Dominance and Nurturance as the Two-Factor Structure of BSRI

The objective of this study (female N = 1072, male N = 471) was replication of multidimensionality of Bem Sexual-Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1974) defended by Fernandez and his research group in Spain. A methodological but not ideological approach is used to analyze the answers with an exploratory factor analysis.Methodological and substantive arenas will be examined. Excluding effects of social desirability and social evolution, a first selection of items provides clearly an orthogonal two-factor structure, in adult people. Reliabilities of both new re-named nurturance and dominance components are 0.80 and 0.78, respectively. There are sex differences in both new components: women' score was higher than men score for nurturance factor, and lower for dominance factor. The results of a cross-tab analysis also indicate sex differences in fourfold typology combining both factors like Bem's median split procedure. Finally, convergent validity with personality basic tendencies and their facets recommends making a re-conceptualization of both nurturance and dominance factors like personality traits.Implications for further studies of gender identity - social values in Spain are discussed from evolutionary approach.