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Mg 7 -.\.|.P ANDROGYNY, FEMININITY AND MASCULINITY IN RELATION TO MARITAL STATUS AND OTHER FACTORS IN A POPULATION OF DIVORCED AND MARRIED MIDDLE CLASS WOMEN, WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION BY Rawson Paige Birdwell, Jr. A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Degartment of Administration and Higher Education 1979 ABSTRACT ANDROGYNY, FEMININITY AND MASCULINITY IN RELATION TO MARITAL STATUS AND OTHER FACTORS IN A POPULATION OF DIVORCED AND MARRIED MIDDLE CLASS WOMEN, WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION BY Rawson Paige Birdwell, Jr. This study investigated relationships between three fundamental sex trait self-description modalities ~- androgynous, feminine and masculine -- and marital status in a sample of demographically similar divorced and once married women. Of particular interest in the study were the divorced and androgynous respondents and how they com— pared with other sub-groups of the sample. Relationships between sex trait self-description and marital status, individually and in combination, and other demographic and attitudinal items were also examined. William Goode, Alice Rossi and others have observed recent shifts in gender self-assessment among American middle class women -- from a traditionally feminine identity to a more masculine one. Sandra Bem and others have noted the appearance of an androgynous sex trait self-description reflecting high degrees of both the masculine and feminine traits. Others have suggested, as well, that for many women Rawson Paige Birdwell, Jr. the divorce experience has contributed to the addition of more masculine traits in their sex trait self-descriptions. Four general issues were examined, as well as seventeen specific hypotheses. The issues were: 1. Marital status in relation to sex trait self- description. 2. Marital status and sex trait self-description, individually and in interaction, in relation to demographic factors of: education, age, number of children, employment status and employment satisfaction. 3. Sex trait self-description in relation to factors unique to each marital status: time since the divorce, divorce adjustment, divorce initiation and custody of children among divorced women, and time since the marriage and fulfillment in marriage among married women. 4. Marital status and sex trait self-description, individually and in interaction, in relation to attitudes pertaining to roles of women to- day: egalitarian attitudes toward the woman's role, the appropriateness of singleness and the importance of marriage. The data were gathered from 217 Caucasian, middle aged and middle class, highly educated women affiliated with a moderately liberal Protestant church and voluntary associa- tions concerned with the status of women, and almost evenly distributed between divorced and once married groups. The setting of the study was a university community within a wider industrial and State Government complex. Instruments included the Bem Sex Role Inventory, using the additive procedure, an Egalitarian Scale developed by the investigator, Rawson Paige Birdwell, Jr. several one-item rating scales and instrumentation necessary for basic demographic data collection. Statistical analysis focussed on analysis of relation- ships both between the two major groups under study and among the sub-groups among all respondents. The chi square and analysis of variance statistics were used to test rela- tionships posed by the seventeen hypotheses. Several post hoc statistics were also used: LSD, LSDMOD and Duncan. A confidence level of .05 was set, though consistent patterns of relationship were noted, even though they were not shown to be statistically significant at that level. Findings gave support to the general expectations of the study. In terms of the four areas posed for investiga- tion, it was concluded that among women similar to those included in this inquiry: 1. There is a relationship between marital status and sex trait self-description: divorced re- spondents are more likely to be more androgynous in sex trait self-description than once married women: once married women are more likely to be feminine than divorced women. 2. Divorced women with feminine sex trait self- descriptions have higher numbers of children than other women. 3. Divorced women with masculine sex trait self- descriptions believe that they have achieved higher levels of divorce adjustment than do women with feminine self-descriptions. 4. Among both divorced and married women, those whose sex trait self-descriptions are masculine or androgynous hold higher levels of egalitarian attitudes than do women who describe themselves as feminine. Rawson Paige Birdwell, Jr. Other findings, while not supported at the alpha level set for the study, were reported; and tentative conclusions were drawn. Some attention was given to two peripheral groups, remarried women and respondents low in both feminine and masculine sex traits, labeled ”undifferentiated," and how these compared to the primary groups in relation to the general issues of the study. Tentative interpretations were made on the basis of the major findings, and suggestions for further research were presented. To divorced women everywhere, who are learning to "swim, as all of us swim, with more or less courage and skill, for our lives." (Joyce Cary, Mister Johnson) ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author gratefully acknowledges the support he has received from many persons throughout this research project and during the entire graduate program itself. Major appreciation goes, of course, to the women who participated in the study. Much thanks, also, to the research committee: Profs. William Hinds, Donald Melcer and Sheldon Cherny, and especially for the thorough competence of his research director and friend, Prof. Russell Kleis. Also to Profs. Edward Smith and Carolyn Thomas for important suggestions at the right time. And to Ms. Nancy Martin and David Solomon of the Office of Educational Research at Michigan State University for their statistical expertise, as well as to Mr. David Snyder for his help with the computer. A special thanks to Mrs. Alice Jane Brattin for crucial assistance along the way. Thanks to my wife Christine and daughter Leslie for their encouragement from the start and their thoughtful and stimulating questions as the research developed. And for my wife's great editing skills. iii To the Revs. Truman and Eleanor Morrison for their picking up the ministerial tasks when their colleague was otherwise preoccupied, as well as their support all along. And finally to the numerous persons from the congrega- tion of Edgewood United Church, East Lansing, Michigan, who, frankly, have encouraged this study and this doctorate for several years and without whose support it could never have been completed, much less begun. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 ix LIST or APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY . . . . . . . . . . 1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Background. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Some Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Procedures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Importance of the Stu y . . . . . . . . . . 11 Definition of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Assumptions of the Study. . . . . . . . . . 16 Limitations of the Study. . . . . . . . . . 17 Summary and Overview of the Study . . . . . 18 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE. . . . . . . . . . . 20 Sex Traits and Society. . . . . . . . . . . 20 Sex Traits and WOmen. . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Feminine Sex Traits and the Traditional Roles of Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Sex Traits, Sex Roles and the New Consciousness in Women. . . . . . . . . . 30 Sex Traits, Sex Roles and the Divorced Woman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Research on Sex Traits and Se Roles. . . . 34 Sex Trait Research. . . . . . . . . . . . 35 The Bem Sex Role Inventory. . . . . . . 36 Sex Role Research . . . . . . . . . .'. . 41 Hypotheses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Summation of the Chapter. . . . . . . . . . 53 III. DESIGN OF THE STUDY . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 The Sample. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Data and Instrumentation. . . . . . . . . . 59 Analysis of the Data. . . . . . . . . . . . 62 V Chapter IV 0 FINDINGS O O O O O O I O O O O 0 Introduction. . . . . . . . . Description of the Respondents Marital Status. . . . . . . Sex Trait Classification. . Educational Level . . . . . Age . . . . . . . . . Number of Children. . . . . Employment Status . . . . . Satisfaction with Employment Divorce-Related Issues. . . Time Since the Divorce. . Divorce Adjustment. . . . Divorce Initiation. . . . Custody of Children . . . Marriage-Related Issues . . Length of Marriage - Once Married wome n O O O O O 0 Length of Marriage - Remarried Women. Fulfillment in Marriage - Once Married wome n I O O O O O O O O Fulfillment in Marriage - Remarried wome n O O O 0 Selected Aspects of the Woman' 8 Role. Egalitarian Attitudes . . Appropriateness of Being Single . Importance of Marriage. . Summary Description of the Sample Analysis of Relationships . . Marital Status and Sex Trait Self- Description . . . . . . . General . . . . Marital Status Examined by Sex Trait Self-Description. . . . . . . . . Sex Trait Self-Description Examined by Marital Status . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . Marital Status, Sex Trait Self- Description and Selected Characteristics of the Sample . . . . . . . . Educational Level in Relationship to Marital Status and Sex Trait Self- Description Categories. . . . . . Age in Relationship to Marital Status and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories. . . . . Number of Children in Relationship to Sex Trait Self-Description Categories and Marital Status. . . . . . . . . . vi 100 100 100 105 109 Chapter Employment Classification in Relationship to Marital Status and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Employment Satisfaction in Relationship to Marital Status and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories. . . . . . . . . . . . . Sex Trait Self-Description and Selected Variables Associated with Marital Status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Time Since the Divorce and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories . . Divorce Adjustment and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories . . . . . Divorce Initiation and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories . . . . . Custody of Children and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories . . . . . Length of Marriage and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories . . . . .' Marriage Fulfillment and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories . . . . . Sex Trait Self-Description, Marital Status and Attitudes Toward the Roles of Women in Contemporary Society . . . . . . . Egalitarian Attitudes in Relationship to Marital Status and Sex Trait Self- Description Categories. . . . . . . . Ratings of Appropriateness of Single- ness in Relationship to Marital Status and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ratings of Importance of Marriage in ' Relationship to Marital Status and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary of the Analysis . . . . . . . . . V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS AND “C OMEN DAT I 0N S O O O O C O O O O C O O O 0 Introduction. . . . . Purpose . . . . . . . Methodology . . . . Analysis of the Data Findings. . . . : : Description of the Sample . . r a Relationships Among the Va i b1e vii Page 111 115 118 118 120 122 124 128 129 132 132 137 139 142 150 150 151 153 156 157 157 158 Chapter Page Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Conclusions Based on Statisticall Significant Findings. . . . . . . . . . 164 Tentative Conclusions Based on Consistent Patterns Among the Data. . . 165 Conclusions Relating to the Peripheral Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 Implications for Theory and Practice. . . . 168 Recommendations for Further Research. . . . 171 Postscript O I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 173 APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 APPENDAGE. O O O I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 188 BIBLIOGRAPHY O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 O O O O O O 190 viii Table 10 11 12 13 14 LIST OF TABLES Sex Trait Self-Description Categories Generated by Scores on the Bem Sex Role Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . Distribution Status . . Distribution of Respondents by Marital of Respondents by Sex Trait ClaSSification O C O O O O O O O O O O 0 Distribution Level. . . Distribution Distribution Children . Distribution Status . . Distribution Employment Distribution Time Since Distribution of Respondents by Educational of Respondents by Age . . . . of Respondents by Number of of Respondents by Employment of Employed Respondents by Satisfaction. . . . . . . . . of Divorced Respondents by the Divorce . . . . . . . . . of Divorced Respondents by Divorce Adjustment Rating. . . . . . . . Distribution of Divorced Respondents by Their Perception of Divorce Initiation . Distribution of Divorced Respondents by Legal Custody of Their Children. . . . . Distribution of Once Married Respondents by Length of Marriage . . . . . . . . . . . Distribution of Remarried Respondents by Length of Marriage . . . . . . . . . . . ix Page 39 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 8O 80 81 82 Table 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Page Distribution of Once Married Respondents by Ratings of Fulfillment in Marriage . . . . . 83 Distribution of Remarried Respondents by Ratings of Fulfillment in Marriage . . . . . 84 Distribution of Respondents by Scores on a Scale Reflecting Traditional to Egalitarian Attitudes O O O O O O I O O O O O O O O O O O 85 Distribution of Respondents by Ratings of the Appropriateness of Being Single for Women Today. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Distribution of Respondents by Ratings of Importance of Marriage to a Woman Today. . . 87 Distribution of Respondents by Marital Status and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories. . 94 Distribution of Divorced, Once Married, and Remarried Women Respondents by Sex Trait Self-Description Categories. . . . . . . . . 99 Distribution of Feminine, Masculine, Androgynous and Undifferentiated Classified Women Respondents by Marital Status. . . . . . . . 101 Percentages of Divorced and Once Married Women Respondents in Feminine, Masculine and Androgynous Sex Trait Categories by Highest Educational Level Attained . . . . . 106 Numerical and Percentage Distribution of Divorced and Once Married Respondents by Age and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Mean Number of Children of Respondents, Distributed by Marital Status and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories. . . . . . 112 Percentage of Divorced and Once Married Women in Feminine, Masculine and Androgynous Categories by Employment Classifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Mean Ratings of Employment Satisfaction Among Employed Respondents by Marital Status and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 X Table Page 28 Mean Number of Years Since the Divorce Among Divorced Women Respondents Distributed by Sex Trait Self-Description Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 29 Mean Rating by Women Respondents on a Scale Measuring Divorce Adjustment Distributed by Sex Trait Self-Description Categories . . 122 30 Distribution of Divorced Respondents Accord- ing to Sex Trait Self-Description Categories by Divorce Initiation Patterns. . 125 31 Distribution of all Divorced Respondent Mothers According to Sex Trait Self- Description Categories by Custody of Children Patterns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 32 Mean Number of Years Since Marriage as Reported by Once Married and Remarried Women Respondents, Distributed by Marital Status and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 33 Mean Ratings of Fulfillment in Marriage by Once Married and Remarried Women by Sex Trait Self-Description Categories. . . . 133 34 Mean Scores of Respondents on a Scale Measuring Egalitarian Attitudes Toward the Woman's Role, Distributed by Marital Status and Sex Trait Self-Description. . . . 135 35 Mean Ratings of the Appropriateness of Singleness by Respondents, Distributed by Marital Status and Sex Trait Self- Description Categories . . . . . . . . . . . 140 36 Mean Ratings of the Importance of Marriage by Respondents, Distributed by Marital Status and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 xi LIST OF APPENDICES AND APPENDAGE Appendix Page A. Questionnaire for Divorced Respondents . . . . 178 B. Questionnaire for Married Respondents. . . . . 183 Appendage Bibliography Enclosed with Questionnaire. . . 188 xii 4.7 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY Women are moving into new roles in their personal and organizational relationships. In organizations they are moving into executive roles in which rational decision making and the exercise of power and authority are required. Personally they are experimenting with new forms of social relation- ships -- for example dual-career families with redistribution of the traditional sex role be- haviours. These roles call for new behaviours which may not be tied to the traditional female role. Introduction Among the varieties of contemporary social change, few present more implications for adult education than do the changes in the status and roles of women. These implications confront a broad range of institutions, traditional and non- traditional, which conduct life-long education programs; they confront the helping personnel -- professional, para- professional and lay -- who serve as facilitators of adult learning: and they confront most of all the women themselves, 1Barbara Benedict Bunker and Edith Whitfield Seashore, "Power, Collusion, Intimacy-Sexuality, Support: Breaking the Sex Role Stereotypes in Social and Organizational Settings," in Beyond Sex Roles, ed. Alice Sargent (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1977), P. 356. 2 some of whom choose and many of whom are thrust into new options, new situations and new roles. . Marriage, traditionally assumed to be the natural state for women, is giving way‘thtougheearlyieheieerorriate£4divorce to singleness as an alternative for increasing numbers of women. But the personality traits most associated with suc- cess in marriage are often less positively linked to success in job or profession or indeed in achieving a satisfying life as a single woman.//The association of and the interaction between sex traits and marital status and their relationship to role changes of women are issues that call for considerably greater understanding by the women themselves and by those who, as adult educators, would serve them effectively. One of the adult education institutions most deeply involved with the stresses and changes among women, married or divorced, is the religious community, especially the liberal Protestant church, frequently located in urban areas where academic and professional people are concentrated. In such communities, the "women's movement" tends to be highly visible, and women with special concerns for their own chang- ing roles frequently form groups directly or indirectly affiliated with such churches. These groups almost always serve important, though usually non-formal, educational pur- poses. It was in such a community that this study was undertaken. The investigator, a minister of education on the staff of a ,ws 3 moderately liberal Protestant church, became interested in these changes and issues affecting the lives of women and decided to undertake this study. Background A traditional life goal of most women has been marriage with the role of homemaker or, as Sheehy found, the "care- "1 But many American women today, finding themselves giver. no longer married, are forced or choose to reconceptualize themselves as persons who are no longer wives. Research on the psychology of women has found a dominant cluster of sex traits labeled as "feminine," emphasizing the values and self-perceptions of passivity, responsiveness, nurturance, yielding and the central life theme of placing the interests of others before one's own. These traits are either a product of or qualifications for the marriage role, in which the husband’s identity is central. As Sheehy said: While many young men have been encouraged to make a search for life work their first priority, young women have expected to be content with and adjust to a sense of identity bootlegged from their sex role. The message has been: you are who you marry.2 The importance of marriage for women cannot be over- emphasized. Washbourn found that the marriage role and the 1Gail Sheehy, Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life (New York: Dutton, 1976), p. 206. 21bid., p. 65. 4 sex trait identities connected with it are, for many women, ". . . the achievement, a career in itself, the foundation 1 This situation, of their personal and social identity." however, need not imply a lack of fulfillment in the lives of married women. Lipman-Blumen found many women who were in traditional marriage roles experiencing great fulfillment.2 And Tripp, having studied non-traditional marriages, concluded that while many such marriages are different from traditional ones they can be fulfilling: It may look similar to the old marriage from the outside; but new attitudes and a mature sense of self on the part of the female partner will create a very different kind of give and take between married men and women. There will be a new understanding among women that they can live with a man, not just through him. There are, of course, other sex traits: assertiveness, initiation and an active concern for one's own interest, for example. They are defined as "masculine" and traditionally expected of men while as Block observes, women are usually 4 not supported for behaviorily developing them. They may seem, to many women, related to success outside the home. 1Penelope Washbourn, Becoming Woman: The Quest for Wholeneggin thngemale Experience (New York: Harper & Row, 1977), p. 81. 2Jean Lipman-Blumen, "How Ideology Shapes Women's Lives," Scientific American 226 (1972): 39. 3Maggie Tripp, "The Free Married Woman," in-Women in the Year 2000, ed. Maggie Tripp (New York: Dell Publishing Co., I974}, p. 83. H. Jean Block, ”Conceptions of Sex Roles: Some Cross Cultural and Longitudinal Perspectives," American Psychologist 28 (June, 1974): 513. .. 5 ~~ More and more women, however, are living in the non- married state, whether through divorce or widowhood or the chosen single life style which is finding increased social support. Being single for women could mean thinking in more masculine ways about themselves, not thinking in traditional ways, i.e., androgynously. XKrantzler found productive divorce feminine ways, or perhaps :Egnking in a combination of these adjustment comes when a woman "stOps thinking in sexual and social stereotypes."l But whether a woman can develop an identity other than feminine seems to be an issue of growing personal and social importance. Many women are in fact experiencing personality change since they have been divorced, or, as Fisher says, “giving "2 And up the passive personality patterns of the past. Sheehy studied biographies of several divorced women and found many had changed their thinking about themselves. This finding led her to raise a parallel and interesting question. If divorce is a rite d§_passage, is this ritual necessary before anyone, ove all herself, will take a woman's need for expansion seriously? The Changed Women after divorce was a familiar figure to come out of these biographies, a dynamic figure.3 But forces against such sex trait shifting are many, and Washbourn found many women experiencing "unreality" after 1Mel Krantzler, Creative Divorce (New York: New American Library, 1974), p. 146. 2Esther Fisher, Divorce: The New Freedom (New York: Harper and Row, 1974), p. 122. 3Sheehy, Passages, p. 145. 6 divorce, some "not feeling like women."1 Krantzler reports many women returning quickly to the married state. And the inner conflict can be great. If you as a woman decide that it is time to think about your future needs, your feelings, your future, it will be unforgivable to many who ink that it is a woman's job to put others first. For women, being single is no guarantee of psychological health or thinking more wholistically about oneself. But the experience of divorce and other social change have caused many women to raise questions about themselves. What then might the American woman become? Who can she be? Who will she become? We might be- come whatever we want 0 become or have the wisdom and courage to become. It was a general hypothesis of this study that for many divorced women this potential new becoming would be reflected in the substitution of more masculine for more feminine traits in their personalities or adding masculine to feminine traits in the newly recognized pattern of androgyny. Says Bem: I f In modern society like ours, an adult has to be ET) assertive, independent and self reliant, but traditional femininity makes many women unable to behave in these ways . . . and traditional masculinity keeps men from responding in sup- posedly feminine ways. Androgyny, in contrast, 1Washbourn, Becoming Woman, p. 68. 2Women in Transition, Inc., A Feminist Handbook on Separation and Divorce (New York: Scribner's, 1975), P. 21. 3Page 35. 7 allows an individual to be both independent and tender, assertive and yielding, masculine and feminine . . . itlexpands the range of behaviours open to everyone. Concerns about sex role emerge here as well as those about sex traits. If sex traits, from historically conditioned patterns, are shifting among divorced women compared with married women, and perhaps among all women, perceptions about the roles of women might also be changing. Bumpass found two clusters of normative sex role emerging among American women -- the traditional and the liberal.2 The traditional reflects a subordinate role of the woman with respect to her husband, family and perhaps other elements of society. The liberal reflects a more egalitarian role of the woman with her family, husband and other elements of society. Rose, while noting changes in society in a liberal direction still deplores that there has been no significant increase in numbers of women who contribute to the intellectual life of society and asserts that there will be few who do . . . unless women's attitudes toward their role in society are changed and their behaviour matches their attitudes . . . and as long as they adhere to traditional attitudes and actions regarding their role in the world.3 1Sandra Bem, "The Measurement of Psychological Androgyny," Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42 (1974): p. 156. 2Karen Mason and Larry Bumpass, "U.S. Woman's Sex Role Ideology," The American Journal of Sociology 80 (March, 1975): p. 1217. 3Clare Rose, "Woman's Sex Role Attitudes: A Historical Perspective," New Directions for Higher Education 11 (Autumn, 1975): 27. 8 Perhaps divorce, too, will have an effect on the tradi- tional identity of women who were taught to think of themselves (rolewise) as the ”second sex." In sum, the sex traits traditionally reinforced and approved in women and labeled as "feminine" have been associ- ated with marriage and preparing for the marriage role. These sex traits have also been linked with a strong belief within society that women should assume a subordinate role to the male and male activities. And for many women this expectation has become normative and habitual. With the feminist movement and the rapidly increasing numbers of women becoming or remaining single, radical changes in sex traits and sex roles among women appear to be taking place. This inquiry has been addressed to this major issue plus some lesser but nonetheless important and related concerns . Some Questions Four major questions were posed to focus attention upon the general issues. Seventeen specific hypotheses expanded the four general questions. They are presented in Chapters II and III. The four areas studied were: relationships between sex trait self-description and marital status; sex trait self- description and marital status in relation to several demo- graphic items descriptive of the sample: sex trait self- description in relation to factors unique to each marital status; and, finally, sex trait self-description and 9 marital status in relation to three sex role perceptions of interest to women today. The questions were: I. Might marital status in women, either divorced or once married, be significantly related to their expressed sex trait identities defined as feminine, masculine or androgynous? II. Might marital status and sex trait self-description be significantly related to education, age, number of children, employment status and employment satisfaction? III. (a) Might sex trait self-description (feminine, masculine or androgynous) of divorced women be significantly related to time since the divorce, divorce adjustment, divorce initiation and custody of children? (b) Might sex trait self-description (feminine, masculine or androgynous) of once married women be significantly related to time since marriage and sense of fulfillment in marriage? IV. Might marital status and sex trait self- description be significantly related to egalitarian attitudes, to ratings of the apprOpriateness of singleness, or to ratings of the importance of marriage? Data for investigating these questions were obtained from a group of women, approximately half of whom were divorced and half married. Primary attention was given to data pro- vided by divorced and once married women whose sex trait self- descriptions were feminine, masculine or androgynous. Secondary attention was given, at several points, to two peripheral groups, those who had been divorced and remarried and those in an undifferentiated sex trait grouping, a group rating themselves low in both feminine and masculine sex traits. 