Gender role identity among adolescent Muslim girls living in the U.S.

Abstract

Gender role identity is acquired through exposure to societal expectations and beliefs about behaviors and characteristics appropriate for males and females. This study examined influences on gender identity among ninety-six Muslim adolescent girls living in the U.S. and attending an Islamic high school. Over three-quarters of the sample characterized themselves as Middle-Eastern or Arab-American. Participants completed a survey in English or Arabic containing background questions, the Bern Sex Role Inventory (Bern, 1974), the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (Phinney, 1992), and a religiosity scale. These young women had comparable femininity scores, but higher masculinity scores than Bern's normative female samples. Results also indicated that those girls who had lived in the U.S. for longer periods reported more masculine attributes. Greater sense of belonging to one's ethnic group and greater religiosity were associated with greater femininity. Thus, identification with one's own culture, adherence to religious practices, and exposure to foreign cultural values were related to gender role identity.