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Do the BSRI and PAQ Really Measure Masculinity and Femininity?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Juan Fernández  and
Mª Teresa Coelleo
Juan Fernández*
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain)
Mª Teresa Coelleo
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Juan Fernández. Departamento de Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación. Facultad de Psicología. Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Campus de Somosaguas. 28223 Madrid. (Spain). E-mail: jfernandez@psi.ucm.es. Web page: http://sites.google.com/site/jfsprofile/
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Abstract

The two most used instruments to assess masculinity (M) and femininity (F) are the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and the Personality Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ). Two hypotheses will be tested: a) multidimensionality versus bidimensionality, and b) to what extent the two instruments, elaborated to measure the same constructs, classify subjects in the same way. Participants were 420 high school students, 198 women and 222 men, aged 12–15 years. Exploratory factor analysis and internal consistency analysis were carried out and log-linear models were tested. The data support a) the multidimensionality of both instruments and b) the lack of full concordance in the classification of persons according to the fourfold typology. Implications of the results are discussed regarding the supposed theory behind instrumentality/expressiveness and masculinity/femininity, as well as for the use of both instruments to classify different subjects into the four distinct types.

Los dos instrumentos más utilizados para valorar masculinidad y feminidad son el Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) y el Personality Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ). Se pondrá a prueba la hipótesis de la multidimensionalidad frente a la de la bidimensionalidad. A su vez, se tratará de verificar hasta qué punto ambos instrumentos, que dicen medir lo mismo, clasifican a los sujetos de igual forma. Los participantes fueron 420 estudiantes de secundaria, 198 mujeres y 222 varones, de entre 12 y 15 años. Se llevaron a cabo análisis factoriales exploratorios y de consistencia interna y se pusieron a prueba modelos lineallogarítmicos. Los datos apoyan: a) la multidimensionalidad de ambos instrumentos y b) la falta de plena concordancia en la clasificación de las personas en función de la cuádruple tipología. Se analizan las implicaciones de los resultados tanto para la supuesta teoría subyacente –instrumentalidad/expresividad, masculinidad/feminidad– como para la utilización de ambos instrumentos a la hora de clasificar a los sujetos en cuatro tipos distintos.

Keywords

androgynymasculinityfemininityBSRIPAQlog-linear modelandroginiamasculinidadfeminidadBSRIPAQmodelo lineal-logarítmico
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , November 2010 , pp. 1000 - 1009
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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