10 We had a major interest in the divorced women, their sex trait self-descriptions and their role perceptions in comparison with those of once married women. The integrated and less traditional sex trait of androgyny and its emergence among marital groups, especially divorced women, was of particular interest also. Procedures Methodologically, the study was begun by inviting women who were believed to be interested in the issues raised by the study to participate. They were given a questionnaire requesting information necessary to answer the four general questions raised above. Data on marital status, sex trait self-description, demographic factors and attitudes related to the roles of women were collected. The sex trait self-description classifications were determined by incorporating the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), as discussed fully in Chapter II in the questionnaire. Demographic data were collected in simple question/answer form and attitudinal information was collected on one-item scales, except for the egalitarian issue which involved a nine-item Egalitarian Scale, as discussed in Chapter III. Seventeen hypotheses were formulated to give precise research focus to each item under study. Relationships among data were visually inspected as to patterns, differences and consistencies in terms of the study's goals, most were ll subjected to statistical analysis and tests of significance. The probability level was set at .05 or better. The chi square, analysis of variance and several Egg; hgg tests were used to do the statistical analyses and tests. Data were distributed in numbers and percents, and tables were developed for all analyzed data and relationships. Importance of the Study Of particular concern to the adult educator are those personality elements which either facilitate or block change among adults, that help them or hinder them in setting life goals. Sex trait self-description is an important element in such a dynamic, and this study has been intended as a contribution to our understanding of it. More generally, it is believed that the study sheds light on the nature versus nurture question, whether sex traits are learned or imbedded in the nature of the person. Data revealing variance in sex traits are not consistent with an assumed "natural" identification of women with the feminine modality. Findings of differences in sex trait self-description and perceptions related to sex role by marital status have implications for curricula in continuing education for women. The notion of androgyny, clearly expressed in the find- ings, implies a model for the continuing educator in his or her search for concepts of health and directions for growth for women, and possibly for men. 12 The study also adds to the research literature of divorced and single women, both important in this time. Wylie, like a number of others, has been concerned because much self-concept research is limited by not enough attention to sub-groups or other more particularized ways of 1 This examining the phenomenological side to the self. research, exploring the self-concept through sex trait typologies in women, affirms the validity of the concerns she expressed and adds to data on the self-concept of several sub-groups. In sum, in a time of great social change with its special implications for women, research adding to the general area of woman's self-concepts and factors related to them can be of value. To be sure, research about women is not the neg- lected area Carlson2 once found it to be, but as Sullerot3 suggests, in a most global sense ". . . women are essential to the solution of the world's great political problems -- overp0pulation, starvation, underdevelopment and illiteracy." And what does or does not contribute to development of their assertiveness, or the best condition for its balance with their feminine side, is of great importance. 1Ruth C. wylie, The Self Conce t (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1961), p. 742. 2Robert Carlson, "Where is the Person in Personality Research?" Psychological Bulletin 37 (1971b): 206. 3Evelyne Sullerot, Women, Society and Change (New York: McGraw—Hill Co., 1971), P. 248. 13 Definition of Terms Marital Status - Classification of present marital status. Divorced - having been married once before, then divorced and not remarried. Once Married - never having been divorced and pre- sently living with husband. Remarried - having once been divorced and now re- married and living with second husband. Sex Trait Self-Description - The set of gender related characteristics one includes in a description of oneself and presumably a valid indicator of one's self-concept. In this study, any one of a set of categories (feminine, masculine, androgynous) into which a respondent was placed on the basis of responses to scales of the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Feminine - having a cluster of sex traits usually associated with women. Traits identified as passive, deferential, expressive, emotional, primary concern for others. In this study, subjects whose scores on the Bem Sex Role Inventory were at or above Bem's mean on the feminine scale and below Bem's mean on the masculine scale. Masculine - having a cluster of sex traits usually associated with men. Traits emphasizing the assertive qualities and an active concern for self, the rational and the decisive. In this study, subjects whose scores on the Bem Sex Role Inventory were at or above l4 Bem's mean on the masculine scale and below Bem's mean on the feminine scale. Androgynogs - having characteristics of traits ex- pected for both males and females; having relatively high amounts of femininity and masculinity. In this study, subjects whose scores on the Bem Sex Role Inventory were at or above Bem's means on both the feminine and masculine scales. Undifferentiated - having relatively low levels of relevant distinguishing sex traits. In this study, subjects whose scores on the Bem Sex Role Inventory were below Bem's means on both feminine and masculine scales. Educational Level - Level of formal schooling achieved by respondents; having completed the baccalaureate degree or done work toward it, having done one or more years work toward an advanced degree, having a master's degree in some area or having a doctorate. Age - Chronological age in years. Number of Children - Number of children either borne or adopted by the respondents. Employment Status - Degree of employment indicated by respondents - full time, part time, not employed outside the home or full time student. 15 Employment Satisfaction - Self-assessed level of satis- faction with present full or part time employment, using a single item five point scale. Period of Time Since the Divorce - Length of time, in months and years, since the decree of divorce. Divorce Adjustment - Self-assessment, on a single item scale of five points, of how well a divorced respondent sees herself as having adjusted to the divorce. Divorce Initiation - Self-report by each divorced respon- dent as to which spouse had originally suggested or wanted the divorce, or if both had wanted it. Custody of Children - Which spouse has present legal custody of any children from the marriage. Period of Time Since the Marriage - Length of time, in months and years, since the present marriage. Fulfillment in Marriage - Self-assessment by each married respondent, using a single item five point scale, of her sense of fulfillment in her present marriage. Egalitarian Attitudes - Believing in or practicing equality, neither subordinate nor superordinate in relation- ships, particularly with males. Concerned, in this study, with self-reported beliefs of respondents, using a nine item five point scale, about relationships between women and men, in family, employment and other social situations. 16 Appropriateness of Singleness - Perceived rightness of being unmarried as a life style or status for an adult. Respondents' ratings, on a five point scale, of the appropri- ateness for a woman being single as compared with being married. Importance of Marriage - Perceived necessity and/or rightness of the married state for an adult today. Respon- dents' ratings, on a single item five point scale, of the importance of a woman being married contrasted with being not married. Woman's Role - A proscribed or normatively expected set of behaviors of a woman. A culturally expected "should" relating to female adult behavior. Assumptions of the Study Several assumptions were made in selecting, designing and conducting the study. 1. It is important for adult educators in schools, churches and other institutions to understand the relation- ships between self-concept and changes in status and role among adults. 2. A current and important case of such relationships is based in the rapidly changing status and roles of women, including changes in social norms relating to marriage and divorce. 3. An appropriate group within which to study relation- ships between sex trait self—description and changes in status l7 and roles of women would be a sample including approximately equal numbers of divorced and once married women selected from a population of middle class, well educated women known to be at least moderately concerned about their changing status and roles. 4. Sex trait self-description is an important component of self-concept. 5. Sex traits are learned. They are not psychobiological; it is not necessarily natural for men to be masculine in self- concept and women to be feminine. 6. Androgyny is a valuable objective for human personality growth. 7. Participants to the study would answer our questions as truthfully as they know how. 8. This was a preliminary study. Limitations of the Study The study was limited by its EQEE.E2£ design. The study, being perceptually oriented, presented no information on actual behavior of respondents. There is no assurance that the perceptions reported by a respondent are truly representative of her behavior. The inquiry was cross-sectional, examining the perceptions of respondents at a particular time and place. Data were not collected from respondents over an extended period of time and in differing circumstances; thus, no information was 18 available on the sex trait self-descriptions of married women before their marriages or of divorced women before their divorces. We cannot know if the findings would remain the same over time. The sample itself, as we have suggested, limited the study and generalizations from it. It was selected for the purpose of studying interaction between one component of self-concept, sex trait self-description, and marital status and between these two factors and changes in role and status of women. It was not selected as representative of any other group or any other population. It consists of highly educated women of one university city. Other samples or other pepula- tions within American society might yield very different results. Summary and Overview of the Study This chapter has given a general overview and framework for the study, including a discussion of theory background, questions raised, research procedures, the study's importance, definitions of terms, assumptions underlying the project and limitations of the study. Chapter II presents a review of literature concerned with the themes of the study as well as a presentation of each hypothesis and the previous research which gave rise to it. Chapter III is devoted to methodology of the inquiry, outlining step by step the procedures developed to answer 19 the questions raised for study. It includes discussion of the statistical procedures employed in the analyses and tests of significance. Chapter IV contains a detailed description of the sample in terms of each of the selected factors, and analysis of the data. It includes detailed discussion of each of the findings. Appropriate tables are presented. Chapter V provides a summary of the study, present con- clusions and implications based on our findings, and closes with a postscript from the investigator. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE Sex Traits and Society This study examined sex trait self-description and judg- ments regarding sex roles within a sample of divorced and once married women. Its focus is suggested by the importance which American society attributes to sex traits. Says Chafe: Together with race and class, sex serves as one of the basic points around which American society is organized. Whether we are born female or male shapes our lives fundamentally. It has been made to determine the emotions we are taught to culti- vate, the personality traits we develop, our vocational inclinations, the goals we aspire to, the way we relate to our peers and authority, the responsibility we expect to assume in the world, and above all our individual identities. As Holter and others have noted, cultural forces in America and other Western countries tend to influence women and men into one of two fundamental gender modalities - feminine or masculine.2 Ruether thinks these two emphases 1William H. Chafe, Women and Equality: Changing Patterns in American Culture (London: Oxford University Press, 1977), p. vii. 2Harriet Holter, Sex Roles and Social Structure (Oslo: University-Forlaget, 1970), p. 276. 20 21 are reflective of a culturally based polarization of work and home, male and female in Western society.1 Bakan's study of these two identities labeled the feminine traits as communial, reflecting passive, responding, pleasing yielding qualities, and the masculine traits as agentic, reflecting assertive, active, decisive, initiating qualities.2 Parsons and Bales have made a similar distinction between the masculine qualities they labeled as "instrumental" and the 3 The former, they feminine traits they called "expressive." say, emphasized "getting the job done," while the latter indicated an active concern for the welfare of others. Interesting and supportive documentation of these qualities, though not conceptualized in gender terminology, 4 He has postu- is found in the work of the sociologist Moss. lated two general personality types, the "identified," roughly comparable to the feminine, and the "autonomous," similar to the masculine. The identified person associates closely within organizations, abides by existing norms of behavior, 1Rosemary Ruether, New Woman, New Earth (New York: Seabury Press, 1975), P. 20. 2David Bakan, The Duality of Human Existence (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1966), P. 36. 3Talcott Parsons and Robert Bales, Family Socialization and Interaction (New York: Free Press, 1955), P. 10. 4George Moss, Illness, Immunity, and Social Interaction (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1973), p. 235. 22 attaches himself or herself to groups or individuals for strength. Such a person prefers to avoid risks and has a high need for security. Dependence is more a life style for such a one. The autonomous person, on the other hand, moves toward independence and self-sufficiency, tends to develop his or her own codes for behavior, does not see others as basic to her or his own safety. He or she has a greater tolerance for high risks. Moss makes no claims that either personality type is more likely to be found in males or in females. Block has found that the feminine qualities, however, continue to be attributed mainly to women and the masculine still mainly to men.1 She also found women identifying even more narrowly with the feminine traits later in their lives, while men tended to widen their gender identity in later years. But trait changes in either men or women are not easily 3 remain pessimistic with regard made, and Cogswell2 and Chafe to American society incorporating much change into its sex trait expectations for men and women. 1J. Sean Block and Anna Block, "Sex Roles and Socializa- tion Patterns: Some Personality Concomitants," Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 41 (1973): 32f. 2Betty Cogswell, "Variant Family Forms and Life Styles: Rejection of the Traditional Family," Family Coordinator (October, 1975): 396. 3 Chafe, Women and Equality, p. 46. 23 Recent thinking and research about sex trait development, however, has emphasized a third modality involving combinations of the traditional feminine and masculine patterns. Such a classification is usually referred to as "androgyny," and 2 have discussed the quality as a both Loevingerl and Jung component or expression of a mature adult personality. Jung saw maturity as a process of "individuation" with a gradual and increasing integration of femininity (anima) with masculinity (animus);3 Bem, whose recent research has influenced this study, writes: The concept of psychological androgyny implies that it is possible for an individual to be both feminine and masculine, both instrumental and expressive, depending on the situational appropriateness of these modalities. But Bem found little research employing the concept of androgyny, possibly because of the general assumption that the two traditional gender identities (feminine and masculine) are adequately discriminating.S 1Joan Loevinger, Measuring Ego Development, Vol. I: (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1975), P. 40. 2Carl Jung, Two Essays on Analytical Psychology (New York: Meridian Books, 1956), p. 121. 31bid., p. 182. 4Sandra Bem and Wendy Martyna, "Sex Typing and Androgyny: Further Explorations of the Expressive Domain," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 34 (1976): 1016. 5Sandra Bem, "The Measurement of Psychological Androgyny," Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 31 (1974): 155. 24 Sex Traits and Women Hartley defined America as a "culture of masculinity" with high status given to the expression of the masculine traits and low status to the expression of the feminine 1 traits. Block found the masculine traits to be discouraged in the psychological development of women, while the feminine traits were greatly reinforced.2 Freud set an historic normative ideology for women by his notion of "penis envy" and his persistent belief that, for women, "anatomy was destiny," at least in terms of the subordinate role he be- 3 But Rose thinks: lieved they were destined to play to men. Long before Freud, men such as Aristotle, Schopenhaur, Nietzsche, St. Paul and St. Thomas defined with the most astonishing arrogance the nature of femininity and mas- culinity, definitions which in many respects persist to this day.4 And Adler called the submission to inferiority "feminine" 5 and the resistance to it "masculine." In a study of clinical lRuth Hartley, "Children's Conceptions of Male-Female Roles," Merrill-Palmer Quarterly 6 (January, 1960): 85. 2Block, "Conceptions of Sex Roles," p. 515. 3Sigmund Freud, Gesammelte Werke 18 vols. (London: Imago, 1940-1952), 311-317. 4 Rose, "Women's Sex Role Attitudes," p. 122. 5Alfred Adler, Understanding Human Nature (New York: Greenberg, 1927), p. 37. 25 psychologists and their attitudes toward what was mental health, Broverman found that a significant number saw the masculine traits as healthy and the feminine traits as un- healthy.1 Thus, research suggests that many women are discouraged from becoming more masculine and encouraged to accept the defined identity of femininity in a society where it is de- valued. Bem called this all-too-pervasive attitude an unconscious ideology, influencing both men and women, but in particular having a negative effect on women.2 It harms, thinks Bem, ". . . the nature of the female sex which constricts the emerging self-image of the female child and her aspirations from the very beginning of her life."3 Kohlberg found girls six years of age thinking that men were the persons with the real power in society;4 McClelland 1Inge K. Broverman, "Sex Role Stereotypes and Clinical Judgements of Mental Health," Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 34 (February, 1970): 5. 2Sandra Bem and Daryl Bem, "Case Study of a Non Conscious Ideology: Training the Woman to Know Her Place," In. D. J. Bem, Beliefs, Attitudes and Human Affairs (Belmont, California: Brooks-Cole, 1970), PP. 89-99. 3 Ibid., p. 92. 4Lawerence A. Kohlberg, "A Cognitive Development Analysis of Children's Sex Role Concepts and Attitudes," in The Develop- ment of Sex Differences (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1966), p. 543. 26 found adult women defining themselves almost solely by their relationships to men and called for a new self-image for women.1 Gilligan found women experiencing conflict between the traditional feminine ideology and the dynamics of their relationship with others: The conflict between the self and others consti- tutes the central moral problem for women; it poses a dilemma whose resolution requires a reconciliation between femininity and adulthood. The "good" woman masks assertion in evasion, denying responsibility byzclaiming only to meet the needs of others. Gilligan assumed adulthood to involve a self-image that in- 3 Washbourn, cludes concern for self as well as for others. too, found passivity in women related to the "myth," self- imposed, that they are inherently more self-giving than men.4 Horner found that the traditional identity in women was related to high anxiety in the pursuit of social and employment success. This she presumed was because ". . . women View femininity and achievement as two desirable but mutually I 5 C exclu31ve ends." Peplau found Similar fears in women who 1David C. McClelland, "Wanted: A New Self Image for Women," In Robert J. Lifton (Ed),The Woman in America (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1965), P. 178. 2Carol Gilligan, "In A Different Voice: Woman's Con- ception of the Self and Morality," Harvard Educational Review 47 (November, 1977): 490-1. 3 Ibid., p. 481. 4Washbourn, Becoming Woman, p. 61. 5Matina Horner, "Fail: Bright Woman," Psychology Today 3 (1969): 38. 27 identified themselves as traditional with regard to their attitudes toward sex role.1 In sum, the conforming and passive emphasis of the traditional sex traits affirmed by many women as the way they are supposed to act is still seen as fundamental to understanding the psychology of women. Feminine Sex Traits and The Traditional Roles of Women The secondary status accorded the feminine traits and their major application to women is thought by Bart to be strongly associated with roles played by women in society, 2 Says Rose, "For a woman, marriage being the most central. marriage has always been regarded as the vocation in her life, the goal and end all of her existence."3 And Golding'8 characterization of the bride in his novel Freefall is indica- tive of the traditional marriage role: "She was beginning to look up, to belong, to cling, to be an inferior. She was adjusting herself to a conceived place in her life."4 1Letitia A. Peplau, "Impact of Fear of Success and Sex Role Attitudes on Women's Competitive Achievement," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 34 (1976): 567. 2Pauline B. Bart, "Depression in Middle Age WOmen," in Women in Sexist Society: A Study ingower and Powerlessness, Ed. V. Gornick (New York: Signet, 1972), p. 106. 3Rose, "WOman's Sex Role Attitudes," p. 15. 4William Golding, Freefall (New York: Harcourt Brace, Inc., 1959), P. 119. 28 Some research gives strong support to the dependent self- image of the American woman as wife. Horney found many married women clients depending upon their husbands to live out their own personal dreams and thus experience them vicariously.l Acker found many women looking to marriage for upward mobility 2 and using it to achieve this goal. O'Brien saw the American woman as "identified by whom she marries."3 Kanowitz found, in a study of family law, that for many women, their legal existence is suspended when they are married.4 Thus, for many women, the cruciality of marriage stems from deep cultural influences and the fact that their personal identity is so fundamentally linked to the feminine modality. But other issues besides marriage are also noted. In employment situations, Gaffga found many women willing to accept less pay than men for similar work since girls are taught to devalue work.5 lKaren Horney, Feminine Psychology (New York: W.W. Norton, 1967), p. 205. 2Joan Acker, "Women and Social Stratification," in Changing Women in Changing Societ , Ed. Jean Huber (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973 , p. 181. 3Pat O'Brien, The Woman Alone (New York: Quadrangle Books, 1973), p. 200. 4Leo Kanowitz, Women and the Law:_:ghe Unfinished Revolution (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1969), p. 75. 5Ruth H. Gaffga, "Employment of Women and Their Educa- tion," Adult Leadership 25 (September, 1976): l3, 14, 23. 29 Bernard found that college women who were identified as traditional argued less for their point of view in classrooms, did not want employment responsibilities labeled as "adminis- trative" and wanted larger families.l Scanzoni found women that he identified as expressive had more children than women he identified as instrumental.2 Psychologically, Porterguimp found women who identified with a traditional role perception had less ego strength, as measured on the Barron Scale, than women who identified with 3 and Young found depression a more liberal perspective; associated with women who had traditional attitudes toward the woman's role.4 Corbett found women with a liberal sex role orientation to score more masculine on a sex trait self- description scale and traditional women to score more feminine.5 Fox found young women who saw themselves as more traditional to be less responsible in their use of contraceptives in lJessie Bernard, WbmenLWives, and Mothers: Values and Options (Chicago: Aldine Publishing Co., 1975), P. 49. 2John Scanzoni, Sex Roles, Life Styles and Childbearing (New York: The Free Press, 1975), pp. 30-40. 3Janice Porterguimp, "Sex Role Attitudes and Psychological Well Being," Journal of Social Issues 28 (1972): 91. 4Kathryn A. Young, "Sex Role Acceptance and Depression in Middle Aged Women" (PhD Dissertation, The Florida State University, 1975), p. 20. 5Carolyn C. Corbett,"Effects of Sex Role Conventionality on Sex-Typed Characteristics and Personal Functioning" (PhD Dissertation, Fordham University, 1974), p. 46. 30 unmarried sexual relationships, and more dependent on males for their use, than young women who took a more liberal 1 position on women's roles. Bem in a variety of experiments has continued to find the "feminine woman the most restricted in her behaviour."2 In sum, the dependency and deference embedded in the feminine trait clusters seem to be associated with traditional attitudes toward the woman's roles, attitudes that, as Rose says, are still ". . . equated with passivity, docility and the status of second class citizens."3 Sex Traits, Sex Roles and the New Consciousness in Women Goode reported a change in the self-consciousness of 4 Other commentators women from "familism to individualism." on social change have observed shifts in sex trait self- description and social role perceptions among American women. Roszak reported many women moving in masculine directions by taking charge of their lives, moving more self-consciously.5 Harris found changes in self-perceptions among younger (under 30) 1Greer Fox, "Sex Role Attitudes as Predictors of Con- traceptive Use Among Unmarried Students," Sex Roles, A Journal of Research 3 (June, 1977): 260. 2Bem and Martyna, "Sex Typing and Androgyny," p. 1019. 3 4William J. Goode, The Family (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1964), p. 64. SBetty Rozak, ed., Readings in Sexual Mythology (New York: Harper Brothers, 1969), P. 303. Rose, "Woman's Sex Role Attitudes," pp. 3-4. 31 and divorced women toward higher estimates of the importance of their roles and status in society.1 Sargent reported the emergence of a new woman in society who is ". . . more direct, living less vicariously, less nurturant, less deferential and more self-centered."2 There is evidence that women have begun to move toward developing the assertive side to their personality. And in forming relationships with men, women seem less bound up by the traditional identity conceptualized for them by Erickson: "A young woman should be defined by her attractiveness and in the selectivity of her search for the man by whom she wishes to be sought."3 Singleness, also, as a life style is becoming more favored by many women. Ferris has noted increasing frequency of A decisions among younger women to remain single;4 and GliCk reports that the remarriage rate among divorced women has fallen rapidly in the last decade.5 These data seem to indicate that many women are choosing not to remarry or marry; 1Louis Harris and Associates, Inc., Virginia Slims American Woman's Opinion Poll, p. 3. 2Alice G. Sargent, Beyond Sex Roles, (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1977), p. 16. 3Eric Erickson, "Reflections on Womanhood," in R. J. Lifton, The Woman in America, p. 19. 4Abbott L. Ferriss, Indicators of fiTrends in the Status of American Women, (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1971), p. 60. 5Paul C. Glick, "Perspectives on the Recent Upturn in Divorce and Remarriage," Demography_10 (August, 1973): 301. 