Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to assess the relationship between sex-role orientation and loneliness in adolescence. Two hundred and twenty-five junior and senior high school students completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory Short Form (Bem, 1981) and the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell et al., 1978). Results indicated that androgynous individuals were significantly less lonely than masculine, feminine, and undifferentiated individuals. An assessment of the independent contributions of masculinity and femininity indicated that both masculinity and femininity significantly predicted loneliness. Additional analysis revealed that the impact of sex-role orientation on loneliness varied by sex and tended to be greater for males than females. The need to further examine the relationship between androgyny, sex-role development, and adjustment in adolescence is discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bem, S. (1977). On the utility of alternative procedures for assessing psychological androgyny.J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 45: 196–205.
Bem, S. (1981).Bem Sex Role Inventory professional manual. Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, Calif.
Block, J. (1973). Conceptions of sex role: Some cross-cultural and longitudinal perspectives.Am. Psychologist 28: 512–526.
Campbell, E. (1969). Adolescent socialization. In Goslin, D. (ed.),Handbook of Socialization Theory and Research, Rand McNally, Chicago.
Deutsch, C., and Gilbert, L. (1976). Sex role stereotypes: Effect on perceptions of self and others and on personal adjustment.J. Counsel. Psychol. 23: 373–379.
Duncan, D. (1955). Multiple range and multipleF tests.Biometrics 11: 1–42.
Erikson, E. (1950).Childhood and Society, Norton, New York.
Hefner, R., Rebecca, M., and Oleshansky, B. (1975). Development of sex-role transcendence.Hum. Dev. 18: 143–158.
Jones, W., Chernovetz, M., and Hansson, R. (1978). The enigma of androgyny: Differential implications for males and females?J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 46: 298–313.
Kagan, J. (1964). Acquisition and significance of sex typing and sex role identity. In Hoffman, M., and Hoffman, L. (eds.),Review of Child Development Research, Russell Sage, New York.
Kohlberg, L. (1966). A cognitive-developmental analysis of children's sex role concepts and attitudes. In Maccoby, E. (ed.),The Development of Sex Differences, Stanford University Press, Stanford, Calif.
Lamke, L. (1982a). The impact of sex role orientation on self-esteem in early adolescence.Child Dev. 53: 1530–1535.
Lamke, L. (1982b). Adjustment and sex-role orientation in adolescence.J. Youth Adoles. 11: 247–259.
Lerner, R., Sorell, G., and Brackney, B. (1981). Sex differences in self-concept and self-esteem of late adolescents: A time-lag analysis.Sex Roles 7: 707–722.
Massad, C. (1981). Sex role identity and adjustment during adolescence.Child Dev. 52: 1290–1298.
Peplau, L., and Perlman, D. (1979). Blueprint for a social psychological theory of loneliness. In Cook, M., and Wilson, G. (eds.),Love and Attraction, Pergamon Press, Oxford, Eng.
Pleck, J. (1975). Masculinity-femininity: Current and alternative paradigms.Sex Rotes 1: 161–177.
Rice, F. (1975).The Adolescent: Development, Relationships and Culture. Allyn and Bacon, Boston.
Russell, D., Peplau, L., and Ferguson, M. (1978). Developing a measure of loneliness.J. Personal. Assess. 42: 290–294.
Spence, J., Helmreich, R., and Stapp, J. (1975). Ratings of self and peers on sex role attributes and their relation to self-esteem and conceptions of masculinity and femininity.J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 32: 29–39.
Wells, K. (1980). Gender-role identity and psychological adjustment in adolescence.J. Youth Adoles. 9: 59–73.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Received his M.S. and Ph.D. in human development and family studies from The Pennsylvania State University. Research interests are social competence, interpersonal skills development, and adjustment.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Avery, A.W. Escaping loneliness in adolescence: The case for androgyny. J Youth Adolescence 11, 451–459 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01538806
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01538806