Changes in coeds' sex role concepts: 1969 and 1980

In 1969, as part of a larger study, a sample (N = 177) of Kent State University senior women responded to the Fand Inventory of Feminine Values, a sex role inventory. A similar sample (N = 180) of senior women responded to the same inventory in 1980. Although it was expected that the 1980 sample would exhibit more “liberated” attitudes on this index, the extent of change was unanticipated. When the responses were compared, it was found that the 1980 sample expressed more liberal attitudes within every category of each of twelve variables. A multivariate analysis indicated that attitudinal variables explained more of the variance in sex role concepts than did soicodemographic variables. A comparison of these findings is made with those on other campuses, and with the general adult population.