Date of Award

2000

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Art

First Advisor

Marilyn Patterson

Second Advisor

Robert Bertolino

Third Advisor

Anita Sankar

Abstract

This study explored the effects that the presence or absence of a father living in the household has on the sex-role development of male children. With an increasing number of males being reared in fatherless, mother-headed families, it is important to understand this phenomenon. Seventy-two male college students, ages 18 to 25, were subjects. Thirty-six were raised in father-present households, while thirty-six were raised in father-absent, mother-headed households. The Bern Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) was employed to assess each subject's sex-role. Past research suggests that males reared without fathers in the home develop a less masculine sex-role orientation and are far more at risk than those coming from the traditional American family unit. Previous studies also imply that males raised without fathers living in the household are more apt to acquire an androgynous sex-role than males raised with a father living in the home. It has been suggested, however, that this might be psychologically healthy. In the current study, at-test for independent samples indicated a significant difference in both masculine and feminine scores between the two groups of males, with father-present males presenting higher masculinity scores and father-absent males reporting higher femininity scores. Additionally, a Pearson chi-square test indicated a significant difference between the number of androgynous males coming from the two groups of subjects, with proportionately more androgynous males coming from father-absent homes than from father-present homes.

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