32 In other words, evidence indicates that anatomy is not destiny for many women today. Several factors, independently or in interaction, may be involved. Education might be related to these trends. VanDusen found, between 1970 and 1974, a 102% increase in college enrollment among women between the ages of 25 and "1 But an impor- 34 which, to her, is a "remarkable trend. tant factor is the rise in the number of divorced women. Ross found the number of families headed by women growing faster than those headed by men;2 and Bequaert reports that there are many more divorced women in the United States than are reported in official records, mainly because some states keep no records of divorced persons.3 Fisher thinks the divorced woman's impact on non-divorced women has been greater than assumed.4 Donelson thinks the increasing number of unmarried women is related more to a positive view of singleness than a negative view of marriage. 1Roxann A. VanDusen, "The Changing Status of American Women: A Life Cycle Perspective," American Psychologist 31 (February, 1976): 106. 2Heather L. Ross, Time of Transition: The Growth of Families Headed by Women (Washington, D. C.: The Urban Institute, 1975), p. xi. 3Lucia H. Bequaert, Single Women, Alone and Together (Boston: Beacon Press, 1976), p. xi. 4Esther 0. Fisher, Divorce: The New Freedom (New York: Harper Brothers, 1974), p. 11. 5Elaine Donelson and Jeanne Gullahorn, Women: A EEYQEQLQEEEEloPerspective (New York: John Wiley and Sons, -. 1977), p0 2310 33 Sex Trait, Sex Roles and the Divorced Woman Central to this study are the sex trait self-descriptions and sex role perceptions of divorced women compared with those of once married women. Divorced women who remain single for any length of time might have to call into question the passive sex trait and role orientations of their past. Psychology of divorce adjustment among women suggests that more masculine traits should be developed within their personalities: autonomy, independence, self-actualization with the result being a shift in self-image from feminine toward masculine or androgynous. Says the divorce counselor Krantzler about a particular female client: Until she can put together an image of herself as a single person, she will go on viewing events (and herself) from the vantage point of the marr1ed woman. This inquiry raises questions about the sex trait modality of divorced women. Is it changing compared with once married women? Are divorced women adding the masculine traits to their personalities? Are they diminishing the feminine traits? Are they combining both into a new identity? Slack found divorced women finding new strengths since their divorces, skills beyond those needed for wife and mother roles.2 Many women, no doubt, gain new self-understanding lKrantzler, Creative Divorce, p. 78. 2Sam L. Slack, "Clergy Divorce," The Christian Ministry 10 (January, 1979): 23. 34 when experiencing a divorce. Might some of the new attitudes result in changes in the perceptions of marriage and singleness, more egalitarian views than among once married women? In sum, women who have experienced divorce may, because of their new social and psychological setting, find it neces- sary or possible to examine and revise gender modalities in- herited from the past. On the other hand, as suggested, so many women of all marital statuses are in social and psychological transition today that perhaps few will describe themselves in terms of the traditional feminine modality or traditional role perceptions. Research on Sex Trait and Sex Role Sex trait and sex roles are often blended in research. While obvious natural associations exist between the two con- cepts, enough differences exist to make it important to distinguish between them when conducting research when the two are involved. For this study at least, sex traits are the qualities with respect to gender that persons think them- selves to possess. Sex roles are behaviors persons think appropriate to act out on the basis of their being female or male. Roles reflect what people do or think they should do. Traits reflect what people are or think they should be. Both are learned identities and preferences and are not assumed to be embedded in human nature. 35 Sex Trait Research Research on sex traits has been dominated by the duality of gender. Most research on traits has made the assumptions as discussed above and, to a greater or lesser degree, has expected men to exhibit the masculine traits and the women the feminine, or respondents to be either masculine o; feminine regardless of natural gender. Says Tavris: Virtually every test of masculinity/femininity assumes a continuum of characteristics, where very aggressive is masculine and not-at-all aggressive is feminine. Constantinople reviewed several instruments long used in sex trait research: Terman and Miles; Strong's M/F Scale of the Vocational Interest Blank: M/F Scale of the Minnesota Multi- phasic Personality Inventory; Gough's Femininity Scale: Guilford's Masculinity Scale; and others.2 She concluded that few if any of these instruments were adequate to test the "multidimensionality" of the sex trait constructs because of their bipolar emphasis along with certain biopsychological assumptions that women are inherently feminine and men inher- 3 Little concern was given to the notion ently masculine. that a person could be either masculine or feminine and/or both at the same time, i.e., androgynous. 1Carol Tavris, "Stereotypes, Socialization, and Sexism" in Beyond Sex Roles, ed. Alice Sargent (St. Paul Minn.: West Publishing House, 1977), p. 178. 2Anne Constantinople, "Masculinity-Femininity: An Exception toga Famous Dictum?" Psychological Bulletin 80 (1973): 392-397: 31bid., p. 400. 36 Thus, instrumentation was needed for this study that could address the interest in androgyny. We investigated more recent instruments assessing sex traits and chose to use the Bem Sex Role Inventory, an instrument which assessed the feminine, masculine and androgynous traits persons believed themselves to possess and which they express in their self— descriptions. The Bem Sex Role Inventoryl Sandra Bem designed an instrument that allowed sex trait self-description of any person, male or female, to vary independently on both feminine and masculine scales.2 For this study we used the Bem instrument to measure sex traits rather than sex roles. Using a pool of culturally accepted traits defining masculinity and femininity, and applied generally to both men and women, Bem established two twenty item scales reflect- ing the gender duality and one scale she termed "neutral" not used in the present research. Each scale measures the degree (from one to seven) or intensity each respondent thinks himself or herself to possess of each trait, and a masculine and feminine score is thus given. Persons who describe themselves as relatively high in both masculine and feminine traits are considered androgynous. lSee Appendices. 2Bem, "Measurement of Psychological Androgyny," p. 156. 37 The content of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) is generally comparable to many of the instruments surveyed. Feminine labeled traits reflect items such as "gentle," "soft spoken," "helpful," and "yielding." Masculine traits include I'aggressive," "strong," "decisive," "self-reliant," and so on. Bem's item-selection process employed forty college men and women, some from junior colleges, as judges to rate the desirability in American society of a list of over 400 characteristics. A particular trait was included if it was rated by the forty to be a significantly (at the .05 level) more desirable trait for a man or for a woman.1 Bem reported good internal consistency in the instrument, good test-retest reliability, and very low correlations between the masculine and feminine scores. However, the BRSI must still be thought of as being in the experimental stage. From the process as employed by Bem each respondent to the instrument is placed into one of four classifications: feminine, masculine, androgynous or a fourth, more problem- atical one, called undifferentiated. In her early applications of the BSRI, Bem defined androgyny as the difference score between the masculine and feminine trait self-assessments. Thus, a totally androgynous person should have a zero score, 11bid., p. 157. 21bid., p. 155. 38 indicating no difference between the feminine and masculine ratings. But other researchers using the BSRI began to raise questions concerning this scoring approach. The major concern of the critics was that persons could be androgynous on the basis of the differences between their masculine and feminine scores, but could still differ greatly on how strongly or weakly they had rated themselves on the two gender trait clusters. Thus, a person could have high masculine and feminine scores and be considered androgynous or low masculine and feminine scores and be considered androgynous. Could there be high and low androgyny? This issue became important on the basis of other measures of self-assessment. Spence, using the BSRI in self-concept research, found that persons with high levels of masculine and feminine traits indicated higher levels of self-esteem, compared with persons with relatively low levels of the masculine and feminine 1 In other words, persons assessing themselves low traits. in both gender identities could be reflecting elements relat- ing to their value as persons. Spence, therefore, suggested to Bem that the androgynous classification be reserved for respondents rating themselves relatively high in both masculine and feminine traits.2 1Janet Spence and Jean Stapp, "Ratings of Self and Peers on Sex Role Attributes and Their Relations to Self Esteem and Conceptions of Masculinity and Femininity," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 32 (1975): 38. 2Ibid. 39 Bem now uses this suggested procedure although she sug- gests to researchers that they use the older method in com- parison with the four-fold classification. She points out that low scorers in both genders still do not express a sex typed classification, i.e., either feminine or masculine.l The recent classification procedure thus includes an "undifferentiated" category for those who score low in both genders. To establish what are high and what are low scores. on the masculine and feminine scales, Bem suggests using the median scores for a particular sample used by a researcher 95 her own medians from her own 1975 sample and setting up a four-fold classification of all respondents as indicated below in Table 1.2 TABLE 1 SEX TRAIT SELF-DESCRIPTION CATEGORIES GENERATED BY SCORES ON THE BEM SEX ROLE INVENTORY MASCULINITY SCORE Above Median Below Median Above Median Androgynous Feminine FEMININITY Below SCORE Median Masculine Undifferentiated 1Sandra Bem and Ellen Lenney, "Sex Typing and Avoidance of Cross Sex Behaviour," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 33 (1976): 49. 2Sandra Bem, "On the Utility of Alternative Procedures for Assessing Psychological Androgyny," Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 45 (1977): 203. 40 with the changes suggested by Spence and others in scoring the BSRI can be a valuable instrument in furthering sex trait research. The BSRI represents an attempt to give a picture of the clusters or blendings of sex traits persons see themselves to possess by operationalizing the independent variance of the two gender modalities. The BSRI can be particularly helpful in research on women who, while reinforced for being feminine in our culture, also possess masculine traits. The instrument has a moderately good face validity, is simple to administer, and can be easily scored by computer.1 The BSRI is, of course, still an experimental instrument. In using the median scores to categorize respondents, Jones found it to make almost too-fine distinctions between sex 2 trait categories. And Gaudreau raised some questions about the use of some of the trait items.3 Because of its principal use and original validation among college samples some raise questions about its validity among older respondents. Also, masculine and feminine traits vary and change in common usage; they mean different things to different peOple in dif- ferent settings. 1Sandra Bem and Carol Watson, Scoring Packet: Bem Sex Role Inventory, mimeographed (Stanford University, California, April, 1976), p. 5. 2Warren Jones, 0. C. Chernovetz and Mary Ellen Hansson, "The Enigma of Androgyny: Differential Implications for Males and Females?" Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 46 (1978): 299. 3Patrice Gaudreau, "Factor Analysis of the Bem Sex Role Inventory," Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 45 (1977): 301. 41 At an even deeper level, the concepts of masculine and feminine have puzzled thoughtful people for decades. Assagioli discussed these issues as "principles" existing in their own right, ontologically!1 Simple social traits or characteristics sampled by Bem and others seem slight compared with the great issues of the masculine and feminine Eliade found in many human cultures.2 Sex Role Research Research on sex role as distinguished from sex trait, as suggested above, has been varied and somewhat confused. In this study we have defined sex role as what a person does or sees oneself as potentially doing within the normative values of being a male or female. Research indicates two clusters of normative role positions influencing women in the context of the family and society. One reflects the subor- dinate role, the other an equal role, of the woman in relation- ship to the man and her position within the family. Scanzoni defined the subordinate role as the "traditional" role for women and the equal role as that of "self-actualizing."3 Again, the major differences in the two roles is the tendency in the first for the woman to see her position as secondary, lRoberto Assagioli, "A Higher View of the Man-Woman Problem," Synthesis 1 (1974): 118. 2Mircea Eliade, The Two and the One (London: Harvill Press, 1962), P. 111. 3Scanzoni, Sex Roles, Lifestyles, p. 29. 42 placing the interests of her husband, family and others be- fore her own, and in the second, generally, for the woman to see her own interests as at least equal with the interests of her husband, family or others. Rossi made a similar dis- tinction and defined the traditional role as the "conforming" position and the more equal one as "deviant."1 She saw the latter, also, as indicating a low commitment to family.2 Mason and Bumpass found the same two emphases in women they studied, calling them "traditional" and "egalitarian."3 Recent sex role instruments have sampled this two-fold position, with statements presented as to a woman's role and persons asked to respond usually on a five-point "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree" scale. Most scales sample the wife/family role, reflecting the cultural bias. However, re- flecting issues which have emerged recently, some of the newer scales include attitudes toward traditionally based power structures, employment issues, socialization of children, standards of dress and other concerns. Drawing from several of these scales, we designed and used a nine item scale, called the Egalitarian Scale (Appendices A and B) with which we examined the subordinate/ equal continuum. This scale is discussed more fully in 1Alice S. Rossi, "Deviance and Conformity in the Life Goals of Women," lecture delivered at Wellesley College, 12 March, 1970, p. 6. 21bid. 3Mason and Bumpass, "U.S. Woman's Sex Role Ideology," p. 1218. 43 Chapter III. Scores on these seven role related scales were examined in relation to BSRI-derived sex trait self-descriptions among divorced and married women. Hypotheses In order to explicate with more precision the general questions raised in Chapter I and to focus more directly upon the concerns raised by the review of literature, seventeen hypotheses were formulated. The hypotheses were designed to advance research already reported by either refining it or exploring new directions implied by it. There was a general expectation that divorced women would show movement away from the traditional feminine modality and toward a more masculine one compared with once married women: there was also a major interest in the androgynous sex trait self-description and how it might be emerging among both divorced and once married women. There was also expectation that once married women would retain the traditional feminine identity when contrasted with the divorced women. Hypothesis One, phrased in the null form, stated: There will be no statistically significant relation- ship between marital status and sex trait self- description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. A second general research concern focused upon how the combination of marital status and sex trait self-description might be related to certain demographic characteristics of divorced and once married women. Some research has shown 44 positive relationships between level of formal education and degree of self-direction in women. We wanted to examine that relationship in our sample, and since we had sub-samples of divorced and once married women, we also considered the possibility that sex trait self-descriptions might be dif- ferentially related to education level within the two marital statuses. Hypothesis Two, in the null form, stated: There will be no statistically significant relation- ship between educational levels of divorced and once married women and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Another important demographic variable is the factor of age. Research from Harris and others has indicated that women under 30 are according themselves more importance, valuing their own status more highly than do older women.1 Might this translate into age-related sex trait self-description or marital status differences, particularly within the androgynous category? Respondents were distributed into ten year age spans and examined by marital status and sex trait self-description. Hypothesis Three, in the null form, stated: There will be no statistically significant relation- ship between age of divorced and once married women and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Number of children in relationship to personality char- acteristics of mothers has been studied by a few investigators. Scanzoni found that women who defined themselves as "instrumental" made decisions to have fewer children, while women who saw lHarris, "Virginia Slims American Women," p. 3. 45 themselves as "expressive" had more children.1 Yockey and others found that women who were more "self-oriented" had smaller sized families.2 Little research seems to have been done, however, on family size and androgyny, or whether the traditional feminine classification is still related to family size. We decided to examine relationships between number of children and our principal variables, marital status and sex trait self-description. Hypothesis Four, in the null form, stated: There will be no statistically significant relation- ship between number of children of divorced and once married women and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Employment status was also seen as an important variable to examine in relation to both marital status and sex trait self-description. Yockey3 found women's employment outside the home to be related to a more "self" role orientation, and Mason and Bumpass4 found it related to more egalitarian attitudes. Welch found working wives more androgynous than wives not employed outside the home.5 Feld found, as well, 1Scanzoni, Sex Roles, Life Styles. p. 29. 2Jamie M. Yockey, "A Model of Contemporary Role Change and Family Size," Sex Roles, a Journal of Research 3 (1975): 73. 31bid., p. 72. 4Mason and Bumpass, "U.S. Woman's Sex Role Ideology," p. 1217. sRenate L. Welch, "Androgyny and Derived Identity in Married Women with Varying Degrees of Non-Traditional Role Involvement," Psychology of Women Quarterly 3 (Spring, 1979): 312. 46 that women who were employed outside the home found more personal independence within themselves than women who did not work outside the home.1 Little work seems to have been done on the full range of sex trait categories and their relationship to employment, full or part time, outside the home. We expected that more divorced than married and more androgynous and masculine than feminine women would be employed either full or part time. Hypothesis Five, in the null form, stated: There will be no statistically significant relation- ship between employment status of divorced and once married women and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. The sense of employment satisfaction is a closely related variable. Gaffga and others reported women's negative atti- tudes toward work and attributed to the "myths" they had grown up with.2 A question was raised as to marital status and sex traits of women most satisfied with their employment. Might they be more frequently divorced or married? In either case might they be masculine or androgynous in contrast with their feminine counterparts? Hypothesis Six, in null form, stated: There will be no statistically significant relation- ship between the degree of employment satisfaction of divorced and once married women and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. 1Sara Feld, "Feelings of Adjustment," In F. Nye (Ed) The Employed Mother in America (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1963), p. 36. 2Gaffga, "Employment of Women," p. 23. 47 In the first and second phases of the study we compared divorced and once married women. It was further judged impor- tant to examine each status separately, taking variables uniquely related to each respondent's particular marital status and investigating the interaction of those variables with the three major sex trait classifications. Divorced women were studied first. The first item was the period of time since their decree of divorce. Goode and others found time to be related to divorce adjustment.1 We wondered if choice to remain single following divorce might be related to sex traits. Might the length of time since the divorce relate to the degree of androgynous or masculine traits expressed by respondents compared with the feminine traits? Hypothesis Seven, in the null form, stated: Among divorced women there will be no statistically significant relationship between period of time since the divorce decree and sex trait self- description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. The second item was the sense of personal adjustment 2 3 women had to being divorced. Krantzler, Fisher and others found the psychological traits of independence and autonomy to be highly associated with adjustment to divorce; Spence found positive self-regard to be related to androgyny.4 1William J. Goode, After Divorce (Glencoe Illinois: The Free Press, 1956), p. 45. 2 Krantzler, Creative Divorce, p. 136. 3Fisher, Divorce: The New Freedom, p. 122. 4Spence and Stapp, "Ratings of Self and Peers,” p. 38. 48 Might a high sense of divorce adjustment relate positively to androgyny and to the masculine category, negatively to the feminine traits expressed by themselves? Hypothesis Eight stated: Androgynous and masculine divorced women will score significantly higher on a scale measuring divorce adjustment than feminine divorced women. A basic factor in determining the impact of divorce is which spouse originiates the divorce, not just who files for the legal decree of divorce. Brown found that many women were the originators of divorce, often catching their now ex-husbands by surprise.1 But Boyland found that men usually initiated divorces.2 While this variable is too complex for in—depth inquiry here, we wondered if there might be some linkage between sex trait self-description and divorce initia- tion. Masculine women might feel more confident in initiating a divorce, more sure of themselves alone in the world. Feminine women might be too timid to suggest divorce. Androgynous women might be able to go either way. Hypothesis Nine, in null form, stated: Among divorced women, there will be no statis- tically significant relationship between divorce initiation (whether divorce was initiated by the wife alone, the husband alone, or mutually by both spouses) and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Custody of children is almost always a point of contention in the divorce process. Women have been more often than not lPrudence Brown, "Study Reports Divorces Usually Initiated by Wife," The State News 23 February, 1977, Sec. 2, p. 20. 2Brian Boyland, Infidelity (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1971), P. 48. 49 the spouses receiving custody of children. We did not expect to find many women to have allowed their ex-husbands to have custody of their children; but with the changes among women today with regard to their sex traits and roles perhaps androgynous women, or masculine women, would allow ex-husbands to have custody. While obviously a complex variable, patterns in the custody disposition, if any, among our sample might add to some understanding of the changes among women today. Hypothesis Ten, in the null form, stated: Among divorced women, there will be no statis- tically significant relationship between custody arrangements for children (whether custody of children is with the mother alone, jointly with the mother and the father, or with the father alone) and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Trait Inventory. The study of sex trait self-description classifications in relation to variables unique to once married women was focused on two such variables, the length of their marriages and their sense of personal fulfillment within them. First we asked, might women who have been married the longest be more likely to see themselves in the feminine modality? Donelson found that older persons tended to move to the other side of their personalities from what they had naturally assumed in earlier years, i.e., from feminine to masculine and vice versa.1 We also looked for androgyny among once married women. Hypothesis Eleven, in null form, stated: 1Donelson and Gullahorn, Woman: A Psychological Perspective, p. 138. 50 Among once married women, there will be no statis- tically significant relationship between length of the marriage and sex trait self—description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. The second question was that of personal fulfillment in marriage. Some research has indicated a general dissatisfaction 1 found among married women with their married state; Perutz role strain to be a factor and Bernard2 found general unhap- piness among many married women. We wondered if low sense of fulfillment might be present among women who were more balanced on sex trait, like the androgynous women. Perhaps they might experience more uneasi— ness in the married state, less need for it. Hypothesis Twelve stated: Androgynous once married women will score signi- ficantly lower on a scale measuring sense of fulfillment in marriage than feminine or masculine once married women. The final section of the study examined marital status and sex trait classification in relation to the three sex role related issues discussed above: the egalitarian atti— tudes of respondents, their sense of the appropriateness of singleness as a life style for women, and the importance of marriage as an institution for women to be in today. Five hypotheses centered the concerns. The first three examined the differences in levels of egalitarian attitudes among the various sub-groups. 1Kathrin Perutz, The Marriage Fallaoy (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1972), p. 37. 2Jessie Bernard, The Future of Marriage (New York: Bantam Books, 1973), p. 30. 51 Discussion within the literature indicates that egali- tarian attitudes are becoming more pronounced among American women than ever before, especially among younger women and divorced women, as Harris found.1 In such studies attitudes were not usually examined in relation to sex trait modalities, especially androgyny. First a general examination was made of levels of egalitarianism in all marital status and sex trait sub-groups. Hypothesis Thirteen, in null form, stated: Among divorced and once married women, there will be no statistically significant relationship be- tween ratings on a scale of egalitarian attitudes toward the woman's wife role and marital status and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. A second and more specific focus was made upon the divorced group to explore whether androgynous women might be linked more closely to the higher egalitarian scores than either masculine or feminine divorced respondents. Little research has been found on this issue. Hypothesis Fourteen stated: Androgynous divorced women will score significantly higher on a scale measuring egalitarian attitudes toward the woman's wife role than masculine or feminine divorced women. The third and specific focus involving egalitarian atti- tudes was upon the androgynous women of the sample. It compared scores of the divorced and once married androgynous women on the egalitarian scale. Jones2 and Spence3 found 1Harris, "Virginia Slims American Woman," p. 3. 2Jones et. al., "The Enigma of Androgyny," p. 303. 3Spence and Stapp, "Ratings of Self and Peers," p. 37. 52 androgynous men and women more egalitarian than their feminine or masculine counterparts on an Attitude Toward Women Scale; they did not compare marital statuses. Might divorced status be conducive to liberalizing attitudes toward the woman's role among two groups which are very similar in terms of androgynous sex trait self-description? Hypothesis Fifteen stated: Androgynous divorced women will score significantly higher on a scale measuring egalitarian attitudes toward the woman's wife role than androgynous once married women. The second sex role related question involved the ex- pressed value of singleness as an appropriate life style for 1 2 women today. Adams and Stein found much acceptance by women and men in their ratings of the appropriateness of the single state. Washbourn, on the other hand, reports many married women indicating great fear of being alone.3 Hypothesis Sixteen, in null form, stated: Among divorced and once married women, there will be no statistically significant relationship be- tween ratings of the apprOpriateness of singleness as a life style for women and sex trait self- description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. The third sex role related issue examined was the rated importance of marriage for a woman today. The research 1Margaret Adams, Blessed Singleness: Observations on the Sin le Status in Married Societ (New York: Basic Books, I976), p. 3. 