Androgyny: a function of degree?

Related to the issue of sexism is the concept of psychological androgyny, or the lack of tendency toward masculine or feminine traits. Studies have examined psychological androgyny through administration of the BEM Sex-Role Inventory and the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey. Whereas one researcher concluded that dental hygiene students are stereotypically feminine, another researcher reported the tendency toward traditionally masculine traits. Both researchers utilized samples consisting solely of baccalaureate students. This paper presents the issue of psychological androgyny, the impact that sex-typing has on the profession of dental hygiene, and the results of a study examining androgyny among dental hygiene students. Three hundred twenty-one first- and second-year dental hygiene students representing four geographic regions within the United States were sampled. The 60-item BEM Sex-Role Inventory was administered to determine the extent of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny within this sample. Comparisons were made by degree program, class status, and geographic location. The authors tested the hypothesis that baccalaureate degree-seeking dental hygiene students were more androgynous than associate degree-seeking dental hygiene students. Data were analyzed by a general linear model for unbalanced designs and chi-square to determine significance. Results indicated that students in all dental hygiene programs are most frequently sex-typed as feminine, with androgyny as the second most frequently sex-typed characteristic. There was a significant difference in psychological androgyny when comparing students by degree program. A greater number of baccalaureate degree-seeking students reflected an androgynous sex-typing.