Date of Award

4-1990

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Edward L. Trembley

Second Advisor

Dr. Robert Wait

Third Advisor

Dr. Robert Bets

Abstract

The present research was a partial replication of an earlier research concerning the discrimination of sex-role egalitarianism from attitude toward feminism. This study examined the relationships between these sex-role attitudes and sex, and between the former and locus of control, in reference to the social changes of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The subjects were female and male college students.

The results indicated that the sample was average in sex-role egalitarianism. It was more liberal on attitude toward feminism than a previous research sample. The sex-role attitudes were found to be directly related: when subjects were egalitarian, they also tended to be feminist, and vice-versa. This coherence was greater among females, who were also more liberal on both attitudinal dimensions. Locus of control was not a predictor of sex-role attitudes. A previously reported trend in locus of control toward externality was found to have leveled off. The externality of the present sample was associated with interpersonal and political issues.

The results suggested that college students may be more receptive to sex equality of rights, but as concerns interpersonal aspects of roles, they are neither traditional nor nontraditional. Female students tend to be more receptive to sex-role changes, possibly because (a) their roles reflect a subordinate social position, and (b) they already see women performing nontraditional roles.

Regarding locus of control, college students seem to hold traditional beliefs about success, even when they believe in external control in other areas. Their beliefs possibly reflect a more conservative social climate and accommodation to the changes of previous decades. Sex is a predictor of sex-role attitudes, and may contribute to the association of sex-role attitudes with a third variable. Locus of control is not a predictor, perhaps because it is unrelated to sex.

The present study is relevant to the counseling of couples, women with personal-identity and work concerns, and college students in general with interpersonal concerns.

Access Setting

Dissertation-Open Access

Included in

Counseling Commons

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