2Peter J. Stein, "Singleness: An Alternative to Marriage," The Family Coordinator 24 (October, 1975): 489. 3Washbourn, Becoming Woman, p. 68. 53 mentioned above raised questions about present perceptions 1 of women toward the married state. Donelson found the mar- ried state still highly valued by most women today, although 2 found college women (compared with non-college Yankelovich women) not to value marriage as a life goal. In this inquiry we looked at the relationship between sex trait self- description and marriage importance ratings among both divorced and married women. We wondered if androgynous women would be less inclined than feminine women and pos- sibly less inclined than masculine women to value the married state. Hypothesis Seventeen stated: Androgynous divorced and once married women will score significantly lower on a scale measuring the importance of marriage in a woman's life than masculine or feminine divorced or once mar- ried women. Summation of the Chapter In Chapter II we have presented psychological and social research findings on sex traits, sex roles, and concerns hav- ing to do with divorced and married women in American society. We have summarized previous research on associations between the feminine sex traits and the traditional roles of women, both linked to the marital status of women. The premise has been that the marriage ideal dominates woman's life goals 1Donelson and Gullahorn, Woman: A Psychological Perspective, p. 233. 2Daniel Yankelovich, The New Morality: A Profile of American Youth in the 70's (New York: McGraweHill, 1974), p. 59. 54 and the trait cluster related to that role heavily emphasizes the passive and responsive gender traits. But new self-images and attitude changes are occurring among women. Research suggests that the married state no longer dominates the expectations of women, that many women are choosing not to marry, and that others singled by divorce are remaining so, often by choice. The general question was raised as to whether sex trait self-descriptions might be shifting among women, either among all women or, as in the focus of this research, more likely among the divorced. A further question was raised whether the androgynous sex trait clusters might also be emerging among divorced women more than among those once married. Likewise, might sex role perceptions be influenced by marital status, and might divorced women, especially, be shifting to more liberal and less traditionally expected role perceptions? These issues, plus some demographic concerns, were dis- cussed against a background of other research with, as mentioned, the androgynous sex trait a continual focus. Seventeen hypotheses were presented. Their relationship to prior study was discussed as well as their possible contri- bution to the expansion of the present research. CHAPTER III DESIGN OF THE STUDY Introduction This study was principally about marital status and its relationship to sex trait self-description. As suggested in Chapter II, American social attitudes toward sex traits have linked masculine or assertive personality characteristics almost solely to men and feminine or passive traits almost solely to women; some investigators have connected the latter traits particularly to women in the married status. But recent theory about sex traits in women has raised questions about the supposed prevalence of their traditional feminine identity and, especially, has noted the increased expression of an androgynous identity among them - a classification con- taining high levels of both masculine and feminine traits. Further, with more women both being and becoming divorced and some data showing that many are not remarrying, the present study raised some questions about how marital status might associate with the traditional masculine and feminine traits and with the androgynous expression as well. Might women singled through divorce be more likely to see themselves as more masculine or androgynous than married women. Might once 55 56 married women be more likely to describe themselves as more feminine when compared with divorced women? Further, how might the above relationships continue to interact with the demographic characteristics of women such as those of the sample viz., educational levels, age, number of children, employment status and employment satisfaction? How, also, might those in the primary sex trait self- description categories in each marital group differ on issues unique to them, concerns like period of time since the divorce and time since the marriage, divorce adjustment and sense of personal fulfillment in marriage, who initiated the divorce and who had custody of children. In other words, how might such issues be associated with the two traditional sex traits (feminine and masculine) and the more recently researched androgynous classification? Finally, interest was directed at the interactions of the marital statuses, the sex trait self-description categories and their relationship, in combination, to three role percep- tions, possibly changing, among women today: egalitarianism, the appropriateness of singleness and the importance of marriage for women today. Throughout the study, major interest was in the divorced women and the non-traditional sex traits self-description in comparison to married women and the traditional sex trait self- description. 57 In sum, the main focus of the study was upon divorced women as they contrasted with once married women in the three primary sex trait categories, masculine, feminine and androgynous, as well as how the combination of marital status and sex trait self-description continued to interact with demographic and attitudinal variables. Divorced and once married women were also studied separately on several items relating especially to their particular marital states. Major interest throughout the study was on the divorced and androgynous respondents. The Sample Information for the study was gathered, primarily, within the service community of a moderately liberal Protestant church within a university city, although many of the respon- dents were only indirectly associated with the church. Many were participants in community groups such as the National Organization for Women, the Woman's Center at a community college, an evening class at a major university devoted to the personal development of women and several formerly married organizations attracting university graduates. Each woman who participated in the study, either by direct group affiliation, conversation or other expression, had shown some interest in the changing roles of women, the marital status issue explored by the inquiry, and its general application to their own situations. All women who participated in the study had been 58 married at one time in their lives although nearly half of the sample were now divorced. Some of the married respondents had been remarried having been married and divorced once before. No never married or widowed women were included in the study. The women were active in professional, vocational and homemaking roles, teaching, social work, state government and others. All were Caucasian, middle class and had either completed college or done some work toward a degree; many had done graduate work. The community in which the study was conducted was pri- marily a middle class, suburban city, near the site of the State Capitol and the home of a majOr public university. It was a predominantly residential area for 85,000 people which included abouve half of the university's students. Income levels were significantly higher than state or national averages. The issues, the subjects and the settings of the study were by no means uncommon, but they were not selected as representative of the area from which they were drawn nor should they be interpreted as broadly typical of contemporary women in America. The respondents, as well as the setting, as much as possible, were selected to provide illustration of the issue of sex trait and marital status in one real life situation. That situation was thought to be appropriate and 59 important in its own right and to hold possibilities as a source of hypotheses for testing in other like settings. Data and Instrumentation Data were gathered by inviting women (Appendices A and B) who were divorced and approximately an equal number who were married to participate by returning a questionnaire responding to questions posed by the inquiry. The primary data were those concerned with marital status and sex trait self-description. Major focus was upon the two marital status groups, divorced and once married, and the three sex trait groups, feminine, masculine and androgynous. Secondary atten- tion was given to two peripheral groups, those who had been divorced and remarried and those who were "undifferentiated" as to sex trait category. The instrument used to gather the data upon which the sex trait classifications were based was the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), discussed at length in Chapter II and presented in Appendices A and B. The Bem Sex Role Inventory, as suggested in Chapter II, represents an assessment of sex traits or characteristics identified by persons as indigenous to their personalities and expressed in their self-perceptions. Although the instrument is defined as a sole inventory, for the purposes of this study we are defining role (also discussed in Chapter II) as a set of social behaviors that persons might or might not consider appropriate for themselves on the basis of being a man or a woman. 60 It should also be noted that while androgyny is used throughout the study as a theoretical construct reflecting an integrated or distinct entity, it is operationalized by the BSRI as relatively high levels of the masculine and feminine traits a person might assess themselves to possess. Thus, androgyny is defined as a function of the quantity of both traditional sex traits a person assesses themselves to possess. No content modification was made in the BSRI, although scoring was based on the median scores, not of the sample itself, but of Bem's 1975 sample.l As discussed in Chapter II, the classification of subjects taking the BSRI must be made on the basis of median scores either from the researcher's own sample or another. The decision was made in consultation with the research committee to use the Bem study medians. The feminine median score, as reported by Bem, was 4.76 and the masculine median score as 4.89. Thus, the classification of all respondents meant that they were considered feminine if their feminine mean scores were 4.76 or above and their masculine mean scores were below 4.89. Conversely, respondents were considered masculine if their masculine mean scores were 4.89 or above and their feminine mean scores were below 4.76. Respondents were classified as androgynous if both their feminine and masculine scores were high, i.e., 4.76 or above 1Bem and Watson, "Scoring Packet," p. 3. 61 and 4.89 or above, respectively. Undifferentiated women were defined as those whose feminine and masculine scores were low, i.e., below 4.76 and 4.89 respectively. The data collection process continued until, on the basis of the above scoring, adequate numbers of divorced and once married women fell into the three sex trait categories to make statistical analysis viable. Instrumentation was also designed to collect both demo- graphic and attitudinal information fundamental to the study (Appendices A and B). Educational data were collected first and arranged in four categories: having earned or done some work toward a baccalaureate degree, having done graduate work toward an advanced degree, having earned a masters degree in some field or having a doctoral degree. Age of respondents, number of children, time since the divorce and time since being married were also requested. Employment status in four classifications was also gathered: full time employment, part time employment, not employed out- side the home and a full time student category. Divorced respondents were asked to give information on who (themselves, their ex-spouses or by a shared arrangement) had custody of any children from the marriage as well as who (themselves, their ex-husbands or by mutual consent) had originally wanted the divorce (Appendix A). Attitudinal data were collected, in all cases except one, on single item scales requesting one to five ratings on: 62 employment satisfaction, divorce adjustment, fulfillment in marriage, the appropriateness of singleness, and the importance of marriage in a woman's life. We developed a nine item scale, called the Egalitarian Scale, adapting items used in other like scales (discussed in Chapter II) to ascertain the egalitarianism levels. Responses were in the form of levels of agreement or disagreement with particular normative state- ments about the woman's role. Each respondent was given a summative score, placing her at a point on a traditional/ egalitarian continuum. The Egalitarian Scale was pretested using respondents of similar background to the women used in the study but who would not be included in the research sample. Concerns of completion time, clarity of wording and so forth were examined and incorporated into a revised scale. Analysis of the Data The general plan for analysis of the data was directed by the goals of the study. Analysis was focussed, first, upon marital status and its relationship to sex trait self- description, and second, upon further amplification of that relationship as it interacted with several demographic and attitudinal items. The first phase in the analysis was a general description of the distribution of the sample on each of the variables. Responses were distributed in numbers and percents and displayed in appropriate tables. The first distribution was by marital 63 status: divorced, once married or remarried. The second was by sex trait self-description: feminine, masculine, androgynous or undifferentiated. Next, respondents were described, in numbers and percents, in terms of educational levels, age, number of children, employment status and employment satis- faction. Next, tables were developed for all divorced women, distributing them into sex trait self-description categories in terms of length of time since the divorce, ratings of adjustment to divorce, divorce initiation and custody of children. Similar tables distributed all married women into sex trait self-description categories according to length of present marriages and personal sense of fulfillment in mar- riage. A final set of tables displayed mean ratings from all respondents on the three role related variables, egalitar- ianism, appropriateness of singleness as a life style for women and the importance of marriage in a woman's life, by marital status and sex trait self-description category. The second phase of the data analysis involved a more detailed examination of the relationships posed by the study. Seventeen hypotheses that focussed the inquiry and specified the particular concerns were tested. They are stated below, some in the null and some in the predicted outcome form. The rationale for each was discussed in Chapter II. 1. There will be no statistically significant relationship between marital status and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. 10. 64 There will be no statistically significant relationship between educational levels of divorced and once married women and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. There will be no statistically significant relationship between age of divorced and once married women and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. There will be no statistically significant relationship between number of children of divorced and once married women and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. There will be no statistically significant relationship between employment status of divorced and once married women and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. There will be no statistically significant relationship between the degree of employment satisfaction of divorced and once married women and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Among divorced women there will be no statistically significant relationship between the period of time since the divorce decree and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Androgynous and masculine divorced women will score significantly higher on a scale measuring divorce adjust- ment than feminine divorced women. Among divorced women, there will be no statistically significant relationship between divorce initiation (whether divorce is initiated by the wife alone, the husband alone, or mutually by both spouses) and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Among divorced women, there will be no statistically significant relationship between custody arrangements for children (whether custody of children is with the mother alone, jointly with the mother and father, or with the father alone) and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. ll. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 65 Among once married women, there will be no statistically significant relationship between the length of the mar- riage and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Androgynous once married women will score significantly lower on a scale measuring sense of fulfillment in mar- riage than feminine or masculine once married women. Among divorced and once married women, there will be no statistically significant relationship between ratings on a scale of egalitarian attitudes toward the woman's wife role and marital status and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Androgynous divorced women will score significantly higher on a scale measuring egalitarian attitudes toward the woman's wife role than masculine or feminine divorced women. ' Androgynous divorced women will score significantly higher on a scale measuring egalitarian attitudes toward the woman's wife role than androgynous once married women. Among divorced and once married women, there will be no statistically significant relationship between ratings of the appropriateness of singleness as a life style for women and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Androgynous divorced and once married women will score significantly lower on a scale measuring the importance of marriage in a woman's life than masculine or feminine divorced or once married women. The detailed analysis involved examination of relationships among the groups: first, marital statuses and sex trait self- description categories in relation to each other; then demo- graphic and attitudinal items in relation to the two principal marital statuses and the three principal sex trait self- description categories; and finally, selected items relevant to divorced and once married women separately in relationship to the three principal sex trait self-description categories.. 66 The first analysis was an examination of the overall per- centage distributions of the marital statuses by sex trait self-description categories. One table displayed these relationships in general by distributing all 217 respondents by marital status and sex trait self-description category. Within that table we focussed on the groups of primary inter- est, divorced and once married women in feminine, masculine and androgynous sex trait classifications. Those groups in- cluded 172 of our respondents. Another forty-five fell into two peripheral groups, those who had been divorced and remarried and those who were undifferentiated as to sex trait self- description categories. More precise focus was given, in a second table, to distribution patterns of divorced and once married respondents by sex trait categories and, in a third table, the distribution of feminine, masculine and androgynous respondents by marital statuses. In Hypothesis One, though it was stated in the null form, we anticipated a statistically significant relationship between the two major variables. A chi square test was used to estimate significance in the rela- tionship. Here, and throughout the analysis, the probability level was set at the .05 level. Visual inspection and descrip- tion of small but consistent differences was also used to analyze data. A second analysis explored the relationships between the two major variables, marital status and sex trait self-description, and several demographic items. They too were presented and 67 discussed with their hypotheses. The percentages of respondents who had attained specified educational levels (Ho 2) were distributed by marital status and sex trait category. The percentage distribution of respondents by age (Ho 3), number of children (Ho 4), employment status (Ho 5), and employment satisfaction (Ho 6) were also analyzed in relation to the major variables of marital status and sex trait self-description. Two basic statistical procedures were used to examine the differences between groups, the chi square test (used for Ho 2, Ho 3 and Ho 5) and the single factor analysis of variance to test the means of several groups at once and yielding an F value (used for Ho 4 and Ho 6). Since the F value indicates relationships among several groups, appro- priate post Egg tests were used to test the differences between individual sets of means as posed by the inquiry. The LSD was used where the F value indicated statistical significance at the .05 level, and the Duncan and LSDMOD were used where F was not significant at that level, as sug- 1 All tests were selected as appropriate for gested by Nie. groups of unequal sizes. The third detailed analysis examined marital status groups separately for relationships between sex trait self- description and factors unique to each marital status. Among divorced women sex trait categories were examined as to the 1Norman Nie, Statistical Paekage forithe Social Sciences (New York: McGraw Hill Co., 1975), p. 427-28. 68 period of time since their divorce (Ho 7), divorce adjust- ment (Ho 8), divorce initiation (Ho 9) and custody of children (Ho 10). Among once married women and remarried women sex trait categories were compared in terms of length of marriage (Ho 11), and a personal sense of fulfillment in marriage (Ho 12). The chi square test was used for Ho 9 and Ho 10 and the analysis of variance plus the post hog pro- cedures were used for Ho 7, Ho 8, Ho 11 and Ho 12. The final statistical analysis examined the relation- ship between the two major variables, and three sex role concerns affecting women today: egalitarian attitudes toward the woman's wife role (Ho 13, Ho 14 and Ho 15), appropriateness of singleness as a life style for women (Ho 16), and the importance of marriage in a woman's life (Ho 17). The analysis of variance statistic as well as the post hog procedures, as described above were used in all three cases. In all data analyses tables were developed and displayed and, when appropriate, small but consistent differences among groups even though not statistically significant at the .05 level were noted. A discussion of each analysis is provided. In sum, this chapter has reported the procedures employed in gathering and analyzing data. It has presented: overview, instrument development and utilization, sample description, data gathering processes, data presentation design, hypotheses and statistical tests employed. CHAPTER IV FINDINGS Introduction This study has focussed on the relationships between marital status and sex trait self-description categories and also between these factors and a selection of other characteristics among a population of divorced and once married women who were concerned with and particularly interested in their changing roles in American society. Some research exploring the psychology of American women has found evidence that many women are experiencing per- sonality change from a traditionally more passive or feminine to a contemporary more active or masculine self—image. This study examined this issue and this chapter reports the results. The chapter is in two parts. The first presents a detailed description of the women respondents in terms of marital status, sex trait classifications as based upon responses to the Bem Sex Role Inventory, and other selected characteristics. The second part is a presentation of a detailed analysis of relationships between marital status and sex trait self-description as well as between these two factors and other characteristics of the divorced, once mar- ried and remarried women of the sample. 69 70 Description of the Respondents The sample, as indicated in Chapter III, consisted of women who were partly associated with a moderately liberal Protestant church in a suburban community made up principally of persons associated with government, business, the profes- sions and a major university plus divorced and married women within the general service area of the church. All had given some indications of their concerns about role and gender issues facing American women today. Special efforts were made to obtain equal numbers of divorced and married women and, especially, to fill the three primary sex trait categories as required when using the Bem Sex Role Inventory as a research instrument. Data were gen- erated by a questionnaire distributed and received within a ten—week period of Spring, 1978. The sample consisted of 217 women who returned usable instruments during the collection period and who were either divorced or once married or who in a few cases turned out to be remarried. No never married or widowed women were included in the study. Marital Status Because one emphasis of the study was upon marital status, the respondents were divided into three groups, those presently divorced, those once married and presently living with their husbands, and those remarried after having been divorced. While data on the question were not requested, it was assumed that the remarried women had been divorced only once . 71 The 217 women of the sample included 92 divorced, 102 once married and 23 remarried women. In most analyses major focus was upon the divorced women and their sex role classi- fications in comparison with the once married women. The divorced women made up 42.4% of the sample and the once mar— ried 47%. The remarried group made up 10.6% of the sample and secondary attention was given to them throughout the study. TABLE 2 DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS BY MARITAL STATUS Marital Status Number Percent Divorced 92 42.4 Married 102 47.0 Remarried 23 10.6 Total 217 100.0 Sex Trait Classification A second major emphasis of the study was upon the sex trait classifications as established from responses to the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). The distribution of the 217 reSpondents on the basis of the BSRI resulted in 67 women (30.8%) being in the feminine classification at or above Bem's median on the feminine scale and below Bem's median on the masculine scale; 41 women (18.8%) were in the masculine category at or above the Bem median on the masculine scale and below the Bem median on the feminine scale. The largest 72 group, 82 women (37.7%) scored at or above Bem's median scores on the masculine and feminine scales and were classified as androgynous. The smallest group, 27 (12.4%), scored below Bem's medians and were classified as undifferentiated. Thus, nearly one out of three were in the feminine group, nearly one out of five were in the masculine group, three out of eight were in the androgynous group, and only one out of eight were in the undifferentiated group. The study focussed major concern upon the three major sex trait categories: feminine, masculine and androgynous. Incidental attention was given to the undifferentiated group. TABLE 3 DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS BY SEX TRAIT CLASSIFICATION Sex Trait Classification Number Percent Feminine 67 30.8 Masculine 41 18.8 Androgynous 82 37.7 Undifferentiated 27 12.4 Total 217 99.7 Educational Level Probably the most distinctive feature of the group studied was the very high educational levels of the women who comprised it. All respondents had entered and most had completed college. Unfortunately, insufficient information was returned from respondents to ascertain precisely how many years of schooling 73 each had completed. From the limited data it is clear, how- ever, that all of the 217 women had attended college. Eighty- five respondents (39.2%) had, as their highest academic credentials, bachelors degrees or had once been enrolled in college. Forty-six (21.2%) of them indicated they had earned credit toward a graduate degree but had not received the degree; seventy-eight (35.9%) indicated that they had earned masters degrees and eight women (3.7%) indicated that they had earned doctoral degrees. Thus, 60.8% of the respondents had done formal education work beyond the bachelors level, making this a very non-typical group with respect to their levels of formal education. TABLE 4 DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS BY EDUCATIONAL LEVEL Highest Educational Leyel Attained Number Percent College (to and including baccalaureate degree) 85 39.2 Work Toward a Graduate Degree 46 21.2 Masters Degree 78 35.9 Doctoral Degree 8 3.7 Total 217 100.0 Age The group consisted mainly of middle aged women. The age distribution was arranged in five-year spans by numbers and percents. The youngest woman was twenty-two; the eldest 74 sixty-five. The largest percent of women (20.7%) fell into the thirty-one to thirty-five age group with roughly equal percentages (18.0% and 18.4%) in the twenty-six to thirty and thirty-six to forty age brackets. Another 23.9% were in their forties and 11.5% were in their fifties. The small- est number (1.8%) were in the sixty-one to sixty-five age group, and only 5.5% were under twenty-five. The mean age was thirty-eight. TABLE 5 DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS BY AGE .Age Number Percegt 22-25 12 5.5 26-30 39 18.0 31-35 45 20.7 36-40 40 18.4 41-45 27 12.4 46-50 25 11.5 51-55 15 6.9 56-60 10 4.6 61-65 4 1.8 Total 217 99.8 Mean = 38 years Number of Children Data were collected from all re3pondents as to the number of natural and/or adopted children they had. Twenty percent of the respondents indicated they had no natural or adopted children. The other 80% revealed that they had a total of 451 children. The largest number of children reported by one woman was ten; the number reported by each of forty women was 75 one. Two children were reported by each of sixty women (27.6%), the largest group. Over 70% of all women reported from one to four children each; the mean number of children for all women was 2.08. TABLE 6 DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS BY NUMBER OF CHILDREN Children Women Percent 0 45 20.7 1 40 18.4 2 60 27.6 3 31 14.3 4 24 11.1 5 6 2.8 6 9 4.1 7 0 0 8 1 .5 9 0 0 10 1 .5 Total 451 217 100.0 Mean = 2.08 Employment Status Employment status among respondents was organized into four classifications: full time employment, part time employ- ment, not employed outside the home and a full time student status. More than half (53.5%) of the sample were in full time employment: the smallest group (1.8%) were those in the full time student classification. Twenty-six percent of respondents were employed part time and 18.9% indicated that they were not employed outside their homes. 