First Advisor

Peter J. Collier

Term of Graduation

Summer 2001

Date of Publication

7-30-2001

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.) in Sociology

Department

Sociology

Language

English

Subjects

Women -- United States -- Attitudes -- Longitudinal studies, Sex role -- United States -- Longitudinal studies, Work and family -- United States -- Longitudinal studies

Physical Description

1 online resource (iv, 89 pages)

Abstract

This thesis examines changes in women's sex-role attitudes concerning work and familial roles during the years of 1977 to 1996. Using a secondary data analysis of a General Social Survey data set, the attitudes of 3302 women during the years 1977, 1985 and 1996 are examined.

One area of focus of this research is the relationship between work force participation and women's sex-role attitudes. Demographic variables relating to family status and socio-economic status are also examined, as well as the effects of mother's out-of-home experiences on daughter's sex-role attitudes. Finally, this thesis identifies the rate of attitude change in the two measurement periods (1977-1985,1985-1996) as well as partitioning the total attitude change between individual-level change and change based on cohort replacement.

This research finds that women's work force status impacts women's sex-role attitudes, in that working in the labor force is associated with positive evaluations of women in the worker role, while working full-time in the home is associated with negative evaluations of women in the work role. Married women and women with children under twelve hold negative evaluations of women in the worker role. Higher income and educational attainment levels, however, are associated with positive evaluations of women in the worker role. The mother having actual work experience and higher levels of educational attainment has a positive relationship with the daughter's evaluation of the appropriateness of female labor force participation.

The use of a cohort replacement technique provides relative percentages of the rate and type of change. Not only is the rate of change different for the two measurement periods (1977-1985 = 2.46; 1985-1996= 1.05), but the percentage of total change due to cohort level effects varies considerably between the two measurement periods (1977-1985 = 27%; 1985-1996 = 95%).

An identity-based perspective is used to explain these findings in terms of identity acquisition, relative salience of a role, commitment and alternate reference groups.

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Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/44612

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