample, there are significant differences in the distribution of the four subgroups of gender-role orientation, showing a predominance of the undifferentiated self-concept in the alcoholic sample (49%). Alcoholic females describe themselves as rather undifferentiated, and rather feminine than masculine. Low masculinity and low femininity, as well as high femininity, correlate positively with distress, depressiveness, social anxiety, insecurity and concomitant personality disorders. CONCLUSION: Our data do not support the convergence hypothesis related to gender-role orientation, but support the traditional feminine self-concept as an unspecific risk factor for vulnerability. The question whether an undifferentiated self-concept could be a specific risk factor for alcoholism is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Sex-role traits and the comorbidity of symptoms of disordered eating and problem drinking.

The symptoms of problem drinking and disordered eating were studied independently in relation to sex-role traits and also for evidence of comorbidity in a student sample of 217 women. The participants completed surveys that assessed positive and negative sex-role traits, reported drinking levels, alcohol dependence, problem drinking, bulimic symptoms, dietary restraint, and drive for thinness. Eating symptoms were related to both the negative and positive traits of Femininity, but self-descriptions involving negative traits (passivity, dependence, unassertiveness, etc.) showed the strongest relationship. High scores on identification with the traits typically labelled as Masculinity were related to drinking but there was an important difference between drinking per se (which was related to Positive Masculinity) and drinking found to be associated with drinking problems, which was related to Negative Masculinity (aggression, showing-off, rudeness, etc.). Feminine traits were also related to drinking. Low identification with the traits of Negative Femininity was associated with non-problem drinking, whereas low identification with the traits of Positive Femininity were associated with problem-related drinking. Young women who displayed comorbid symptoms described themselves by a high identification with the traits of both Negative Masculinity and Negative Femininity. It was argued that comorbidity reveals a more extreme form of the sex-role conflict previously described in relation to disordered control over both eating and drinking when considered independently.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

What the voice reveals: within- and between-category stereotyping on the basis of voice.

The authors report research that attempts to shift the traditional focus of visual cues to auditory cues as a basis for stereotyping. Moreover, their approach examines whether gender-signaling vocal cues lead not only to between-category but also to within-category gender stereotyping. Study 1 showed that both men and women vary within category in how feminine their voices sound and that perceptions of vocal femininity are highly consensual. Furthermore, the measured acoustic characteristics that differed between gender were also related to perceptions of within-gender femininity. Subsequent studies demonstrated that variability in vocal femininity affects gender stereotyping when the targets are all of the same gender (Study 2) and when the targets are of different genders (Study 3). In the latter case, evidence of both category-based and feature-based stereotyping was found. Mediation analyses showed that the relationship between acoustics and stereotyping was in part due to femininity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Assessment of sex-role stereotyping among male and female psychologist practitioners.

Seventy-seven female and 86 male psychologist practitioners filled out the Bem Sex Rote Inventory to describe either a healthy adult male, healthy adult female, or healthy adult, sex unspecified. Analyzing the data according to Bem's classification of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny produced a significant Scale X Condition interaction with male and female practitioners ascribing significantly more masculine than feminine traits to healthy adult men, yet displaying no comparable differences when rating healthy adult women. Analyzing the data according to Spence's classification of masculine, feminine, androgynous, and undifferentiated produced a Group X Condition interaction with practitioners ascribing significantly more masculine traits to healthy adult men and significantly more feminine traits to healthy adult women. Reanalyses omitting "masculine" and "feminine" from Bem's fist of sex-typed traits produced nonsignificant results. The relationship of this to recent criticisms of the construct validity of the BSRI and to the validity of earlier results of therapist sex-role bias was discussed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1982

Psychological androgyny and social desirability.

The concept of psychological androgyny, because of its implications for sex roles, social change, and human development, is presently of special theoretical interest. Psychologically androgynous persons, as identified by the Bern Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), score higher on both its femininity and masculinity scales. Given the psychometric properties of the BSRI, it can be hypothesized that androgynous persons will have higher social desirability scores. Yet, the "masculine male" and the "feminine female" may be the most socially desirable, in that they conform to normative expectations. Consequently it can also be hypothesized that individuals who are either masculine-typed males or feminine-typed females on the BSRI will have the higher social desirability scores. Neither prediction was found to be entirely accurate; instead, androgynous and feminine-typed individuals were found to have higher social desirability scores. Moreover, the data reveal that the BSRI femininity scale has social desirability characteristics which are sex-specific.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Gender role across development in adult women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency.