76 TABLE 7 DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS BY EMPLOYMENT STATUS Employment Status Number Percent Full Time 116 53.5 Part Time 56 25.8 Not Employed Outside the Home 41 18.9 Full Time Student 4 1.8 Total 217 100.0 Satisfaction with Employment Employed respondents (n = 172) were asked to rate, on a scale of one to five, the degree of satisfaction they experienced in their full or part time employment. The mean satisfaction rating for all women was 3.81. Two-thirds (66.9%) of the reSpondents were either satisfied or highly satisfied and they reported four and five ratings. About one-eighth (12.8%) were moderately or extremely dissatisfied, reporting one and two ratings. The remaining one-fifth (19.8%) were moderately satisfied, reporting a three rating. 77 TABLE 8 DISTRIBUTION OF EMPLOYED RESPONDENTS BY EMPLOYMENT SATISFACTION Rating Number Percent 1 Extremely Dissatisfied 10 5.2 2 Moderately Dissatisfied 13 7.6 3 Moderately Satisfied 34 19.8 4 Satisfied 56 32.6 5 Highly Satisfied 59 34.3 Total 172 100.0 Mean = 3.81 Divorce-Related Issues Of further interest were four issues related to the divorced status shared by the ninety-two formerly married re- spondents. These were: length of time since the divorce, personal adjustment to the divorce, perception of who had initiated the divorce, and which spouse had legal custody of children from the former marriage. Time Since the Divorce Respondents were asked about the number of years and months since their divorce had been legally established by court decree. The mean period for all divorced respondents was four years and seven months. The shortest period was six months, the longest was nineteen years. Data were 78 distributed in five-year periods. The highest number (61.9%) were in the zero to five year group, the smallest number (2.1%) were in the sixteen to twenty year group. Nine percent of the respondents indicated that they had been divorced eleven years or longer. TABLE 9 DISTRIBUTION OF DIVORCED RESPONDENTS BY TIME SINCE THE DIVORCE Time Since Divorce Number Percent 0- 5 57 61.9 6-10 26 28.2 11-15 6 6.5 16-20 3 2.1 Total 92 98.7 Divorce Adjustment Divorced respondents were asked to rate, on a one item scale from one to five, how good was their adjustment to being divorced. The mean rating for all women was 4.49. No respondents rated a poor or lowest level adjustment. The greatest number (62.6%) of women rated their adjustment with a five or very good; a small number (2.2%) gave them- selves a two (not very good) rating, and the remainder (35.2%) of women were in the moderately good and good ratings. The majority of these divorced women appear to feel well adjusted to their divorced status. 79 TABLE 10 DISTRIBUTION OF DIVORCED RESPONDENTS BY DIVORCE ADJUSTMENT RATING Rating Number Percent 1 Poor 0 0 2 Not Very Good 2 2.0 3 Moderately Good 8 8.8 4 Good 24 26.4 5 Very Good 57 62.6 Total 92 100.0 Mean = 4.49 Divorce Initiation All divorced respondents were requested to indicate their perception of who had initiated the divorce - them- selves, their ex-husbands or both spouses, a mutual decision. Eighty-five returns were found to be usable. The largest group (55.3%) of respondents were those women who saw them- selves as initiating the divorce; the smallest group (16.4%) were those women who saw divorce as a mutually originated process. Another group (28.2%) saw their ex-husbands as having initiated the divorce. 80 TABLE 11 DISTRIBUTION OF DIVORCED RESPONDENTS BY THEIR PERCEPTION OF DIVORCE INITIATION Spouse Initiating Divorce Number Percent Wife 47 55.3 Husband 24 28.2 Mutual 14 16.4 Total 85 99.9 Custody of Children Divorced respondents were requested to indicate who had legal custody of children from the former marriage - them- selves, their ex-husbands or both in a joint custody arrange- ment. Sixty-nine returns were found to be usable. By far the largest group of respondents (82.6%) indicated they had legal custody of their children, and the smallest group (2.8%) indicated their husbands had custody of the children. Another 14.5% of respondents indicated that they and their former husbands had a mutual custody arrangement. TABLE 12 DISTRIBUTION OF DIVORCED RESPONDENTS BY LEGAL CUSTODY OF THEIR CHILDREN Spouse with Custody Number Percent Wife 57 82.6 Husband 2 2.8 Mutual 10 14.5 Total 69 99.9 81 Marriage-Related Issues The once married and remarried women reported two characteristics relating to married women alone - the length of their present marriages and remarriages and a single item rating on how fulfilling their marriages were to them. Length of Marriage - Once Married Women The once married respondents (n = 102) were widely distributed on the length of time of their marriages. The mean length of marriage for all women was sixteen years, seven months. One woman had been married only six months, and one woman had been married forty years. The largest group (22.5%) had been married from eleven to fifteen years and another group (19.6%) had been married six to ten years. The smallest groups (3.9% each) were those married thirty-one to thirty-five and thirty-six to forty years. Almost 35% of all women had been married ten years or less, another 36% had been married between eleven and twenty years; and 27.4% had been married more than twenty years. TABLE 13 DISTRIBUTION OF ONCE MARRIED RESPONDENTS BY LENGTH OF MARRIAGE Years Married Number Percent 0- 5 15 14.7 6-10 20 19.6 11-15 23 22.5 16-20 14 13.7 21-25 10 9.8 26-30 10 9.8 31-35 4 3.9 36-40 4 3.9 Total 102 97.9 Mean = 15.58 82 Length of Marriage - Remarried Women As expected, remarried women (once divorced) reported shorter time periods since they had remarried. Data were collected from twenty-three women. The mean length of the remarriage for all these women was four years, seven months. One woman had been remarried for only seven months; one had been remarried for nineteen years. Examination of the data in five-year periods indicates by far the largest group (73.9%) had been remarried from zero to five years, the smallest group (4.3%) over sixteen years. Only 26% of all the remarried women had been remarried six years or more. TABLE 14 DISTRIBUTION OF REMARRIED RESPONDENTS BY LENGTH OF MARRIAGE Years Remarried Number Percent 0- 5 17 73.9 6-10 3 12.9 11-15 2 8.6 16-20 1 4.3 Total 23 99.7 Mean = 4.7 Fulfillment in Marriage - Once Married Women Once married respondents rated, on a one item scale (1-5), their personal assessment of how fulfilling their present marriages were to them. The higher the rating the more fulfilling their marriages were to them. The mean 83 rating for the 102 once married women was 4.18. Almost half (47%) of all respondents rated their marriages as five, very. fulfilling, and just over one quarter rated theirs with four, or fulfilling. The smallest number (2.9%) rated their mar- riages with a one, not at all fulfilling; another small group (3.9%) rated theirs with a two, so so, and 18.6% rated theirs with a three, moderately fulfilling. Three-fourths of all once married women rated their marriages as fulfilling or very fulfilling; one-fourth rated theirs as moderately ful- filling, not very fulfilling or not at all fulfilling. TABLE 15 DISTRIBUTION OF ONCE MARRIED RESPONDENTS BY RATINGS OF FULFILLMENT IN MARRIAGE Rating Number Percent 1 Not At All Fulfilling 3 2.9 2 So So 4 3.9 3 Moderately Fulfilling 19 18.6 4 Fulfilling 28 27.4 5 Very Fulfilling 48 47.0 Total 102 99.8 Mean = 4.18 Fulfillment in Marriage - Remarried Women The mean rating of fulfillment in marriage for the twenty-three remarried women was almost identical to that of once married women, 4.17. No remarried women indicated a rating of one. The largest group (43.5%) reported five 84 ratings and another group (30.4%) rated their marriages at the four level; thus, 73.9%, an almost identical percentage to the once married group, rated their present marriages as fulfilling or very fulfilling, and a very similar (26.1%) rated theirs as moderately fulfilling, so so, or not at all fulfilling. TABLE 16 DISTRIBUTION OF REMARRIED RESPONDENTS BY RATINGS OF FULFILLMENT IN MARRIAGE Rating Number Percent 1 Not At All Fulfilling 0 0 2 So So 2 8.7 3 Moderately Fulfilling 4 17.4 4 Fulfilling 7 30.4 5 Very Fulfilling 10 43.5 Total 23 100.0 Mean = 4.17 Selected Aspects of the Woman's Role An important focus of the study was attitudes and values related to the role of women today. Data were requested from all respondents in three areas: traditional versus egalitarian attitudes concerning the woman's role, the appropriateness of singleness as a selected life style compared with the marriage role, and the importance of marriage for women today. 85 Egalitarian Attitudes Ratings were collected from all respondents on a nine- item scale of five levels measuring the variance of attitudes on a traditional to egalitarian continuum. Mean scores were calculated for all respondents. A traditional maximum mean score was considered as one and an egalitarian maximum mean score was considered as five. No respondents scored below three. A small group (6%) scored midway between the tradi- tional and the egalitarian poles. All others (94%) identified, some very strongly, with the egalitarian position. Such high ratings at the four and five levels for so many respondents could indicate that the scale design was poor in discriminat- ing variance among respondents and thus a limitation of the study. The mean score for all women was 4.37. TABLE 17 DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS BY SCORES ON A SCALE REFLECTING TRADITIONAL TO EGALITARIAN ATTITUDES Scores Number Percent 1 .0-1.9 0 0 2 .0-2.9 0 0 3 .0-3.9 13 6.0 4 .0-4.9 93 42.8 5 111 51.2 Total 217 100.0 Mean = 4.37 86 Appropriateness of Being Single Ratings were collected on a one-item scale (1-5) rating the appropriateness of singleness as a life style choice for women today, compared with the married state. The rating of one indicated that it is inappropriate to be single, five that it is very appropriate to be single. The overwhelming concensus of the respondents was that singleness is a very appropriate state for women to be in. The mean rating for all women was 4.78. By far the largest number of women (87.6%) indicated a five. One woman (.5%) indicated a two or not really apprOpriate while only three women (1.4%) rated singleness as inappropriate. TABLE 18 DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS BY RATINGS OF THE APPROPRIATENESS OF BEING SINGLE FOR WOMEN TODAY Rating Number Percent l InapprOpriate 3 1.4 2 Not Really Appropriate l .5 3 Moderately Appropriate 9 4.1 4 Appropriate 14 6.5 5 Very Appropriate 190 87.6 Total 217 100.0 Mean = 4.78 Importance of Marriage Finally, respondents used a one-item scale to rate from one to five how important they considered the married state 87 for a woman today. The rating of one indicated that marriage is unimportant, five that it is very important. Ratings were distributed over the entire range and as a group respon- dents rated marriage as only moderately important. The mean rating for all women was 2.94. The largest number (28.2%) rated it as three (moderately important). The number who rated marriage as unimportant or of slight importance (35.5%) was almost identical to the number who rated it as important or very important (36.3%). TABLE 19 DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS BY RATINGS OF IMPORTANCE OF MARRIAGE TO A WOMAN TODAY Rating Number Percent l Unimportant 50 23.0 2 Of Slight Importance 27 12.5 3 Moderately Important 61 28.2 4 Important 44 20.2 5 Very Important 35 16.1 Total 217 100.0 Mean = 2.94 Summatprescription of Sample The study was centered in a suburban Protestant church. The sample consisted of 217 divorced and married women, all affiliated with the church or other organizations in its metropolitan service area who had given some evidence of 88 concern for the changing roles of women in contemporary American society. The 217 women reported information having to do with the goals of the study. They provided data on marital status, sex trait self-description categories, per- sonal, social and demographic characteristics, variables linked with marital status alone, and attitudes and/or values relating specifically to the woman's role in contemporary society. There were major and almost equal proportions of once married and divorced women (47% and 42% respectively) and a smaller group (10%) of remarried women. Based on scores on the Bem Sex Role Inventory, 37.7% of the women fell into the androgynous classification, 30% into the feminine category and 18% were in the masculine group. A smaller group (12.4%) were classified as undifferentiated. Demographic description included, first, a very high educational level of respondents with 100% of all the women having attended or graduated from college, and over 60% having studied at post baccalaureate levels. Agewise, the sample was early middle-age ranging from 22 to 65 and with the mean age of all respondents at 38 years. The largest number of women (20.7%) fell into the 31 to 35 year age range and 69.5% were between 26 and 45 years of age. The respondents also indicated that they had 451 children among them with the mean number of children 2.08 per woman. Twenty percent of the reSpondents indicated that they had no children. 89 Almost 80% of all the women were employed either full or part time outside the home. A very small group (1.8%) were full time students. The 172 women in full or part time employment reported a moderate level (2.81 on a scale of 1-5) of employment satisfaction. Among the 92 divorced women the mean period of time since their decree of divorce was four years and seven months with their largest number (61.9%) in the one to five year range. The majority of the divorced respondents rated them- selves high on adjustment to divorce with a mean rating of 4.49 on a one to five scale. More than half (55.3%) of the women indicated that they had initiated their divorces, with another group (16.4%) indicating that their divorces were mutually initiated, and slightly over one-fourth (28.2%) indicating that their ex-husbands had initiated the divorces. A very large portion (82.6%) of the divorced respondents reported that they had custody of their children; 14.2% indicated that they and their ex-husbands had a mutual cus- tody arrangement, and another small group (2.1%) revealed that their ex-husbands had custody of their children. Among the once married and remarried women (n = 125) the mean length of marriages of those once married was fif- teen years and seven months; for remarried respondents it was four years and seven months. Once married and remarried women rated their marriages as almost equally fulfilling (mean ratings of 4.18 and 4.17 respectively). 90 The 217 women rated themselves as highly egalitarian (mean rating 4.37 on a 5 point scale). They range widely on their ratings of the importance of marriage for a woman today; and as a group they rate it as moderately important (mean rating 2.94 on a 5 point scale). With only a few exceptions they view singleness as appropriate or very appropriate as a choice of life style as compared to being married. Analysis of Relationships After describing the sample by its selected character- istics, analysis of relationships among the items was done. It should be recalled that women invited to participate in the study were not selected as representative of all women, generally, or of all women in churches or geographic communities from which they came. Rather, invitations were extended to individuals and groups of women with the inten- tion of including in the study approximately equal numbers of divorced and once married women, who were varied in their sex trait classifications as indicated by the Bem Sex Role Inventory, and who had shown at least some moderate interest in the changing roles of women in contemporary society. Our purpose was to inquire into the differences among women on a series of variables involving the roles of women, differences based in marital status, sex traits, or varied combinations of these. We had special interest in the divorced and andro- gynous women and how they might differ from once married 91 women on the one hand and feminine or masculine women on the other. Marital Status and Sex Trait Self-Description The first step in the analysis was an examination of the distribution of the 217 women by marital status and sex trait self-description categories. We were interested in examining relationships between these two variables of primary focus. First we examined the overall relationships between them. Then we examined the differences between divorced and once married women in terms of sex trait self-description cate- gories and then among androgynous feminine and masculine women in terms of marital status. The overall distribution is displayed in Table 20. General The initial analysis revealed that the distribution was, as hoped, numerically appropriate for the purpose of inquiry. There were 172 (79.3%) of the sample in the two primary mari— tal statuses and the three major sex trait classifications (see portion of Table 20 in bold line enclosure). There were also twenty-seven women whose low ranking on both feminine and masculine scales placed them in Bem's undifferentiated category, and twenty-three women (five of whom were also counted as undifferentiated) who were divorced and remarried and thus not clearly differentiated in their marital status (see Table 4:18). 92 Among the ninety-two women who were divorced and not re- married, nineteen scored at or above Bem's median on the feminine scale and below her median on the masculine scale, the levels set for the study (see Chapter III), and were thus classified as divorced-feminine; eighteen scored at or above the median on the masculine scale and below the median on the feminine scale and were classified as divorced-masculine. Forty-eight scored high, at or above the medians, on both the feminine and masculine scale and were classified as divorced- androgynous. The seven who scored below the medians on both scales were classified as divorced-undifferentiated, and they were, as indicated, placed in the peripheral group. Thus, eighty-five women made up the divorced component of the primary group under study. Among the 102 once married women, forty-two scored at or above Bem's median on the feminine scale and below the median on the masculine scale and were classified as once married feminine, eighteen scored at or above the median on the mas- culine scale and below the median on the feminine scale and were classified as once married masculine, and twenty-seven scored at or above the medians on both scales and were classi- fied as once married androgynous women. Another fifteen, scoring below the Bem medians on both scales, were classified as undifferentiated and placed in the peripheral group. Thus, eighty-seven women made up the once married group, distributed 93 among the three principal sex trait categories, and together with the eighty—five divorced women in those same categories made up the primary group under study. Distribution among the sex trait categories was, as expected, not as nearly equal as that among marital status categories. Sixty-seven women were classified as feminine, of whom nineteen were divorced, forty-two were once married and six had been divorced and remarried. The sixty—one divorced and once married women made up the feminine compon- ent of the primary group under study. The six remarried women were placed in the peripheral group. Forty-one women were classified as masculine, of whom eighteen were divorced and an equal number, eighteen, were once married. These thirty-six made up the masculine com- ponent of the primary group under study and the remarried masculine women, numbering five, were placed in the peri- pheral group. The larger group of eighty-two androgynous women in- cluded forty-eight who were divorced and twenty-seven who were once married. These seventy-five constituted the androgynous component of the primary group and the remaining seven, having been divorced and remarried, were placed in the peripheral group. In summary, the primary groups under study consisted of 172 women of whom eighty-five were divorced and eighty-seven were married, and of whom sixty-one were classified as feminv ine, thirty-six as masculine, and seventy-five as androgynous. 94 To.coa FAN um.c~ m~ wc.ma «ma wo.~v «ca «c.~q um Hac Tv.~a FN am.~ m aa.o~ - ua.o ma a~.n p vuuufiucmumuuacco4 Tm.pm oma Sn.m SH 4 mm.os and ma.oq so u~.mn mo Huuoe new *m.hm No a~.m A «m.qn mp sv.- hm «H.- as msocsmouocar Ta.mH He «m.~ m au.od um «n.m ma an.» ma manuaomu Tm.om so am.~ a m~.m~ Ho ae.md «q mm.» ma mcacwsmL yum 2 you 2 now 2 you 2 now 2 mowuommuuo c0wamquonmo nuaum Add vflfiuumfimm HfluOH. n—fim fiOHHHflS OGOHO>AD ”Shaun. xwm 00:0 usuuum Havana: 02¢ mbbdfim AdBHmCZ um mfizmazommfim ho ZOHBDmHmBMHO mmHmowmfidu ZOHBmHmUmmnlhamm BH<¢B xum ON mflmda 95 Another forty-five women were in the two peripheral groups, one not clearly differentiated by marital status and the other not differentiated by sex trait self-description. Principal analysis was done on the primary group, but secondary attention was given to the peripheral groups and several interesting observations and questions emerged as a consequence. Marital Status Examined by Sex Trait Self-Description The analysis of the two major variables of interest, marital status and sex trait, continued with an examination of the distribution of the divorced, once married and re- married women by sex trait categories - displayed in Table 21. .Here, in effect, we treated marital status as the independent variable and sex trait self-description as the dependent one. Fisher and others had reported a tendency toward more masculine sex trait self-images among women following divorce but who had been more feminine when they were married.1 A major focus of the study was upon divorced women and their sex trait self-descriptions, including feminine, masculine and androgynous classifications, compared with once married women. Hypothesis One stated: There will be no statistically significant relation- ship between marital status and sex trait self- description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. The null hypothesis was rejected as differences among groups were statistically significant (p = .02). Of the 1Fisher, "Divorce: The New Freedom," p. 122. 96 divorced women, numbering eighty-five in the primary group and numbering ninety-two including the seven undifferentiated women, forty-eight were in the androgynous classification, compared with twenty-seven of 102 among their once married counterparts. This represents 52.2% of the total divorced and not remarried group compared with 26.3% of the once mar- ried group, twice as large a proportion. In sharp contrast, only nineteen of the divorced women were in the feminine classification compared with forty-two of their once married counterparts. This represents only 20.7% compared with 41.2%, a proportion half as large. The number of divorced women falling into the masculine category was equal (n = 18) to that of once married women, representing respectively, 19.2% of the divorced women and 17.6% of the once married women. The findings of Fisher and others that divorced women tend toward masculine sex trait self-description is not fully supported by these data. The divorced group does not include a significantly higher percentage of masculine women than the once married group. However, the very large proportion of the divorced women whose self-descriptions are androgynous, coupled with the high levels of masculine-trait clusters incorporated in androgyny, might be taken as supporting the earlier find- ings. Our findings, of course, are not fully comparable to Fisher's since we compared self-descriptions of groups composed of different women, whereas Fisher appears to have compared the same women before and after divorce. 97 Examination of the small group (n = 23) of remarried women indicated a more even distribution among the sex trait classifications. There was a slightly higher number in the androgynous group but not significantly so. These remarried women, in other words, do not indicate any obvious tendencies in terms of sex trait categories or any consistent similari- ties with either the divorced or once married women in their sex trait categories. Sex Trait Self—Description Examined by Marital Status The analysis was continued by examination of the sex trait classifications by marital status. Here, in effect, we treated sex trait self-description as the independent variable and marital status as the dependent one. That distribution is displayed in Table 22. Examination of the androgynous women shows fifty-five of them to have been divorced, forty-eight not having remar- ried, compared with only twenty-seven who were once married. Thus, among our primary group, 58.5% of the androgynous women were divorced compared with 32.9% who were still married. Among masculine women exactly equal percentages (43.9%) were divorced and still married. Of the sixty-seven women falling into the feminine classifications only nineteen (28.4%) were divorced while forty-two (62.7%) were still married. Examination of the undifferentiated classification (n = 27) showed that more than half (55.5%) of these women were once married and another 18.5% were remarried. Only one-fourth (25.9%) were divorced and not remarried at the time of the study. 98 Examination of these data relating sex trait self- description to marital status focussed mainly upon divorced and once married women and the three major sex trait cate- gories. It suggests a relationship between marital status and sex trait self-description in the direction of the study's theoretical bases. Divorced women seem more likely to be androgynous, equally likely to be masculine and much less likely to be feminine when compared with once married women. Viewed from the perspective of sex trait categories, far fewer of the feminine women were divorced and far more of them were married than of the androgynous women. Similar though less pronounced differences existed between feminine and masculine women. Data for the peripheral remarried and undifferentiated groups suggest some possibly interesting implications. Re— married women showed little or no similarity with either the divorced or once married women on the sex trait distributions, although a limitation on any inference is the small number (n = 23) of these women. Among the twenty-seven undifferen- tiated women a majority (55.5%) were in the once married group, compared with either divorced (25.9%) or remarried (18.5%) women. It will be recalled that undifferentiated women registered relatively low scores on both sex trait scales, and Spence has reported (using the BSRI) this classi- fication associated with low self-esteem.1 Since the number 1Spence and Stapp, "Ratings of Self and Peers," p. 36. 99 «o. n e~oa.md u .om «so 3am wo.ooa haw wa.mm m~ wa.cc~ «ca wa.ooa ~m «dance w¢.~a pm wn.a~ m a~.eH ma mo.h n cmumfiunmuumuaoco “c.5m «a a¢.om A am.o~ s~ a~.~m we «sensuouocc am.oa He wu.