Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI)

What is the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI)?

The idea of gender is distinguished from biological sex. Instead, it focuses on the cultural construct that includes both psychological and social factors (Carver et al., 2013). Bem was the first to identify the idea of gender roles as something other than exclusively feminine and masculine (Carver et al., 2013). The term androgyny represents psychological androgyny, where an individual has both masculine and feminine personality traits (Carver et al., 2013).

The Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) is a self-reported questionnaire designed to understand an individual's feminine and masculine characteristics. It can be used to measure the extent to which respondents sort information relating to themselves into distinct feminine and masculine categories. The BSRI measures masculinity, femininity, and androgyny (neutral) using the masculinity and femininity scales.

Traditional gender roles, once rigidly tied to masculine and feminine traits, shift as gender differences become less defined (Davis, 2017). Perceptions of what men and women can or should do are evolving, weakening the hold of these traditional expectations. Hence, in the current times, recent studies have shown that it is more common for women's femininity scores to decrease, with masculinity scores remaining more stable (Donnelly & Twenge, 2017). While this may be true in certain contexts, it is important to note that cultural influences, such as expectations surrounding gender norms, can impact BSRI scores (Davis, 2017).

How to use our Bem Sex-Role Inventory template

Using the Bem Sex-Role Inventory template is a simple and straightforward process. Follow these steps to get started:

1. Step 1: Download the template

Access the Bem Sex-Role Inventory template by clicking "Use template," allowing you to edit the resource via the Carepatron app. For a PDF copy, choose "Download."

Step 2: Familiarize yourself with the template

The template is designed to guide you through the Bem Sex-Role Inventory template. It includes space for essential patient information, such as name and date. The template follows the standard Bem Sex-Role Inventory template, which is composed of 60 items, each related to one of the three categories: Masculine (M), Feminine (F), and Neutral (N).

Step 3: Ask the patient to complete

Give the template to the patient to complete. Ensure that they fill out their personal details. Before patient completion, emphasize that there is no right or wrong answer; it is about understanding their authentic answers. Explain that it is crucial to provide honest answers to attain an accurate result. Be sure to guide the individual through the template, helping them with questions if necessary while ensuring not to suggest any answers.

Step 4: Score their answers

Each respondent receives a score for each category: Masculine (M), Feminine (F), Neutral (N) (Bem Sex Role Inventory BSRI .pdf, 1978). Scores for Feminine (F) and Masculine (M) are calculated as the mean of all responses for each category, with values between 1 and 7. The score for the Neutral (androgyny) category is calculated using the t-ratio, which is the difference between a person's masculine and feminine scores (Bem, 1974).

Scoring

Scoring the BSRI is a straightforward and efficient process that can be used for educational, therapeutic, and research use. It consists of three categories: Masculine (M), Feminine (F), and Neutral (N). Each item is scored on a 1-7 Likert scale, with one representing "Never or almost never true" to 7 "always or almost always true".

Ensure that all questions have been answered to the best of the individuals' ability to get the most accurate results.  The items representing each subscale are represented below:

• Masculine (M): 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, 37, 40, 43, 46, 49, 52, 55, 58
• Feminine (F): 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32, 35, 38, 41, 44, 47, 50, 53, 56, 59
• Neutral (N): 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39, 42, 45, 48, 51, 54, 57, 60

Each respondent receives a score for each category: Masculine (M), Feminine (F), Neutral (N). Scores for Feminine (F) and Masculine (M) are calculated as the mean of all responses for each category, with values between 1 and 7. The score for the Neutral (androgyny) category is calculated using the t-ratio, which is the difference between a person's masculine and feminine scores (Bem, 1974).

To interpret the results for the Feminine and Masculine categories, look at the score for each category; these indicate the extent to which a person endorses one or the other personality characteristics. For the Neutral category, the closer the score is to zero, the more the person is androgynous.

Next steps after using the BSRI

Here are the steps you can take after administering the inventory:

Review and analyze responses

The patient's score for each category can be reviewed and interpreted as suggested above to suggest which gender identities the patient most aligns with. The 3 categories can be separately reviewed to identify patterns in neutral, masculine and feminine traits.

Discuss results with patient

In counseling psychology or other related fields, professionals may open a sensitive and nonjudgmental conversation to discuss the results of the BSRI. The professional will try to get a well-rounded understanding of the patient, considering the broader social determinants of the person. This can guide professionals in targeted treatment and be used to support standard gender identity procedures to support the individual in understanding their level of masculine and feminine traits overall.

References

Bem, S. (1974). The measurement of psychological androgyny. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42(2), 155-162. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0036215

Carver, L. F., Vafaei, A., Guerra, R., Freire, A., & Phillips, S. P. (2013). Gender differences: Examination of the 12-item Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI-12) in an older Brazilian population. PloS one, 8(10), e76356.

Davis, S. N. (2017, May 01). Bem Sex-Role Inventory - Google Scholar. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved November 27, 2024 from https://www.britannica.com/science/Bem-Sex-Role-Inventory

Donnelly, K., & Twenge, J. M. (2017). Masculine and feminine traits on the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, 1993–2012: A cross-temporal meta-analysis. Sex roles, 76, 556-565.