A comparative factor analysis of the bem sex role inventory and the personality attributes questionnaire

The conceptualization of masculinity and femininity as separate and independent dimensions is an underlying assumption of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and the Personality Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ). This assumption was examined by a factor analytic technique to identify possible factors within each measure. Initial factor analysis of the BSRI employed a principal components extraction rotated to an oblique position through the use of the Harris-Kaiser Type II method. Subsequently, the intercorrelations of the oblique factors were subjected to a principal components extraction, which in turn was rotated to the varimax criterion. Factor analysis of PAQ also employed principal components extraction, rotated using Varimax criteria. Sixteen first-order and 16 second-order factors were identified for the BSRI, with 6 first-order and 9 second-order factors designated as major factors. Six first-order factors were identified for the PAQ, with 4 labeled as major. No single, independent, masculine or feminine factors were identified for either the BSRI or the PAQ, although several factors represented or approximated constellations of sex-typed items. The results suggest that more than two dimensions of masculinity and femininity, as well as other personality variables, are being measured by the instruments.