The Sex-Role Liberalism Scale is an 8-item measure of self-reported perceptions of agreement with liberal sex roles. This scale was adapted from a measure used by Clarkberg et al (1995) from items in the National Longitudinal Study of High School Class of 1972.
Geographies Tested: United States of America
Populations Included: Female, Male
Age Range: Adults
1. Men should be given the first chance at most jobs because they have the primary responsibility for providing for a family.*
2. It is usually better for everyone if the man is the achiever outside of the home and woman takes care of the home and family.*
3. Most women are just not interested in having big and important jobs.*
4. Young men should be encouraged to take jobs that are usually filled by women (social work, nursing, etc.).
5. Young women should be encouraged to take jobs that are usually filled by men (engineering, management, etc.).
6. It is more important for a husband to commit his time to his work rather than helping his wife at home.*
7. Women should not be discouraged from choosing male-typed careers such as engineering because their mathematical skills are just as good as men's.
8. Men should not be discouraged from choosing female-typed careers (such as nursing) because they are just as nurturing as women.
*Items are reverse scored
Response Options:
Strongly disagree - 1
Disagree - 2
Neither agree nor disagree - 3
Agree - 4
Strongly agree - 5
All item scores are summed then divided by 8 to calculate the mean. Higher scores represent more liberal attitudes about sex roles.
Buchanan, T., & Selmon, N. (2008). Race and gender differences in self-efficacy: Assessing the role of gender role attitudes and family background. Sex Roles, 58(11-12), 822-836. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9389-3
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