Gender, gender roles and attitudes towards violence: Are viewpoints changing?

Androgyny is a gender role that has several positive characteristics such a s adaptive coping strategies and less violent viewpoints. To examine the re lationship between gender, gender roles, and attitudes towards violence, 16 1 individuals were administered the Bem Sex Role Inventory and a violence q uestionnaire. It was hypothesized that a significant number of non-androgyn ous people would have a great predisposition towards violence. The mean vio lence score was higher for men than for women, however, there was no differ ence between androgynous individuals and others. There were no significant interaction effects. Results are surprising when compared to previous resea rch. It may be that more and more people, regardless of their interpersonal style, are moving towards a view which does not condone violence.