- m we.sa ma mo.m~ «H mcaasouuz wa.om no «H.w~ o «~.Hq «q an.o~ ma mcchswm you z and 2 you 2 uom z nmfiuomuuuo cowumwuonoo amaum Add pmauumfiom cognac: cmouo>wn uwuua xom usuuum Huuaunz muHmooueno mo zoaeomumemao AN mnm<fi 100 of this group is also small, no inferences should be drawn but it could suggest some concerns to be further explored. Summary It can be stated generally that when the primary group was analyzed, focussing on divorced and once married women, more divorced women than married women were found to be androgynous, more once married women than divorced women were found to be feminine, and divorced women were equal to married women with regard to the masculine classifica- tion. When the sex trait categories were analyzed, andro- gynous women were found much more likely, feminine women much less likely, and masculine women neither more nor less likely to be divorced than to be married. Marital Status, Sex Trait Self-Description and Selected Characteristics of the Sample A second general question of the inquiry concerned the relationship between the major variables, marital status and sex trait self-description, and other important characteristics of the 217 women. The selected items were levels of educa- tion, age, number of children, employment status and ratings of employment satisfaction by those employed outside their homes. Educational Level in Relationship to Marital Status and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories The study examined the percentage of the 172 divorced and once married women who had attained specified educational levels by sex trait classification. The four specified 101 mac. .d ~He.ma u mumsom «so 3am ao.ooa haw wa.mm h~ wa.am no wo.ooa He «H.ooa no manuOH no.3 MN 3.: m «mi N. 3.2 m ~65 w Rhianna—9* . 3.: Nod wm.mm ma mm.~m pm #92 ca «Tum Nv 03...“ou 3.: mm «9mm 5 35m ow 3.: ma mv.m~ m." n50.338— uom 2 you 2 non 2 you 2 van 2 usumum -i Havana: Add cmumwucm nzocxmoupcm mafiaaonmz ocacwsom (nomMmmca cofiumwuomwonuaom vague xom maadfim A<8Hm<2 fin mazmazommflm ZNSO3 QNHhHmmdflu DNBGHBZHKNEMHOZD NN mam‘a 02¢ mDOZNUOsz¢ .NZHADUmflo w.om o.oOH m.~ m.sm o.hm =.~m Hac o.Hm s.m m.mm w.mm :.m~ msocamoucc< oofluumz h.o~ o o.mm m.mm .HH wcflasommz mono m.mv o m.mm m.m~ =.~¢ wcncfismm v.mv o.ooa m.m m.mm a.vH m.mv Ha< m.wm H.~ F.Hv v.oH m.mv anonymouccc «.HN o.m m.mm ~.N~ m.mn mafiaaommz ooouo>flo m.- m.m m.om m.mH H.~e ocficwemm Hawum>o msouo wumu0uoog muoummz mumummz Bonm uncooumo msumum canuwz no no coaumfiuomwa kuwumz uuosm xuoz wumwusmamoomm Inflow mumspwuo awake xwm mHmEmm mo “mm3 Ho>wq chofiumospm umwnmfim mommucwuuwm wmozz manucwouom OHZHdfifid AH>NA AHD ho mmwflazmommm MN mamda 107 were not large enough to be statistically significant at the .05 level. Visual inspection of these data reveals few consistent age related differences. When marital status was examined alone, differences seemed minor and devoid of apparent mean- ing. Divorced status was found to be slightly more frequent among those forty-one to fifty than among those aged thirty- one to forty and absent among those over age sixty. Sex trait self—description, examined alone, showed only slightly more patterned age related differences. The propor- tion of women whose self-description was feminine varied only slightly among age groups, except that three of the four women over sixty years of age were in the feminine category. The percentage of women who described themselves in masculine terms decreased as ages increased from 22.9% of women in their twenties to 12.5% of those in their fifties, though one of the four women over sixty was in the masculine category. Higher percentages of women in their thirties (43.1%) and forties (50.0%), than of those in their twenties and fifties (29.2% each) or sixties (0.0%) described themselves in androgynous terms. Slightly higher proportions of those in their twenties (16.7%) and their fifties (25.0%) than of those in their thirties (5.6%) or their forties (8.7%) fell into the undif- ferentiated category. 108 When sex trait self-description categories were separated according to marital status and examined in relationship to age, a mild though consistent pattern seemed apparent. Among divorced women between twenty and fifty years of age those whose self-descriptions were androgynous or masculine were found comprising more than 70% of each age group with androgyny predominating in each. In each of these same age groups, fewer than 20% described themselves as feminine and 12.5% or less were undifferentiated. Among the twelve divorced women in their fifties, five (41.6%) described themselves as feminine and six (50.0%) appeared to see themselves as androgynous. Among the once married women relatively few (14.6% to 25.0%) in any of the age groups described them- selves in masculine terms, while more (25.0% to 75.0%), of each age group described themselves as feminine and similar proportions of those in their thirties (36.5%) and forties (33.3%) described themselves as androgynous. Half of the married women in their fifties were undifferentiated. All four of the women over age sixty were married, and three described themselves in feminine terms while the self-descrip- tion of the fourth was masculine. In summary, the sample indicated little relationship between age and marital status. In terms of sex trait self- description categories the proportion of masculine women, never large, decreased with age: feminine women consistently comprised approximately one-third of each age group, except 109 that three of the four older women (over sixty) were feminine; and androgynous women were most numerous among groups in their thirties and forties. Relating age to the combination of sex trait and marital status, divorced women of all ages were more likely to be androgynous, or if in their twenties or thirties, masculine. Only beyond age fifty did more than 20% of divorced women describe themselves in feminine terms. Once married women were predominantly feminine, especially those in their twenties, thirties and sixties. Among those in their thirties and forties, nearly equal percentages were feminine and androgynous; among those in their fifties, half were undifferentiated and one-fourth were feminine. In gen- eral, younger divorced women tended to be androgynous or masculine and married women of all ages tended to be feminine in sex trait self-description. Number of Children in Relationship to Sex Trait Self- Description Categories and Marital Status We also explored the number of children reported by the 217 women in relationship to sex trait self-description and marital status. Scanzoni had reported that women who were masculine tended to make decisions to have fewer children.1 We were interested in number of children reported by women in all sex trait categories and both marital statuses, but our major focus was upon sex trait rather than marital status. It was assumed that all respondents were married when they had their children. Hypothesis Four stated: 1Scanzoni, 'Sex Roles, Life Styles, p. 32. 110 wowuumz pmouo> pwouo> w av 2 won uom Hum uom :oHumwuommo msumum Imamw Havana: mouao ownam omnav ovaam ammua xwm mcoHuMUAMMmmMHO omd mmHMOUmadu ZOHBQHMUmHDIhflmm BH‘MB xmm D24 NU< Hm mazmnzommmm QHHMM¢2 NUZO nz< DNUKO>HD ho ZOHBDmHmamHO m0¢azm0¢mm nzd AdUHMNZDZ vm mqmdh 111 There will be no statistically significant relationship between number of children of divorced and once married women and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. We had expected, as suggested, that androgynous and masculine women would have significantly fewer children than feminine women. Table 25 indicates the distribution of mean number of children by sex trait categories and marital status. The data give partial support for rejecting the null hypothe- sis especially among the divorced respondents. The divorced feminine women had, in fact, significantly higher numbers of children than all other sub-groups among the divorced and once married women. Visual inspection of the small group (n = 23) of remar- ried women indicated a very different pattern: feminine, masculine and androgynous groups showed little differences with regard to the mean number of children (1.66, 1.00 and 1.71 respectively). Undifferentiated women of this group reported the highest number (4.24) of all groups. Employment Classification in Relationship to Marital Status and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories The study examined the percentage of the 172 divorced and once married women falling into each of four employment status classifications: full time employment, part time employment, not employed outside the home, and full time student. Neither the remarried or undifferentiated groups were included in this analysis. Hypothesis Five stated: 112 one. u m mma.~ u m Nh.H mo.~ haL ~o.~ mo.~ mm Hm.H hm.n No£jmm.a mH.~ mm nuuuoa— oo.~ me.~ nu co.~ m~.v m mh.a «v.~ ma am.a hm.a h vmucducouommqpsa— om.~ vo.~ um o>.H H5.H h wm.a oo.~ sw om.a NH.~ m¢ nsosamouv:# Hmé moé no nos. ooé m on; :4 3 :4 a»; 3 ocunsoni :4 o~.~ no main mm!” w :4 on; «v Ns.~ m~.n 3 mfi:§§o# .o.m Moses: 2 .o.m Hones: z .o.m Hones: z .a.m amass: z nowuouuuuu some some some some cowumauomma nuamm uflmua xom Had poauuusmm pagans: pmoHo>uo usuuum Havana: munmoumadu onamHmummonmqmm audma xmm az< maaaam A<9Hm¢z an amaamnmamuo .mezmozommmm mo zumquao mo amazoz zawz mm NAQwo :.ooH wmm h.mH n.5n _.wm Hat m . 3 c . mm o m . mm a . 3 m. . wk amino: 3056392 =.vw m.w m.~H m.w o.mh pmuuo>fio c.coa m.~ v.mm ~.- «.mm Had m.o~ c.cm o m.mm >.h~ m.mm cwwuumz onwasonmz c.cm m.m o.m >.mH «.mn pwouo>wn c.0ca o (b.mH 5.5m m.~n HH< m.mm ..mc o \b.mH w.hv n.mm .mwfiuumz mcwcfiEwL fi.am o n.ma h.mH v.mo oouo>wa Hamuo>o museum ucwwaum GEO: mEflB mafia msumuw :OAumfiuommo :wnuaz mafia Hash wpwnuso uumm Hash Houfiumz Iwawm pthHmEm uoz cohoHQEm pmhonEm uwuus xmm mHmEmm :OwumofiuwmmmHo ucwE>onEm mo wmmucwouwm MZOHBHD ho mwdfizmummm 0N wands .NZHZHZflh 117 While we were interested in relationships among all groups, major attention was given to divorced and once mar- ried women, and particularly to the androgynous group among the divorced women. Hypothesis Six stated: There will be no statistically significant relationship between the degree of employ- ment satisfaction of divorced and once married women and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. We expected that divorced androgynous and/or masculine women would indicate more satisfaction than their once mar- ried or feminine sub-group counterparts. Table 27 presents the distribution of employment satisfaction ratings by both sex trait and marital status. The null hypothesis was not rejected as differences among groups were too small to be statistically significant. Visual inspection reveals that the androgynous and masculine groups among both divorced and once married women do show very slightly but consistently higher ratings than their feminine counterparts (4.06 and 3.75 against 3.68) and (3.85 and 3.90 against 3.81). Examination of the small remarried group (n - 23) revealed a higher rating on employment satisfaction among the masculine women than either the androgynous or feminine women of the group (3.80 against 1.06 and 2.66 respectively). Further, the feminine and androgynous sub-groups of remarried women registered lower levels of employment satisfaction than any other group or sub-group. 118 These data could suggest that androgynous and masculine women are slightly more satisfied with their employment than feminine women, but no firm relationship seems to exist be— tween employment satisfaction and marital status. Sex Trait Self-Description and Selected Variables Associated with Marital Status A third general question area of the study focussed upon the relationship between the sex traits and selected variables associated with divorced or once married status alone. For divorced women, the selected variables were time since the divorce, divorce adjustment, perception of which spouse had initiated the divorce and the patterns of custody of children arranged after the divorce. For married women, time since their marriages and their sense of fulfillment in marriage were examined. Time Since the Divorce and Sex Trait SelfFDescription Categories We examined the period of time since the legal decree of divorce among all divorced women by sex trait categories. We expected that androgynous and masculine women would have been divorced longer than feminine women, the latter being more disposed to the married state. Hypothesis Seven stated: Among divorced women there will be no statistically significant relationship between the period of time since the divorce decree and sex trait self- description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. 119 ems. a a cam. u m imam. Ha.m Nhfl m~.~ Ho.m ma oN.H ~m.m he o~.H Nm.m sh nauuoa mm.a om.n «w oo.~ oo.n n ~m.a mm.m ma mo.~ oo.v m poumwucmuommwpsol m~.~ Ho.¢ om +H.H oo.a A -.H mm.m o~ on.“ oc.¢ an «nonsmoueca .mmm. Ho.m um om.H oa.m m vo.a om.m Ha one. mb.m wa ocausonmz_ ohm. H5.m ~m fhm. mm.~ m cam. Ho.m mm so.a mu.m we mcwsdsom .o.m sauna z .o.m mcwumu z .o.m mcwumu z .o.m weapon 2 moauomouuo came :80:— cmma and... m>wumwuom09 nuamm awoke xwm Add cwwuumsom cowuunz puouo>wo maumum Havana: mmHmowmfido 20HBmHmUmHQIhANm BHflmB 2mm 02¢ mDH.wa m wo.m H am.w~ m mv.ma he nuo rm.thm wa.h~ ma wm.hm m aw.dm o wm.m~ nu panama; o o uuém hm 23mm 3 aflmv a gram 2‘ 03L 70m .2 you 2 you 2 you 2 you 2 .zm oopmfipwcH oopo>wnm couuaucm Iumuuwcsa unochmoupsd mcwusomnz ocaswsoh unconcommmm pmouo>wo Add anomouno cowumauonmolmaom aways xom mzmmaadm 20H84HBH2H HUMQ>HD 2m NKOUHB‘U 2OHBmHmomflnlhflmm BHfiflB ”mm 09 02HDmOUU¢ m92mo20mmm2 GnomO>HG ho 2OHBDmHmHmHD on fidmda 126 Among divorced women, there will be no statistically significant relationship between custody arrangements for children (whether custody of children is with the mother alone, jointly with the mother and father, or with the father alone) and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Table 31 indicates the distribution of the three custody patterns by sex trait categories. The hypothesis could not be tested in any statistically significant manner because there were so few women in any of the principal categories whose husbands had been awarded custody. Among the three principal sex trait categories there are almost equal percen- tages of mothers having custody. Among mothers classified as feminine it was 80%, among those classified as masculine it was 85.7%, and among those classified androgynous it was 82.5%. Only two women,both of whom were in the feminine group, reported that their ex-husbands had been awarded sole custody. Percentages of androgynous mothers and masculine mothers (17.5% and 14.3% respectively) sharing custody with children's fathers were higher than that of feminine mothers (6.7%), but their numbers were very small. These data do not seem to clearly indicate that custody patterns are related to sex trait self-description. The androgynous and masculine women appear somewhat more likely to share custody of children with their ex-husbands, but the number of cases here is insufficient to demonstrate differences at statistically significant levels. 127 anommumu nodumwuommoluawm aways xmm aooa a ao.ooa ov wo.ooa va ao.oo~ ma ao.ooa ow NH wood H «m.ha N «n.vH N ah.o a wh.ma AH :uom o o o o o o mn.ma N wa.N N Hanan o o «m.Nw mm mh.mm NH «0.9m NH av.am hm Hos» ace 2 pom z pom 2 van 2 uom 2 “on Omaha: haammo poundusm moccamoupca onwasommz m:w:aEmm muwnuoz cwupawz unmuwwpca vacuo>wo NH< «0 apoumsu mzmmafidm 2HMOAHEU mo NDOBmDU Hm mmHmOUNB¢U ZOHBmHmUmmolhflmm BHHO Add ho 2OHBDQHMBmHQ 128 These data probably indicate, more than anything else, that women are more likely to be given custody of children than are men - or to want custody more than men. This find- ing seems to cross all sex trait levels. Only two ex-husbands were shown to have sole legal custody of their children. The data could suggest that androgynous and masculine mothers may be more likely than feminine mothers to share custody with their children's fathers. Length of Marriage and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories We examined the lengths of present marriages and displayed data for once married and remarried women. We expected once married feminine women to have been married significantly longer than androgynous and masculine women. Hypothesis Eleven stated: Among once married women, there will be no statistically significant relationship between the length of the marriage and sex trait self- description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Table 32 displays the mean lengths of marriage, in years, of once married and remarried women. The mean length of marriages of all once married women was 15.4 years and for all remarried women was 4.9 years. The null hypothesis was not rejected as differences among the groups of once married women were not large enough to be statistically significant. Visual inspection of the data showed masculine once married women to have been married slightly longer than their feminine or androgynous counterparts 129 (16.3 years compared to 15.2 and 14.1 years respectively), but it is doubtful that there is any significance in the differences. Among the small group of remarried women (n = 23) the feminine women had been married longer than their masculine and androgynous counterparts (5.6 compared to 4.49 and 4.3 years respectively). In this respect, however, we observed incidentally that the masculine and androgynous remarried women were from one to three years younger than the feminine women. These data do not seem to suggest any obvious pattern or possible inferences to be made concerning relationships be- tween length of present marriages of once married and remarried women and sex trait self-description. Marriage Fulfillment and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories We continued our examination of the married sub-groups by focussing on the assessment by once married and remarried women of personal fulfillment they experienced in their present marriages. They were asked to rate a one if they felt their marriages were most unfulfilling and a five if they felt they were most fulfilling. Bernard had reported many women unhappy 1 We expected androgynous, once married in their marriages. women to indicate a lower sense of personal fulfillment in their marriages than feminine and masculine women, assuming that women high in both masculine and feminine traits would experience more role strain - thus, less fulfillment - in the lBernard, Women, Wives, p. 30. 130 can. u 0 How. a m N.oH m.ma mNH vm.v m.v nN H.oH v.ma Nod nuance mt: aéu oN m.n o4 m or: .73 ma puuoaucouowmwpcn‘ rm.» F.HH em m.o n.¢ n 5.5 ”.4” RN «nauseouc N.OH «.ma MN o.m m.c m m.m m.mH ma ocaasom m4: 1: av o6 o6 m at: N.ma Nv 05.:ng .o.m nuuoa z .o.m upon» 2 .o.m undo» z nowuomouuo some some some sowumwuonoa Imaom vague xmm Add GOHHquom vmduuuz usuuum anuwucz mmHmOUmB¢U 20H90H20mm0lhnflm aHde xmm 02¢ mDadbm AdfiHfidS Hm 0flabmHmBmH0 ~m9200200mflm 2&203 0mHmm¢2Hm 02¢ 0mHmmdz H020 >0 0mBmOmmm md QU¢Hmm<2 mUZHm mmdufi ho 200222 2‘”: NM quflfi 131 marriage situation than women traditionally sex typed. Hypothesis Twelve stated: Androgynous once married women will score significantly lower on a scale measuring fulfillment in marriage than feminine or masculine once married women. Secondary attention was given to remarried women. Table 33 presents the distribution of once married and remarried women by their ratings of marriage fulfillment. The mean rating for once married women was 4.18 and for re- married women a very close 4.17. The hypothesis was not rejected as differences among groups were not large enough to be statistically significant. Visual inspection, however, indicates that contrary to what was expected, androgynous and masculine once-married women revealed a slightly higher assessment of fulfillment in mar- riage than their feminine counterparts (4.33 and 4.27 compared to 4.11 respectively). Visual inspection of the ratings of remarried women, while small in number (n = 23), indicated a similar pattern in that androgynous respondents were higher on the fulfillment rating scale than either their feminine or masculine counterparts (4.57 compared to 4.16 and 3.60 respectively). Undifferentiated once married and remarried women (n = 20) reported the same fulfillment rating (4.0 each), lower than all other ratings except that by the masculine remarried group. These data could suggest that the traits characteristic of masculine women and incorporated strongly by androgynous 132 women, contribute to a meaningful marriage experience in contrast to the feminine traits or the less strongly expressed traits of the undifferentiated classification. But the dif- ferences are not great enough for confident inferences. Sex Trait Self-Description, Marital Status and Attitudes Toward the Roles of Women in Contemporary Society The fourth major question area addressed by the study was concerned with the two major variables, marital status and sex trait self—description, and how they interacted with three role-perception issues which are part of woman's lives today: egalitarian attitudes, the appropriateness of single- ness as a life style for women today and the importance of marriage as a life choice for a woman. Egalitarian Attitudes in Relationship to Marital Status and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories The study first examined the attitudes among all respond- ents on a traditional/egalitarian continuum (the Egalitarian Scale, see Chapter III) in relationship to marital status and sex trait self-description. Each woman expressed her response to the nine-item scale which presents normative statements as to what a woman's role should be. Each item was rated on a one to five scale with one being the most traditional and five being the most egalitarian. Harris and others had reported evidence of more women holding egalitarian attitudes in recent years than ever before.1 Table 34 displays the mean rating 1Harris, "Virginia Slims American Woman," p. 3. 133 mg. a a no». u m mam. oa.« mNH can. sa.v MN mum. ma.e Nod Huuoa so.~ oc.¢ cu mH.H 80.4 m ma.~ oc.q ma emuofiuaoumumweca mmm. mm.q «m was. hm.q A use. mm.v s~ anonymoucca obs. ma.¢ m~ «as. ow.m m mam. -.v ma mafiasommz we». ~H.¢ a. «mu. 8H.q o as». HH.¢ ~v mcacflemm .o.m unsung 2 .o.m mcfiuuu z .a.m mcwuuu z cowuuowmnmmodo Gum: Gum: 0M0: HHMHB HUM—~00 «34 mmwuumEmM Woman—m: mauuum Hmuwuuz mmHKOUmB¢U ZOHEmHmUmm0lhAmm BH¢KB xmm >0 2&203 00H22¢2m2 02¢ 0NHM¢¢S 0020 20 NO¢H22¢Z 2H BZmZAAHhADh ho m02H8¢M 2¢H2 mm mam¢8 134 for all respondents on the egalitarian attitude scale. Atten- tion was given to the general relationship among all groups. Hypothesis Thirteen stated: Among divorced and once married women, there will be no statistically significant relation- ship betwen ratings on a scale of egalitarian attitudes toward the woman's wife role and marital status and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. The null hypothesis was partly rejected; statistically signi- ficant differences were noted when ratings of masculine divorced (4.58) and masculine married (4.51) respondents were contrasted with those of feminine divorced women (4.03). Visual inspection reveals that all masculine groups scored higher than their feminine counterparts; and androgynous women in all marital statuses scored higher than their feminine and lower than their masculine counterparts, though these differences were not statistically significant at the .05 level. There seemed to be no consistent differences attributable to marital status. Differences in mean scores among the remarried women (n = 23) were consistent with those among the divorced and once married women, namely, that masculine and androgynous remarried women had higher scores than feminine remarried women (4.78 and 4.47 against 4.25 respectively). Scores of undifferentiated women (n = 27) were consistently closer to those of the feminine than of the masculine or androgynous sub-groups of the once married, divorced and remarried women. The second and more specific focus, within the major concern of the study, was upon the androgynous sex trait 135 mooo. n m MoN.v u m 5v. NM.v NAN MNm. NM.v MN New. MM.v Nod cmv. Nv.v NM mauve; 1mm. oH.v MN mum. hm.M m oMm. MN.v ma Hem. va.v h pmuuwucmuwmuwpco! WMM. mv.e NM mud. he.v N NMM. Av.v MN MMM. vm.v av unochmoup:¢_ MM. MM; .3 5;. MN; n 3;. an; Md mMN. om; MN mcqasoan ram. oN.v no MMm. MN.v m on. NN.v Ne on. Mo.v ma m:«:wEmm_ .o . m mouoon z .0. m nouoon z .o. m mouoon z .0. m nouoou z noquoowuqu came cum... cams duo... :oNumwuon nudmm Mac pmauumEmm poauumz puouo>do uwmua xwm mauuum Havana: 20H80H00m00lhn0m BH¢08 20m 02¢ mDB¢Bm A¢BHO¢S 00 00800H080H0 .0000 0.243203 028 00¢309 000DBHBB¢ 2¢H0¢BHA¢00 025—0202 0A¢0m ¢ 20 09200200000 00 000000 2¢0= v m 00003. 136 category, its expression among divorced respondents alone and the egalitarian attitudes. Hypothesis Fourteen stated: Androgynous divorced women will score significantly higher on a scale measur- ing egalitarian attitudes toward the woman's wife role than masculine and feminine divorced women. The hypothesis was partly rejected. Statistically signi- ficant differences were found between androgynous divorced respondents and feminine divorced respondents (4.54 and 4.03 respectively); the masculine group, on the other hand, scored slightly higher than the androgynous respondents (4.58 and 5.54 respectively), and significantly higher than the feminine respondents (4.58 and 4.03 respectively). Focus was directed again to the androgynous groups and their differences along marital lines. Hypothesis Fifteen stated: Androgynous divorced women will score significantly higher on a scale measur- ing egalitarian attitudes toward the woman's wife role than androgynous once married women. We had expected that the combination of androgyny and divorce would produce even more tendency toward the egalitarian side of the continuum. But the hypothesis was not supported since no statistically significant differences were noted between mean scores of the two marital sub-groups. Visual inspection, however, indicated that the divorced androgynous women scored slightly higher than the once married women who were androgynous (4.54 and 4.41 respectively). 137 These findings suggest that the masculine and androgynous sex trait classifications are more associated with the egali- tarian values while the feminine traits are more associated with the traditional side of the continuum. Since the mean score of all respondents was 4.3% one cannot say with much confidence that any group was "tradi- tional." We can only suggest that our findings are consistent with earlier findings and seem important to consider for further research. Ratings of Appropriateness of Sin leness in Relationship to Marital Status and Sex Trait SeIf—Description Categories We examined respondents' judgments of how appropriate singleness is for women today. Adams and others had reported that women are placing more value on the option of a single 1 The 217 women life style compared with the marriage option. were asked to rate the appropriateness of singleness as a life style for women today. Rating was done on a scale (1-5) with one indicating singleness as inappropriate and five indi- cating it as very appropriate. While we were interested in the variance of the appro- priateness of singleness ratings among all sub-groups, particular interest was directed at the divorced and once married women and in particular at their respective androgynous and masculine sub-groups. Hypothesis Sixteen stated: Among divorced and once married women, there will be no statistically significant relationship 1Adams, Blessed Singleness, p. 3. 138 between ratings of the appropriateness of singleness as a life style for women and sex trait self-description as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Table 35 indicates the distribution of the mean ratings of the appropriateness of singleness. The null hypothesis was not rejected. Overall mean ratings of appropriateness of singleness were very high, 4.78. High ratings were so common that differences in means were not statistically significant at the .05 level. Visual inspection reveals some interesting though very minor differences among the groups. Divorced masculine and androgynous women rated singleness as more appropriate than did divorced feminine women. Also, divorced women, in all the sex trait categories, rated it more appropriate than did their once married counterparts, though the differences were much smaller than one might have expected. Surprisingly, re— married women, in all three principal sex trait categories, unanimously rated singleness at highest possible levels of appropriateness though each had twice chosen marriage over singleness. The lowest mean rating of singleness (3.5) with the widest standard deviation (1.91) was recorded by the very small and most peripheral of all sub-groups, the remarried and undifferentiated group. The meaning, if any, of this rating is not readily apparent. These data suggest that ratings of the appropriateness of singleness are only slightly higher among divorced than among once married respondents and that differences among 139 sex trait categories are not consistent across marital status lines. The high mean for all women suggests a high level acceptance of singleness compared with marriage as a life style by all of the groups. Ratings of Importance of Marriage in Relationship to Marital Status and Sex Trait Self-Description Categories We examined the ratings given by women to the importance of marriage. Stein and others had reported a general lowering of the value placed upon the marriage state by women and men today.l Respondents were asked to rate the importance of marriage for a woman today on a scale (1-5) with a one indi- cating marriage as unimportant and a five indicating that it was very important. We were interested in the differences among all sub- groups, although, as throughout the study, attention was focussed upon the androgynous women and their differences from other groups. We expected them to be significantly lower in both marital status groups than their masculine and feminine counterparts. Hypothesis Seventeen stated: Androgynous divorced and once married women will score significantly lower on a scale measuring the importance of marriage in a woman's life than masculine and feminine divorced and once married women. Table 35 indicates the distribution of the marriage importance ratings by both marital status and sex trait. The hypothesis was rejected as differences among groups were not large enough to be statistically significant. Visual 1Stein, "Singlehood," p. 489. 140 mac. n m MNM.A n m Too. Mh.v NAN MAM. MN.v MN ooh. wo.v NOA MMM. MM.