Male nurses' sex-role orientation and values

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Psychology
• Sociology

Background:

• The nursing profession has historically been female-dominated.
• There is ongoing discussion about the psychological and social characteristics of male nurses.
• Previous assumptions suggested nursing might feminize male practitioners.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the sex-role identity and values of male and female nurses.
• To investigate whether nursing experience influences these characteristics.
• To examine the validity of the "feminization" hypothesis regarding male nurses.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Bem Sex-role Inventory (BSRI) and the Study of Values (SOV).
• Compared scores between 66 female nurses and 56 male nurses in central Florida.
• Analyzed correlations between BSRI/SOV scores and nursing experience, age, and education.

Main Results:

• Male nurses were predominantly categorized as "sex-typed" and rarely as "cross-typed" on the BSRI.
• Male nurses' values on the SOV closely mirrored those of average male non-nurses.
• Male nurses' values significantly differed from female nurses' on theoretical and aesthetic scales.
• No significant correlations were found between nursing experience, age, or education and BSRI or SOV scores.
• The study found no support for the hypothesis that nursing feminizes male nurses.

Conclusions:

• Male nurses generally do not adopt feminized sex-role identities or values.
• The values of male nurses align more closely with general male population norms than with female nurses.
• Findings suggest that traditional gender stereotypes may not accurately represent male nurses' psychological profiles.
• Results have implications for strategies aimed at recruiting more male students into nursing programs.