3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item The development of psychological androgyny and its relationship with self-esteem in adolescence(2015-02-05) Hornibrook, RobinThe present study aimed to investigate the effect of sex-role identity on self-esteem in samples of adolescents. The subject population consisted of 208 white, English-speaking, middle-class adolescents. Subjects were divided into three age groups of 13 year olds, 15 year olds, and first year undergraduates. Within these three groups, four variables were investigated, namely, age, sex, sex-role identity, and self-esteem. Self-esteem was measured by means of the Tennessee Self Concept Scale, and sex-role identity by means of the Bern Sex-Role Inventory. Two-way analyses of variance were utilized to compare the mean scores obtained by each of the four sex-role categories on self-esteem. Results were then compared by sex. In addition, chi-square contingency tests were utilized to test for the incidence of androgyny in the three age groups and to compare the incidence of androgyny in a South African sample with the incidence reported in an American sample. Using a significance level of .05 as the criterion for significance, significant results were produced for most of the hypotheses. Psychological androgyny was found to be positively associated with higher levels of self-esteem at all three ages. The results -re discussed in terms of gender schema theory and psychoanalytic theory and suggestions made for clinical application. Limitations of the present research are discussed and suggestions made for further research.