¢ NM nAsuog TNM. av.v NN AM.A om.M m NNM. mm.v MA MNM. mm.v N pouMAusmuomMAcsn ?Mm. «M.v NM o oo.m N vNM. mm.v NN va. MM.v av msosamouch Two. NM.v Av o oo.m m how. NN.v MA o oo.m MA msAAsomm rMm. Nh.v NM o oo.m w VMN. MN.v Nv MAN. Mh.v MA osAsAEuL .o.m chuuu : .Q.m chumu z .o.m msAuuu z .0.m msAumu z :oAuooAMAmmmAO save some sums saws uAuua umpswu AAd pmAuumEmm pruumz pmouo>Ao usuuum Amuflumz m0H0000B¢0 20H90H00m00lhq0m BH¢0B x00 02¢ mDB¢Hm Q¢BHO¢= M0 00900H090H0 .09200200000 N0 00020002Hm 00 mm020B¢H000000¢ 028 00 002HB¢0 2¢02 mm 000¢B 141 inspection reveals large standard deviations in virtually every case, and suggests that differences within groups were larger than differences between and among groups. It also shows that androgynous women give slightly lower mean rat- ings to the importance of marriage than the feminine respondents in both the divorced and once married groups (2.70 and 2.81 contrasted to 3.10 and 3.21 respectively). Further inspection indicated that the divorced masculine women rated the impor- tance of marriage lower (2.37) than did any other sub-group. The mean rating by all women of the importance of mar— riage was 2.94, considerably below the 4.78 mean rating of the appropriateness of singleness. Ratings by remarried women (n = 23) showed a pattern consistent with that of the divorced and once married respondents. In that group androgynous women rated marriage importance lower than did feminine but slightly higher than did masculine remarried women (2.85, 4.00 and 2.40 respectively). Ratings by undifferentiated respondents were closer to those of feminine than to other sub-groups in all three marital statuses. Although analysis revealed no statistical significance, at the .05 level, in the differences, the rather consistent patterns of ratings among the six principal sub-groups could suggest that marriage is less important for divorced women and for those having more of the masculine traits in their sex trait self-description. Likewise, the consistently 142 though slightly higher ratings of marriage importance among the feminine sub-groups could be taken as confirming the theoretical bases of this study linking affirmation of mar- riage with higher levels of the feminine trait clusters. But care should be taken in making such inferences from these data,and more research is suggested. Summary of the Analysis This section is a report of analysis of relationships in four major areas central to the study: marital status and its interaction withihe sex trait self-description cate- gories, marital status and sex trait categories in relationship to several selected demographic characteristics of the 217 women, sex trait categories in relation to factors unique to divorced women and to married women alone, and marital status and sex trait categories in relation to three attitudinal concerns having to do with the perceptions of women toward their own changing roles today. Underlying all analyses was the continuing focus upon divorced women, as highlighted by their comparison with a married group, of otherwise similar characteristics, and the androgynous sex trait category and its possible highlighting by comparison with masculine and feminine categories. Primary attention was given to divorced and once married respondents and to those in feminine, mascu- line and androgynous categories. Secondary attention was given to women who had been divorced and remarried and to those low on both feminine and masculine sex traits, two groups not clearly differentiated as to either marital status or sex traits. 143 new. a a MAo.H u m PM.A vM.N NAN vM.A AN.M MN MM.A MM.M NoA MM.A NN.N NM «Anne; AM.A MN.M NN AM.A MM.M M Mv.A MN.M MA MMM. «A.M N vauuAusouMHMAos¢ WM.A MN.N NM AN.A MM.N N AM.A AM.N NN Mv.A MN.N Mv usosamoupsm TM.A MM.N Av vM.A o¢.N M MN.A vM.N MA AM.A NM.N MA osAAsouo; FMA MN.M NM vMM. co; M MM.A AN.M Nv NM.A MA.M MA osAsA50$ .0.m msAunu z .0.m MGAumu z .n.m msAumu z .0.m chuu 2 Muowoamo some came saga some :oApnAhome umAmm AA< vauuasmm voAuunz coouo>Ao pAmne xmm usuuum Auuauux m0H00009¢0 20HBQH00000I0000 BH¢09 x00 02¢ mDB¢Hm Q¢BHO¢S 20 00900H080H0 .m9200200000 N0 00¢H00¢2 00 002¢90002H 008 00 002H9¢0 2¢02 em 000¢B 144 The first set of analyses, relating marital status and the sex trait categories, found divorced women significantly more likely to be androgynous than once married women and the latter more likely to be in the feminine classification than the divorced women. But divorced and once married women were found to show an equal likelihood of expressing masculine sex traits. Remarried women did not indicate a pattern similar to the divorced and once married women; their distri- bution was more even among all sex trait classifications. More of the once married women than of the divorced women, however, fell into the undifferentiated grouping. In sum, these findings give support to our expectations that divorced women would tend to be more androgynous and married women would tend to be more feminine. No support was given to our expectation that divorced women would be more masculine. In the second set of analyses we found few statistically significant differences among groups when we examined levels of education, age, number of children, degree of employment and employment satisfaction in relationship to marital status and sex trait categories. Educational levels examined by marital status and sex trait indicated more once married women than divorced women carrying their education beyond the baccalaureate degree, more masculine women (compared with feminine and androgynous) undertaking graduate work and more of them obtaining masters degrees. A greater number of androgynous married women had done graduate work than all other women. Age of respondents when taken alone showed little 145 relationship to marital status. Sex trait analysis showed masculine women more likely to be younger than either fem- inine or androgynous women. Divorced women from twenty to fifty were more likely to be masculine and much more likely to be androgynous than to be feminine or undifferentiated. Once married women, especially those below forty years of age, were much more likely to be feminine than masculine, and somewhat more likely to be feminine than androgynous. Among divorced women those with significantly higher numbers of children were in the feminine as contrasted to masculine and androgynous categories, although this was not true for once married or remarried women. Employment patterns did not indicate much relationship to sex trait categories when examined apart from marital status. Divorced women were more likely to be employed full time and once married women were more likely to be employed part time or not be employed outside the home. Masculine married women were much less likely to be employed outside their homes, less likely to be employed part time and about as likely to be employed full time when compared with their feminine and androgynous coun- terparts. Ratings of employment satisfaction were not significantly different among marital status or sex trait groups, although (and possibly important) divorced androgynous women revealed slightly higher ratings on employment satis- faction than any other group. Remarried and undifferentiated 146 women in general were lowest of all groups in employment satisfaction. In sum, the second major focus of the study revealed no clear differences among groups, and particular- ly no distinctive relationships of the divorced and/or androgynous classifications. The third set of analyses, concerned with variables unique to divorced and to once married respondents independ- ently, revealed only one set of statistically significant relationship to sex trait categories. The feminine group had been divorced slightly though not significantly longer than the other groups. In assessment of their own adjustment to divorce both masculine and androgynous women were found to be significantly higher than the feminine women. Divorce adjustment ratings of undifferentiated divorced respondents were more akin to the ratings of the feminine group than they were to those of the androgynous or masculine groups. Analysis of which spouse had initiated the divorce did not reveal any statistically significant differences among groups, although the androgynous and masculine respond- ents had taken the initiative in more cases than had their feminine counterparts. An interesting yet unexpected finding was the relatively high proportion (51%) of respondents who indicated that they had originated their divorces. Child custody patterns, likewise, bore little or no relationship to sex trait categories. They did show a very high percentage (83%) of women having sole legal custody of their children and 147 a sizable percentage (14.3%) who shared custody with their former husbands. Among this latter group, though it was too small to justify confident inferences, masculine and andro- gynous women more frequently than feminine women shared custody. Among once married women, neither length of marriage nor marriage fulfillment ratings showed any statistically signifi- cant relationships to sex trait categories. Both once married and remarried women were almost the same on their ratings of marriage fulfillment. As expected, but not at a statistically significant level, the androgynous women, both married and remarried, reported higher ratings of ful- fillment in marriage than their masculine and feminine counterparts. In sum, the only statistically significant finding of the third set of analyses was that self-ratings of divorce adjustment were higher for masculine women compared with the feminine group, and the androgynous women scored very close to the masculine women. The last set of analyses examining the three variables associated with role perceptions (egalitarian attitudes, apprOpriateness of singleness and marriage importance) disclosed statistically significant relationships in one interaction. The masculine groups, both divorced and once married as well as androgynous once married women, were significantly higher on the egalitarian scale than the feminine women of divorced status. The once married feminine women 148 were also lower than the masculine women but not enough for statistical significance at the .05 level. Remarried women showed a similar pattern. Scores of the undifferentiated women were found to be closer to those of the feminine group- ings than those of the androgynous or masculine groups. Corroborating our expectations, though not at a stat- istically significant level, overall, divorced respondents rated the appropriateness of singleness more highly than did once married women and among divorced women both androgynous and masculine sub-groups rated appropriateness of singleness higher than did their feminine counterparts. Remarried women of all three major sex trait categories unanimously rated it at the highest level (5.0), above the ratings of both divorced and once married groups. Differences in ratings of the appropriateness of singleness among sex trait categories were neither consistent nor large enough to be statistically significant. Differences in ratings of the importance of marriage appear to have been greater within the various groups than between them. Differences between divorced and married women were not statistically significant. As expected, how- ever, divorced women's mean ratings of marriage importance were consistently lower than those of married women. Among the small group of remarried women, those classified as feminine rated marriage importance much more highly than did either their androgynous or masculine counterparts. In sum, analysis of the factors associated with role perception of 149 of this sample disclosed general support for the study's theoretical expectations, i.e., that divorced and androgynous women tend toward a more egalitarian position, see singleness as more appropriate and see marriage as less important in a woman's life than do feminine women. The androgynous and masculine women appear to be very similar in their role per- ceptions in contrast with the feminine women to whom undifferentiated women appear more similar. Remarried women seem to be their own persons on the role perceptions, rating neither the same nor completely different from either divorced or once married women. CHAPTER V SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Introduction Sociological and psychological changes are taking place in the lives of many American women. Rising numbers of divorced women, new attitudes by women toward their own roles, greater participation by women in higher education and employment opportunities appear to be reflective of and contributive to these changes. Gender shifts, as well, appear to be occurring in the self-images of women, from the feminine traits such as pleasing and deferring, tradi- tionally expected of women, to the masculine traits such as assertiveness and initiation, traditionally expected of men. More basic is the change many women appear to be experiencing in their self-thinking from a more subordinate and traditional pattern in which the interests of others come before their own to a more egalitarian pattern in which their own inter- ests are as important as those of others. Some women appear to be integrating these traditional patterns, both feminine and masculine, into a newly accepted combination called androgyny, a psychological position where one may be actively concerned with others or with self, be passive or assertive. 150 151 Observers of these changes have evolved a typology of four sex trait categories: feminine, masculine, androgynous and a residual or undifferentiated group.' With these cultural shifts and gender changes as back- ground, this inquiry explored four basic issues. It was premised on the assumption that marital status, principally divorced versus once married, in women might either affect or be affected by some of the social and psychological changes. Purpose The first goal of the study was to examine the relation- ship between marital status and sex trait self-description. We expected to find that divorced women would manifest higher levels of the masculine traits than their once married counterparts, or combine those traits in an expression of androgyny more frequently than married women. As a corollary it was our further expectation that once married women would include more of the feminine traits in their sex trait self— descriptions, assuming that being married has something to do with the dominance of the feminine modality within the self-image of women. A secondary and later develOped issue was the sex trait self-descriptions of remarried women since, in one sense, they were both divorced and married ala their marital status. The second goal of the study was to trace sex trait self—descriptions and marital status as they interacted with several demographic characteristics. These characteristics were education, age, number of children, employment status 152 and rating of employment satisfaction. We expected that higher educational levels, younger ages, fewer children, more full time employment and higher levels of employment satisfaction would be reported by divorced women, particu— larly their androgynous and masculine sub-groupings, compared with their married counterparts. Conversely, we had expected the feminine women, both divorced and married, to indicate the opposite of these. The third goal of the study involved separate analysis of each marital status group, divorced and once married, in terms of the relationship between sex traits and factors unique to marital status. Interest was first directed at the divorced respondents, examining relationships between sex trait self-description and the length of their divorces, their self-assessed adjustment to being divorced, their perceptions of who had initiated the divorce and the patterns of child custody they had worked out with their ex-husbands. We expected, in androgynous and masculine women, longer periods between divorces and second marriages, higher assessment of divorce adjustment, more frequent initiations of divorce and less frequent custody of children; and we had expected the opposite to be true for the feminine respondents. Then we examined the once married women and the relationship between their sex trait self-descriptions and the duration and quality of their present marriages. We expected that androgynous and masculine women would have shorter marriages as well as 153 feel less fulfilled in their marriages than, in both cases, their feminine counterparts. The fourth goal of the study was to examine marital status and sex trait, independently and in combination, as they related to three major role attitudes reflecting changes in woman's roles: egalitarian attitudes, appropriateness of singleness as a life style for a woman today and the importance of marriage in a woman's life. Again, we had expected that androgynous and masculine women, especially if divorced, when contrasted with all feminine women, and especially those once married, would be more egalitarian, rate singleness as more appropriate and give a much lower rating to the importance of marriage. In sum, the goals of the study gave special attention to divorced as contrasted to once married status, and to those whose sex trait self-descriptions were androgynous or mascu- line as contrasted to those whose descriptions were feminine, and anticipated significant differences among the groups on the various items. Methodology The basic approach of the inquiry was ex pggg £2222 in that it described on the basis of data collected after the events had occurred in the lives of respondents. It was not an experimental study where factors were manipulated and controlled. 154 To gather the data needed to pursue in detail the goals as stated above, a questionnaire was designed requesting information in the several areas of concern. First, demographic data were collected from all respond- ents as to their marital status, education, age, number of children, period of time married (or remarried), employment status and employment satisfaction. Divorced respondents were asked the period of time since their divorces, their self-ratings of divorce adjustment, who had initiated the divorce and the child custody patterns worked out with their ex-husbands; married respondents were also asked how fulfill- ing they judged their marriages to be. Second, all women were requested to complete the Bem 'Sex Role Inventory as described in Chapters II and III. On the basis of her responses each woman was placed in one of four classifications: feminine, masculine, androgynous or undifferentiated. Third, all respondents were asked to express their attitudes on three role related issues. For two of them one- item attitude scales were used: appropriateness of singleness and importance of marriage, each rated from one (low) to five (high). Data on the third issue, egalitarian attitudes, were collected by using a nine-item instrument called the Egalitarian Scale developed by the investigator and discussed in Chapters II and III. 155 The questionnaire containing requests for the various data was printed, pretested and either hand delivered or mailed to three-hundred women who had indicated, one way or another, interest in the changing roles of women. Two- hundred seventeen returned usable forms. Special effort was made to include approximately equal numbers of divorced and once married women who also manifested a distribution across the three major sex trait categories, feminine, masculine and androgynous, in large enough numbers to make statistical analysis viable. The final sample consisted predominantly of highly educated, generally middle class professional or professionally oriented Caucasian women. Most were affiliated more or less directly with a moderately liberal Protestant church located in a medium sized university city, adjacent to a state capi- tol. Others were active in social groups and organizations from the same metropolitan area. The respondents were in no way intended to be representa— tive of all women within the university city or reflective of middle class professional or Caucasian women in general. They were chosen as an important group within which to examine interactions of sex trait self-description and marital status among divorced and married women in a particular time and place. Hopefully, this examination may make a contribution to more general understandings in this important research area 156 as well as suggest other areas for study. No claims of broad generalizability of conclusions are made, however. Analysis of the Data The collected data were, first, displayed through a descriptive analysis of the information returned, and, second, subjected to a more detailed analysis of the relation- ships among data as posed by the study's four major goals and seventeen hypotheses. Descriptive discussion and tables (2-19) were presented reporting both percents and numbers for marital status, sex trait self-description categories, educational level, age, number of children, employment status, employment satisfaction, lengths of marriages and divorces, divorce adjustment, divorce initiation, custody of children, fulfillment in marriage, egalitarian values, appropriateness of singleness and impor- tance of marriage. The data were then examined in terms of the relationships posed by the four major question areas. Analysis was given precision by the seventeen hypotheses. Principal interest was upon the divorced respondents as they were found to con- trast with the once married women and upon differences among feminine, masculine and androgynous women. Interpretations of the relationships were made using both statistical pro- cedures and consistency in data patterns as they related to the goals of the study. The statistical procedures used for evaluating relationships were the chi square, one way analysis 157 of variance and several pg§E_hgg statistics, the LSD, Duncan and LSDMOD . Tables were displayed for all examined relationships (see tables 20-36). Findings Description of the Sample Analysis began with descriptions of the sample in terms of the several variables we were studying. The data revealed nearly equal numbers of divorced and once married women, plus a smaller group of remarried women. The distribution by sex trait self-description was less even; 38% were classified as androgynous, 31% as feminine, 19% as masculine, and 12% as undifferentiated. Very high educational levels were found among respondents; all women had either graduated from col- lege or had taken some work at the college level; and nearly 60% had done graduate work beyond the baccalaureate level. Agewise, respondents ranged from twenty to sixty-five years. They were, on the average, early middle age with the largest number between 31 and 35 years of age and more than four- fifths between twenty-six and fifty. The mean number of children for all women was 2.08 with 20% indicating that they had no children. Approximately 80% of the sample were employed either full or part time; only 19% were not employed outside the home; and 1.8% were full time students. Employment satisfaction for those employed outside the home received a moderate rating on a one to five scale. 158 Examination of divorced and married women as separate groups showed divorced women to have been divorced, on the average, some four years and seven months; once married women had been married, on the average, for some fifteen and one- half years while remarried women had been in their second marriages, on the average, only four years and seven months. Divorced women, generally, rated their divorce adjustment at a relatively high level. Similarly, both once married and remarried women reported generally high levels of personal sense of fulfillment in marriage. Over half of the divorced women indicated that they had initiated their divorces with much smaller groups indicating that they had mutually initiated the divorce with their ex- husbands or their ex-husbands had originally sought the divorce. On woman's role attitudes, all respondents indicated high ratings toward the egalitarian values as well as the appropriateness of being single. By contrast, importance of marriage was, generally, given only a moderate rating on a one to five scale. Relationships Among the Variables Initial analysis of the data revealed that 172 (79%) of the women were in the primary group under study (divOrced and once married women in feminine, masculine and androgynous sex trait self-description categories). Forty-five (21%) of the respondents were in the peripheral groups of undifferentiated 159 and remarried women. Nine percent of all the women fell into the divorced feminine classification, 8% into the divorced masculine group and 22% into the divorced androgynous group- ing. Three percent of the women were in the peripheral divorced undifferentiated classification. Nineteen percent were in the once married feminine, 8% in the once married masculine and 12% in the once married androgynous groups, while 7% were in the peripheral once married undifferentiated classification. Three percent of them were in the peripheral remarried feminine group, 2% in the remarried masculine group and 3% in the remarried androgynous group. Another two percent of the women were in the remarried undifferentiated group. In sum, the primary group under study included 172 women of whom eighty-five (39.2%) were divorced and eighty-seven (40.1%) were married and sixty-one (28.2%) women were feminine, thirty-six (16.6%) were masculine and seventy-five (34.5%) were androgynous. Forty-five (20.7%) were in the two peri- pheral groups. Special attention was given to differences between divorced and once married respondents, and to androgynous compared with feminine and/or masculine respondents. Marital status distri- buted by sex trait self-description categories found divorced women significantly more likely to be androgynous than once married women, and married women more likely to be feminine than those who had been divorced. No important differences 160 were noted between masculine divorced or once married women. More married women were in the undifferentiated category. When sex trait self-description categories of our primary groups were distributed into marital status groups,we found nearly twice as large a proportion of androgynous women divorced as were married, equal proportions of masculine women divorced and married, and more than twice as large a proportion of feminine women still married as were divorced. Among undiffer- entiated women more than twice as many were still married as divorced. Marital status and sex trait self-description, independ- ently and in combination, were examined in relationship to demographic characteristics of all respondents. Only one statistically significant relationship was found between either marital status or sex trait self-description, or these in combination, and the selected demographic factors: educa- tional level, age, number of children, employment status or employment satisfaction. Feminine divorced women had signi— ficantly more children than any other group of women except those in the very peripheral undifferentiated and remarried group. Visual inspection revealed several consistent patterns related to the study's goals and which seemed important. More married women than divorced women had continued their formal education beyond baccalaureate leve1;and masculine women, divorced and married, indicated higher levels of education than either androgynous or feminine women. More of the masculine 161 married women had masters degrees. Younger divorced women described themselves in androgynous or masculine terms more often than did other women; and the largest portion of mar- ried women, over all age groups, described themselves in feminine terms. Approximately four-fifths of all women were employed outside their homes, slightly over half of them full time. Among married women, those reporting masculine or androgynous self-descriptions reported more frequently than their feminine counterparts that they were not employed outside their homes. Masculine and androgynous women tended to be consistently higher on employment satisfaction than feminine women. Data were also examined for the interaction of the sex trait categories among divorced and once married respondents separately, with several variables relating to their marital status. Statistically significant differences among groups were found in only one posed relationship; masculine divorced women indicated a higher divorce adjustment rating than feminine divorced respondents. Androgynous divorced women were observed to have rated their adjustments to divorce only slightly lower than did the masculine sub-group. Other findings though important to the overall goals of the study were noted as being consistent but not statistically significant at the required levels. Masculine and androgynous divorced women were more likely to have initiated their divorces than feminine divorced women;and the same two groups 162 were more likely to have shared custody of their children with their ex-husbands. Among once married women androgynous and masculine women reported higher ratings in their sense of fulfillment in marriage than feminine women. Marital status and sex trait were examined in relation- ship to issues in three changing roles of women: egalitarian attitudes, appropriateness of singleness and the importance of marriage. Only one of the posed relationships was found to be statistically significant: masculine women of both marital statuses scored significantly higher on the egali— tarian attitudes scale than feminine women, especially those who were divorced. Androgynous women were nearer to masculine than to feminine women in their egalitarian scores. Other findings thought possibly important to the purpose of the study were noted as being consistent though not shown to be statistically significant at the .05 level. All feminine women scored lower than masculine and androgynous women on the egalitarian attitude scale. Divorced women, generally, thought singleness more appropriate as a life style for women than once married women; and they also revealed consistently lower ratings of the importance of marriage in a woman's life than did once married women. Masculine women, as a group, rated marriage importance lower than did feminine women as a group, and so did androgynous women. Among the three role perceptions, generally, findings of possible importance to the study were found: ratings 163 among all respondents were extremely high on both the egali- tarian attitudes and appropriateness of singleness items, and, still among all respondents, the high levels of appro- priateness of singleness revealed great contrast to the relatively lower ratings, among all women, on the importance of marriage. Undifferentiated women throughout the study rated closely to the various ratings of feminine women. In sum, the general results of the study, both those tested and shown to be statistically significant at the .05 level and the consistent though statistically less significant findings, suggest some support for the hypotheses posed with regard to the differences among divorced and once married women and among feminine, masculine and androgynous women. Conclusions The conclusions of the study as presented below should be tempered by the context of the populations and methodology, and generalizations to other populations should be made with extreme care. The study was designed to explore the relation- ship of marital status and sex trait self-description to each other and to demographic and role factors among relatively sophisticated women, as both a psychological and sociological phenomenon of possible importance to similar research as well as to a more effective practice of adult education among women. Readers must judge for themselves the applicability of this effort to their own projects. 