Comparative factor analyses of the Personal Attrributes Questionnaire and the Bem Sex-Role Inventory

Interest in the Personal Attribute Questionnaire (PAQ) of Spence et al. (1975) as a measure of androgyny suggests the need to discover whether it exhibits the same factor structure as other androgyny measures, e.g., the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1974). Responses from 104 male and 133 female university students were analyzed by the principal components method separately for (1) PAQ items only and for (2) PAQ and BSRI items together. Both analyses yielded independent femininity (Concern for Others) and masculinity (Dominance) factors accounting for the greatest proportion of variance. However, particularly for the PAQ, certain clusters of male-valued and of female-valued items formed subsidiary factors (e.g., Extraversion, Insecurity, Unemotionality, and Independence), raising questions as to the theoretically unitary nature of femininity. That is, masculinity and femininity might each be regarded more profitably as composed of several components.