Maternal Role Behavior and Adnrogyny: A Comparison of Divorced and Married Mothers

Divorced mothers were expected to describe their family roles as more dominant, unfriendly, and instrumental than married mothers. Divorced mothers were also expected to describe themselves as androgynous while the married mothers would describe themselves as feminine. One hundred sixty-four mamed mothers and twenty single divorced mothers completed the SYM- LOG (Systematic Multilevel Observation of Groups) behavior rating form and the Bem Sex Role Inventory in a mail survey. Contrary to the hypotheses, the married mothers had higher instrumental scores than the divorced mothers, and divorced mothers tended to have feminine gender identities.