This study evaluated the degree of femininity and masculinity at different developmental stages in a group of adult women, some of whom were exposed to elevated prenatal adrenal androgens as a result of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21 hydroxylase (21-OH) deficiency. Women who had presented to the Johns Hopkins Hospital Pediatric Endocrine Clinic for treatment of CAH due to 21-OH deficiency were included. The control group consisted of sisters of CAH participants and women referred for evaluation of polycystic ovary syndrome. Study participants were given a questionnaire asking them to indicate their degree of masculinity and femininity during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. In addition, participants were asked questions related to their play behavior during childhood, including playmate preferences, toy preferences, and admiration of male or female characters during fantasy play. Across participant groups, self-reported femininity decreased in a dose response manner, according to prenatal androgen exposure. For all groups, femininity increased through developmental stages. Women with salt-losing CAH remained less feminine than controls into adulthood. Conversely, self-reported masculinity increased in a dose-response manner, according to prenatal androgen exposure, across participant groups. Women with CAH showed a decrease in masculinity across developmental stages, such that by adulthood, there were no significant differences in masculinity between controls and the women with CAH. Women with salt-losing CAH were more likely to recall preferences for boy playmates, male-typical toys, and admiration for male characters during childhood than other study participants. Our data support the effect of both prenatal androgen exposure and socialization on gender role behavior in adult women with CAH due to 21-OH deficiency.

Adrenal Hyperplasia, Congenital↗
PubMed2002

Gender role and personality disorders.

Many researchers have hypothesized relationships between personality disorders and gender role (i.e., masculinity and femininity). However, research has not addressed if people who are masculine or feminine more often meet the criteria for personality disorders. The present study examined whether college students (N = 665, 60% women) higher in masculinity or femininity more often exhibited features of the 10 DSM-IV personality disorders. Feminine men exhibited more features of all the personality disorders except antisocial. Dependent traits were associated with higher femininity and lower masculinity. Antisocial traits were associated with masculinity. Both men and women who typically behaved consistent with their gender had more narcissistic and histrionic features, whereas participants who typically behaved unlike their gender had more features of the Cluster A personality disorders.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Masculinity/femininity of the generations: as self-reported and as stereotypically appraised.

Three hundred seventeen adults divided among the younger adult, middle aged, and old generations were asked (a) to judge which of the three generations was most and least masculine/feminine in overall personality style, masculine/feminine in interests and possession of gender skills, and pressured by society to do masculine/feminine sorts of things; and (b) to rate self along each of these dimensions on a Likert scale. Self-reports and beliefs about the generations did not vary as a function of membership in a generation. Young adults and middle aged were belived to be the most feminine and middle aged the most masculine in overall personality style. The middle aged were judged as possessed of the most feminine and masculine interests and the most skilled in feminine endeavors. Middle aged and young adults were judged equally possessed of masculine skills. Social pressure to do masculine and feminine activities was seen as falling equally heavily on younger adults and middle aged. The old were judged as next-most possessed of feminine skills while judged least along the other dimensions.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Sex-role orientation of college students and their same-sex parents.

The study examined similarities and differences between sex-role orientations of college students and their same-sex parents. College undergraduates filled out the Bem Sex-role Inventory twice: once to describe themselves and the second time to describe their same-sex parents. The inventory was also used to obtain parental self-reports. Compared to their perceptions of their same-sex parents, male students described themselves as more feminine and female students described themselves as more masculine. Also, male students described their fathers as less feminine and female students described their mothers as both less masculine and less feminine than the parents described themselves. Students' femininity scores correlated significantly with the parental femininity scores both actual and perceived, however, no consistent relationship was found for the masculinity scores. Androgynous students and students with the reversed sex-role orientation perceived their parents as androgynous and reversed, respectively.

Female↗
PubMed1991

Penis envy: libidinal metaphor and experiential metonym.

The subjective narrative employed by the little girl to account for her femininity draws on her primary sense of femaleness, as well as on any secondary elaborations. The secondary nature of femininity is highlighted by the Freudian view wherein femininity is thought to be achieved through changes in libidinal aims and objects. The primary nature of femininity is highlighted by current views elaborating on ego development. An examination of the subjective role of the phallus in a number of clinical reports reveals that envy of the penis may represent the intersection of several associative chains. For example, the girl's castration reaction could result from a condensation of the libidinal theme of not having a penis as Freud argued. However, Freud's reliance on the phallus as a metaphoric representation of instinctual vicissitudes is not an end point. In addition to Freud's elaborations of the phallic theme, the desire to possess the penis may represent the girl's associations to contiguous events. That is, through the process of displacement, the phallus also functions as a metonymic symbol. To fully appreciate penis envy, both the metaphoric and metonymic meanings assigned to femininity must be analysed.

Body Image↗
PubMed1990

The development of gender stereotype components.

Developmental research has been limited by a narrow concept of stereotypes. A more complex model is presented, and developmental changes in gender stereotypes were investigated using the new model. In 2 studies, children were told about several sex-unspecified children, each described as having 1 masculine or 1 feminine characteristic. The children then predicted the likelihood of each story child having other masculine and feminine characteristics. In Study 1, 56 children (4-6 years) were told about target children who liked either a masculine or feminine toy, and then children predicted the targets' interests in other toys. In Study 2, 76 older children (6, 8, 10 years) were told about target children with a masculine or feminine characteristic from 1 of 4 categories (appearance, personality, occupations, toys), and then they predicted the likelihood of targets having other masculine and feminine characteristics from the same and from different categories as the cue. 2 developmental trends emerged: (a) children appear first to learn associations among characteristics relevant to their own sex and, later, to learn them for the other sex, and (b) older children's stereotypic judgments are more extreme than those of younger children. The implications of these results for the development of stereotypes, assessing gender knowledge, and understanding social judgments are discussed.

Child↗