GENDER-RELATED IDEALS OF PUERTO-RICAN ADOLESCENTS - GENDER AND SCHOOLCONTEXT

Young adolescents (N = 417; 12 through 16 years of age) attending publ ic or private schools in Puerto Rico rated 40 characteristics of the i deal man or ideal woman and also drew the ideal person engaged in an a ctivity. Principal component analysis revealed two conceptually cohere nt components. Girls, more than boys, endorsed the qualities loading o n the first component, labeled Sociable Personality. Boys attending pr ivate schools who rated the ideal man perceived Sociable Personality t o be less important than did other groups. Physically Attractive war r ated as more important for the opposite-gender ideal than for the same -gender ideal. These findings revealed that the values of interpersona l respect and integrity previously identified as traditional values in puerto Rico, were present in adolescents' perceptions of the ideal pe rson. The results also indicated that girls and boys may respond diffe rently to conditions of cultural change and school context.