Measuring physical aggressiveness in heterosexual, homosexual, and transsexual males

Abstract

The purpose of this study was the development of a self-report measure of boyhood aggressiveness for use with adult males. Aggressiveness was defined as a generalized disposition to engage in physically combative or competitive interactions with male peers. This attribute is of sexological interest because of the reported difference in physical aggressiveness between heterosexual and homosexual boys. A physical aggressiveness scale (PAS) was constructed from items regarding boyhood athletic interest and proficiency, as well as fighting with and feelings of unease around male peers. The PAS and Part A of the Feminine Gender Identity Scale for males (FGIS(A), Freund et al.,1977) were administered to 193 adult men. The PAS was shown to be reliable and factorially pure. The PAS scores of homosexuals were significantly lower than those of heterosexuals, and the scores of male-to-female transsexuals were lower yet. No differences were found among three heterosexual groups: prison inmates and nonuniversity- and university-educated males. Precisely symmetrical results were obtained with the FGIS(A), with the male-to-female transsexuals scoring highest and the heterosexuals lowest. Group differences in FGIS(A) scores were greater than those in PAS scores; this was interpreted as possible evidence that physical aggressiveness is more sensitive than gender identity to variables uncorrelated with erotic preference, e.g., perceptual-motor ability, rate of physical maturation, etc. The main results suggest that whatever underlying factor relates homosexuality to feminine gender identity in childhood relates this erotic preference to anomalously low levels of physical aggressiveness in childhood as well.