2013 Winner: Testing the Predictive Validity of the Sexual Double Standards Scale in Undergraduate Women

Project Information
Testing the Predictive Validity of the Sexual Double Standards Scale in Undergraduate Women
Social Sciences
Psych 195B Senior Thesis
Double standards refer to different standards of sexuality for women and men. They are seen as reflecting and perpetuating sexism. To correct problems with older scales, a new measure of attitudes toward double standards was designed for the present study. Participants consisted of 204 undergraduate women ages 18-25 from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Strong psychometric properties for the double standards scale were attained with 20 items (α = .71). The following factors were tested as possible correlates of sexual double standards: background and social experiences (age, parent’s education, television viewing, and parents’ and friends’ sex talk), personal beliefs (religiosity, political attitudes [liberal vs. conservative], social desirability), gender-role attitudes and self-concepts (ambivalent sexism, modern sexism, feminist self-identification, gender-role contentedness), and adjustment (body shame, internalizing symptoms). Endorsement of double standards was significantly associated with religiosity, political ideology, sexist attitudes, and feminist identity. The findings provide strong evidence for the predictive validity of the double standards scale.
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Students
  • Alexa Rae Paynter (Cowell)
Mentors