Development of a short-form Sex Role Behavior Scale.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Gender Studies

Background:

• The Sex Role Behavior Scale (SRBS) is a comprehensive self-report inventory assessing sex role interests and behaviors.
• It covers male-valued (M), female-valued (F), and sex-specific (MF) domains across leisure, vocational, social, and relationship contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct and validate a short-form version of the Sex Role Behavior Scale (SRBS).
• To provide a more efficient instrument for assessing sex role interests and behaviors.

Main Methods:

• Development of a short-form SRBS by selecting items from the original comprehensive scale.
• Administration of the short-form SRBS to 411 college students, alongside measures of sex role personality traits and attitudes.
• Analysis of male-female differences, internal consistency, scale intercorrelations, and convergent/discriminant validity.

Main Results:

• The short-form SRBS demonstrated satisfactory validity as a substitute for the long-form inventory.
• Global assessments of sex role interests/behaviors using the short form were found to be reliable.
• Limited internal consistency in some subscales suggests the long form is better for specific area assessments.

Conclusions:

• The short-form SRBS is a viable and efficient tool for global assessments of sex role interests and behaviors.
• The original, longer SRBS remains more appropriate for detailed analyses within specific interest/behavior domains.
• The development supports the utility of condensed psychological instruments for research and practice.