| Abstract: | In a cross-sectional study, sex-related self-attributions of 426 women and 378 men were assessed at 8 stages in the family life cycle. It was hypothesized that sex differences are not fixed in adulthood but fluctuate according to the demand characteristics of various life situations. Factor analysis of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory yielded 9 factors, providing a more precise evaluation of how desirable and undesirable aspects of instrumentality and expressivity vary throughout adulthood. The majority of effects were related to stage of family life and not age. On 1-way ANOVA, compassion and tenderness showed stage-of-life effects for both sexes, but autonomy and leadership showed effects only for men. Cross-sex-typed attributes were prominent during grandparenthood, with a rise in expressiveness for men and a rise in autonomy for women. Men were more autonomous and less acquiescent than women during expectancy and young parenthood but not at other stages. Women showed more tenderness than men at all stages except among the married-childless and grandparents. There were few sex differences across the different states of life in nonassertiveness and social inhibitions. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