164 The conclusions drawn from the research and posed below are presented at three levels - first, conclusions based primarily on findings which proved to be statistically significant at the .05 level or better; second, conclusions based on observed consistent relationships among the data, closely related to the goals of the study and thought important for inclusion although not found to be statistically signi- ficant at the levels specified; third, conclusions drawn from relationships found among the two peripheral groups, the re- married and undifferentiated women which, while secondary to the study, were thought important for examination. Conclusions Based on Statistically Significant Findings It can be concluded, on the basis of the findings which were tested and shown to be statistically significant at the .05 level or better, that among women similar to those in our sample: . there is a relationship between marital status and sex trait self-description. . more divorced women than once married women see them- selves as androgynous. . more once married women than divorced women see them- selves as feminine. . among feminine women, those with more children are more likely to be divorced. . masculine divorced women see themselves as better adjusted to being divorced than feminine divorced women. 165 . masculine and androgynous women see themselves as more egalitarian than feminine women. Tentative Conclusions Based on Consistent Patterns Among the Data It can be concluded, much more tentatively, on the basis of the observed consistent patterns of relationship among the factors we studied, that among women similar to those of our sample: . more divorced women than married women describe them- selves as having masculine traits. . androgynous women are more likely than masculine women, and much more likely than feminine women, to be divorced. . married women are more likely than divorced women to continue their formal education beyond the baccalaureate level. . masculine women are more highly educated than androgynous and feminine women. . masculine women are likely to be younger than andro- gynous or feminine women. . approximately four of every five women are employed outside the home, about half of them in full time positions. . divorced women are most likely to be employed full time and married women to be employed part time. . masculine and androgynous married women are less likely than feminine married women to be employed outside the home. . androgynous and masculine women are more likely to be satisfied with their full or part time employment than feminine women. 166 . masculine or androgynous women are more likely to take initiative in seeking divorce than are feminine women. . masculine and androgynous divorced women are more likely to share, with their ex-husbands, custody of their children than are feminine divorced women. . androgynous married women see themselves as more highly fulfilled in their marriages than do either feminine or masculine married women. . both divorced and married women have highly egalitarian attitudes. . feminine women see themselves as less egalitarian than either masculine or androgynous women. . both divorced and married women give high ratings to the appropriateness of singleness. . divorced women rate the appropriateness of singleness only slightly higher than do once married women. . feminine women, both divorced and married, rate the importance of marriage more highly than do androgynous or masculine divorced or married women. . divorced women rate the importance of marriage only slightly lower than do married women. . masculine women rate the importance of marriage lower than do feminine women. . both divorced and married women rate the appropriateness of singleness much higher than the importance of marriage. . androgynous women tend to resemble masculine women more than feminine women on the characteristics examined by this study. 167 Conclusions Relating to the Peripheral Groups Finally, it can be even more tentatively suggested on the basis of the observed data patterns, that among undiffer- entiated and remarried women similar to those of our sample: . there is no systematic relationship between remarried status and sex trait self-description. . once married women are more likely to be undifferentiated than are divorced women. . masculine women are likely to have slightly fewer children than are feminine or androgynous remarried women. . remarried women see themselves as at about the same level of fulfillment in their marriages as do once married women. . undifferentiated women, divorced and married, are similar to feminine women in seeing themselves as less egali- tarian than do masculine or androgynous women, divorced or married. . remarried women are even more likely than divorced or once married women to see singleness as an appropriate state for women today. . at the same time, remarried feminine women rate the importance of marriage more highly than do women in any other marital status or sex trait category. . remarried and undifferentiated women may be more likely than other women to have larger families. 168 . undifferentiated women resemble feminine women more than either masculine or androgynous women on the character— istics examined by this study. Other relationships posed by the inquiry and for which neither statistically significant relationships nor observed consistencies among data patterns were evidenced were: length of time since divorces and length of marriages. Implications for Theory and Practice Our conclusions suggest several theoretical and practical implications for professional work in adult and continuing education. First, since the findings show great sex trait variance among women, many combining masculine traits with the more traditional feminine traits, the notion that women are "naturally" feminine in their sex trait self-image must be questioned. The data confirm that many women are expressing high levels of the assertive qualities. This appears to imply that sex traits are learned, in contrast to what some have believed, i.e., that their origin is in biopsychological nature. It affirms the bipolar potential of sex traits. Second, the findings suggest that among educated women like those studied, there is high egalitarian regard for their own status and value in the social order. They suggest further that being younger might also be related to such perceptions. Such generally higher sense of the woman's capability and worth might also be related to a generally 169 high rating of appropriateness of singleness among women, especially in comparison with the relatively lower values placed on the importance of the married state. Such data might, indeed, reflect dramatic changes among women from goals traditionally affirmed by them. Further, theory linking feminine sex traits in women with the married state is also supported by the data. The findings, also, give support to theory separating respondents low in both traditional sex traits from other groups and indicating their "undifferentiated" classification. The latter group was, in fact, lower in its scores on most of the major variables than were those in the major sex trait categories, suggesting that low sex trait affirmation in both major categories could imply lower valuing of self as Spence has suggested.1 It at least supports the suggestion that the term "androgyny" be reserved for those expressing higher levels of both feminine and masculine traits. It also supports the idea that sex trait has links to other dimensions of self than just role. In sum, theory posing sex trait and sex role shifts among contemporary women can be invaluable to the continuing educa- tor as he or she responds to the needs of women. Several direct implications for the practice of continuing education are noted. Of primary importance is the awareness lSpence and Stapp, "Ratings of Self and Peers," p. 36. 170 of the sex trait phenomenon, its links with marital status and its implications within a variety of practice settings. Women, especially, need self-understanding with regard to how the traditional passive gender can inhibit them from setting their own goals and managing their own life direc- tions. Educators, many of whom are men, need personal and professional awareness of the dynamics of sex trait among women. Those dynamics impinge on the personal development of women and their programming needs. They impact the mean- ing of the marriage role for their women clients and explain some of the changes that might be presently affecting it. Clearer understanding about the dynamics of sex trait and sex role suggest implications for the professional educa- tion of women, particularly as women develop professional status in institutions previously managed almost entirely by men and requiring psychological skills and sense of self often associated with the masculine identity. Men's awareness as well, in response to the changes in woman's gender consciousness, will be an important area for the continuing educator to consider. That awareness may be especially important in such fields of education for adults as marriage and the family, parenting, extended family relationships and other areas where men and women interact and where that interaction might have implications for others. Continuing education is a process of facilitating self- hmanagement and self-direction among persons. The extent that 171 sex trait and sex role helps or hinders this process and how both might be altered or fostered in the interest of improved quality of life for both women and men should con- tinue to be of interest in the practice of continuing educa- tion. Recommendations for Further Research Our findings suggest several areas needing further research. Greater understanding of the dynamics of shifts in sex trait self-descriptions among women generally, and divorced women in particular, is needed. Movement of the self-descriptions among divorced women appears to have in- volved addition of masculine qualities. But we have only inferred that by contrasting a divorced group with a once married group. Longitudinal inquiry with divorced andro- gynous respondents might produce new insights. It would be extremely useful to have data relating to time before the divorce, particularly self-perceptions then, as well as events, persons and situations that may have contributed to or retarded the development of masculine or androgynous qualities. Similar inquiry might be made with the divorced feminine respondents. Why have they not developed their masculine or androgynous self-perceptions? Sex trait self-description generally, but particularly as distributed among a sample like the present one, could be continually studied as to its links with a variety of mental health measures. Would androgyny, defined as relatively high levels of both masculine and feminine traits, consistently 172 and significantly associate with high levels of self-esteem or ego strength or self—actualization? Would feminine women, by contrast, be consistently lower on such scales? Undiffer- entiated groups, defined as those low in both sex traits, should also be investigated as to other measures of their self-concepts. It has not been firmly established that being low in both the traditional feminine and masculine traits only reflects low self-image. It might imply some rejection of traditional ways of conceptualizing oneself that could suggest transcendence of social norms. Several items were touched only lightly by this study. Further inquiry might look more deeply into relationships between gender traits and educational level, employment status, divorce adjustment and divorce initiation. Interpersonal relationships in the married state, while they were not a focus of this study, were obviously basic factors in the situation of each married respondent and of each divorced respondent in her early married state. The self-perceptions and role expectations of the male partner in each of the marriages, if they had been known, would almost surely have cast new light on responses of the women, both divorced and married. While difficult to accomplish, a more comprehensive study, taking interpersonal relationships between spouses into account, would be truly illuminating. While this study found relatively high levels of egali- tarianism among respondents, the instrument used reflected 173 several situational classifications and did not pick out one area (like employment) for in-depth focus. Fruitful research might focus on one area, like relationship with men or parent- ing or life style, and examine its relationship to sex trait and marital status. Thus, more discriminating differences might be established as to the meaning of egalitarianism. While it is a valuable research instrument, the Bem Sex Role Inventory could use more precise validation and improve- ment. Further refinement of measures for both feminine and masculine trait clusters, and their combination expressed as androgyny, is needed so that more precise research might be done. Finally, research focussed more on causal relationships than merely associative ones would be valuable in understand- ing the changing dynamics of sex trait self-description and their relationships to marital status. Expansion, likewise, of many of the items studied would be of further value since only small areas were explored. Postscript This study has reflected social and psychological changes among women, with special attention to growing numbers of them who see themselves as assertive while retaining high levels of more traditional feminine traits. The emergence of these combined traits defined as androgyny, at least for the women of this sample, is related to divorce, separation from the traditional married state. The addition of these 174 non-traditional traits could derive from the educational dynamic John Dewey defined as growth or the "acquisition of those habits that affect an adjustment by an individual to 1 Thus, increasing numbers of women, his (her) environment." originally raised to be married, primarily nurturing and dependent in personality, are now, upon being divorced, acquiring those values and skills needed for survival or, in fact, learning that behavior need not be regulated by. gender. But the androgynous quality, thought important for maturation, is not posed here as merely a function of personal crisis or a product of social trauma. It is presented as a desirable human quality, associated closely with self-esteem and reflective of personality flexibility. Data suggesting that married women tend to possess high levels of the feminine and low levels of the masculine traits require thoughtful appraisal, not just because married women need preparation for widowhood, but because it may be necessary for the well being and authenticity of the women themselves. Coldridge is reported to have remarked that all great minds were androgynous.2 Married women have long been forced to juggle many roles requiring various combinations of both feminine and masculine traits, but traditionally their self-assessments have not followed psyChological suit. Many of them continue lGeorge Ferree, Lecture on John Dewey, Michigan State University, April 30, 1971. 2Wendy Martin, "Afterward: On Androgyny," Woman's Studies 2 (1974): 265. 175 to assess themselves as feminine although they may in many ways act masculine. The reasons for this should be explored further. But these notions are tentatively presented. As a group these women indicated rather high assessments of their norma— tive role in society, reflecting very little of the traditional subordinate position most were once expected to assume as the “second sex" of which de Beauvior spoke over two decades ago. Perhaps the assumption of these women of many "male" traits - qualities associated with the ability to separate oneself emotionally from another - suggests that such women are establishing the psychological autonomy necessary to a rerouting of lives either dramatically altered by divorce or fused symbiotically to husband and home. The increase of the agentic traits in response to the life changes among women seem highly validated by this study. But even more broadly, the findings of this study may reflect the continuing human tension and struggle, here exemplified through women, to separate role from self, societal expectation from personal desire, personal integrity from social conformity. Social roles do not always coincide with genuine human needs. But for women or men to question their roles in the light of social change requires personal evalua- tion and challenge of the historically defined limitations of gender and to begin to look inward as the American psychologist 1Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex (New York: Alfred 176 Carl Rogers says: "not by what other people say but by 1 For women and men to have examining one's own experience." the choice to be passive or aggressive, nurturing or initiat— ing, deferring or intentional is, at the very least, their human right and, at the very most, a positive direction for all human becoming. For women such a direction for their personality is a crucial concern and some think political. They will no doubt, continue to extricate themselves from centuries of subordination and continue to add masculine traits to their self—description. The educator's task will and should con- tinue to be the facilitation of this direction for women and the reduction of those forces and factors which hinder it. What well could be the sentiments of these changing women in this changing world was expressed by the heroine, Nora, in Ibsen's 19th Century play, The Doll's House. When her husband, Helmer, reminds Nora that "before all else you are a wife and a mother," Nora replies: That I no longer believe. I believe that before all else I am a human being. Just as you are - 05 at least that I should try to become one. 1Carol Rogers, "Toward a Modern Approach to Values: the Valuing Process in the Mature Person," in Person to Person: the Problem of Being Human, eds. C. Rogers and B. Stevens (New York: Pocket Books, 1971), p. 13. 2Henrik Ibsen, "A Doll's House," in Seventeen Plgys: Sephocles to Baraka, ed. B. F. Dukor (New York: Thomas Crowell Co., 1976): P. 419. APPENDICES 177 APPENDIX A QUESTIONNAIRE FOR DIVORCED RESPONDENTS 178 East Lansing, Michigan Spring, 1978 Dear Friends: I'm a student in the Department of Adult Education at Michigan State University and would appreciate a few moments of your time to fill out the next two pages of a research project I'm conducting. The study is a preliminary inquiry into the sex role self-concept of women and its possible relationship to marital status and some personal value preferences on issues facing women today. There are no ”right" or ”wrong" responses. Whatever you think is what I'm interested in. A special focus of the study is andro» py, the quality or blend of gender traits into human personalrty -- an area not well researched. Your responses will be completely anonymous; simply return the completed inventory in the enclosed envelope. If you would like a summation of the study's results please send me your name and address through the enclosed card and by separate mail. Any item you think is too personal or inappropriate leave blank. Please feel free to call me if you have any questions about filling it out. I have enclosed a modest bibliography of some materials I found useful in preparing for the study. Sincerely, Paige Birdwell 179 180 Information Please circle highest level of schooling you've completed. high school 1 2 3 4 college 1 2 3 4 graduate 1 2 3 MA ”PhD Your age_ How long since finalizing your divorce? months _years_ Generally, do you see yourself as having made a good adjustmen nt to divorce? not very good 1 2 3 4 5 very good How many children do you have? Who has legal custody of your EEIldren? I do_ ex-husband____both__ Are you satisfied with the legal custody arrangement? yes_ no___ Who originally suggested, or wanted, the divorce? I did ex-husband both Who filed—for the legaI_divorce? I did_ my ex-husband did___ What is your present employment status?— work full time part time_ unemployed Are you satisfied with your present employmefi‘? not satisfied 1 2 3 4 5 very satisfied Are you now in some schooling and/or job training program? yes_ no_ Opinions What is your personal judgment on the following statements? No l 2* §_FT_ 5 ‘ Yes A married woman's most important task in life is to take care of her husband and children. Having a job herself is as important for a married woman as encouraging her husband in his. Young girls are entitled to as much independence as young boys. Marriage is still one of the most important states a woman can be in. For a woman today, choosing to remain single is every bit as appropriate as choosing to marry. A woman should fight for the rights of all women. If a married woman has a job similar to a man's she should not expect equal pay if he has a family to support. 181 Women are much happier if they stay at home and take care of their children. It's alright for a married woman to retain her maiden name. It is generally better to have a man at the head of a department composed of both men and women employees. The only reason girls need career education is that they may not marry or remain married. Yes 182 SANDRA BEM'S SEX ROLE INVENTORY Instructions: Please indicate on a scale from 1 to 7 how well the various characteristics listed below describe you. The lower the number the least you think the trait applies to you. 1 2 3 4 NEVER OR USUALLY SOMETIMES BUT OCCASIONALLY ALMOST NOT INFREQUENTLY TRUE NEVER TRUE TRUE TRUE 5 6 7 OETEN USUALLY AEWAYS 5R TRUE TRUE ALMOST ALWAYS TRUE e o emn e u c g own ea ous a stand beliefs s ea 8 p eer u abilities r ve ress ve t needs of other e u ne c an onsc en ous g as a et c risks leader ec ona rs atr ca ecre ve e sert ve s ec s ons v ua s at e easil no use as ona harsh 1an Stro ns c a e -s c en ve ger hurt feelin s nce o - e C APPENDIX B QUESTIONNAIRE FOR.MARRIED RESPONDENTS 183 East Lansing, Michigan Spring, 1978 Dear Friends: I'm a student in the Department of Adult Education at Michigan State University and would appreciate a few moments of your time to fill out the next two pages of a research project I'm conducting. The study is a preliminary inquiry into the sex role self-concept of women and its possible relationship to marital status and some personal value preferences on issues facing women today. There are no "right“ or "wrong” responses. Whatever you think is what I'm interested in. A special focus of the study is andro [31, the quality or blend of gender traits into human personaIity -- an area not well researched. Your responses will be completely anonymous; simply return the completed inventory in the enclosed envelope. If you would like a summation of the study's results please send me your name and address through the enclosed card and by separate mail. Any item you think is too personal or inappropriate leave blank. Please feel free to call me if you have any questions about filling it out. I have enclosed a modest bibliography of some materials I found useful in preparing for the study. Sincerely, Paige Birdwell 184 185 Information Please circle the highest level of schooling you've completed. high school 1 2 3 4 college 1 2 3 4 graduate l 2 3 MA _PhD_ Your age_ How long have you been married? months years— Have you been married before? yes no divorced_ widowed_ In a very general way, have you fo__d'maE?Iage to be— a personally fulfilling experience for you? not very fulfilling l 2 3 4 5 very fulfilling How many children do you have?— Are you employed? full time_ part time_ unemployed— Are you satisfied with your present employment? not satisfied 1 2 3 4 5 very satisfied Are you now in some schooling and/or job training program? yes___no_ Opinions What is your personal judgment on the following statements? No ‘TT’flT‘S‘T Y_e__s_ A married woman's most important task in life is to take care of her husband and children. Having a job herself is as important for a married woman as encouraging her husband in his. Young girls are entitled to as much independence as young boys. Marriage is still one of the most important states a woman can be in. For a woman today, choosing to remain single is every bit as appropriate as choosing to marry. A woman should fight for the rights of all women. If a married woman has a job similar to a man's she should not expect equal pay if he has a family to support. 186 Women are much happier if they stay at home and take care of their children. It's alright for a married woman to retain her maiden name. It is generally better to have a man at the head of a department composed of both men and women employees. The only reason girls need career education is that they may not marry or remain married. 'Yes 187 SANDRA BEM'S SEX ROLE INVENTORY Instructions: Please indicate on a scale from 1 to 7 how well the various characteristics listed below describe you. The lower the number the least you think the trait applies to you. 1 2 3 4 NEVER R U U Y SOMET ME BUT N ALMOST NOT INFREQUENTLY TRUE NEVER TRUE TRUE TRUE 5 6 7 OFTEN USUALLY ALWAQS OR TRUE TRUE ALMOST ALWAYS TRUE a -re e arm e ca 0 emn u c g own ea ous a stand beliefs e r p r abilities r e ve ess ve needs of others e ne c en c en ous g as a e c risks leader ect onate rs e tr ca re ve e ve es ec s ons v ua s c a ter e easil 5 no use 3 ona harsh 1an n cere s c a -s c en ve ger 3 hurt feelin 8 ac u e te ous e - onven ona e APPENDAGE BIBLIOGRAPHY ENCLOSED WITH QUESTIONNAIRE 188 Bibliography Concerned With the Development of Women Beyond Sex Roles by Alice Sargent. West Publishing House, How to Decide: A Guide for Women by Nelle Scholtz. College Entrance Board, Princeton, New Jersey, 1975. WOmen in Transition by WOmen in Transition, Inc. Scribner's, 1975. . Becoming WOman: The Quest for Wholeness in the Female Experience by Penelope Washbourn. Harper & Row, 1977. women: A Psychological Perspective by Elaine Donelson. John Wiley 8 Sons, 1977. WOmen, Wives and Mothers by Jessie Bernard. Aldine, 1975. Androgyny by June Singer. Anchor, 1977. 189 BIBLIOGRAPHY 190 BIBLIOGRAPHY Acker, Joan. "Women and Social Stratification." In Changing Women in a Changing Society, pp. 174-83. Edited by Joan Huber, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973. Adams, Margaret. Single Blessedness: Observations on the Single Status in Married Society. New York: Basic Books, 1976. Adler, Alfred. Understanding Human Nature. New York: Greenberg, Inc., 1927. Assagioli, Roberto. "A Higher View of the Man-Woman Problem." Synthesis 1 (2974): 42-49. Bakan, David. The Duality of Human Existence. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1966. Bart, Pauline B. "Depression in Middle Age Women." In Women in Sexist Society: A Study in Power and Power- lessness, pp. 99-117. Edited by Vicky Gornick. New YorE: Signet Books, 1972. . Beauvior, Simone de. The Second Sex. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1953. Bem, Sandra. "On the Utility of Alternative Procedures for Assessing Psychological Androgyny." Journal of Con- sulting and Clinical Psychology 45 (1977): 196-205. . "The Measurement of Psychological Androgyny." Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 42 (1974): 155-62. Bem, Sandra and Darrel Bem. "Case Study of a Non-Conscious Ideology: Training the Woman to Know Her Place." In Beliefs, Attitudes and Human Affairs, pp. 89-99. Edited by DarreI Bem. Belmont, Ca1if.: Brooks-Cole, 1970. Bem, Sandra and Ellen Lenny. ”Sex Typing and the Avoidance of Cross Sex Behavior." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 34 (1976): 48-54. 191 192 Bem, Sandra and Wendy Martyna. "Sex Typing and Androgyny: Further Explorations of the Expressive Domain." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 34 (1976): 1016-1022. Bem, Sandra and Carol Watson. "Scoring Packet: Bem Sex Role Inventory." Stanford, Ca1if.: Department of Psychology, 1976. 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