Yoko Sugihara

Dominance and Domestic Abuse Among Mexican Americans: Gender Differences in the Etiology of Violence in Intimate Relationships

Gender differences in dominance and aggressive behavior in intimate relationships among Mexican Americans were examined. Three hundred and sixteen Mexican American men and women took the Dominance Scale and the Conflict Tactics Scale 2 (CTS2). Results showed that power and possessiveness were associated with all types of aggressive behavior. Dominance was, however, expressed differently by men and women. High power and possessiveness were associated with all types of aggressive behavior. Decision-making power was also associated with physical assault, and high devaluation with inflicting injury among men. Among women, high power was only associated with physical assault, whereas possessiveness was associated with psychological aggression and physical assault. Devaluation was also high among women who inflicted injury on their male partners.

Masculinity and Femininity in Japanese Culture: A Pilot Study

This study examined masculinity and femininityin Japanese culture. Two hundred sixty-five collegestudents (male = 104; female = 161) took the Japaneseversion of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) with pertinent demographic questions. Subjects wereall Japanese and no other races were included. Theresults showed no significant difference betweenJapanese male college students and Japanese femalecollege students on both the Masculinity and Femininityscale of the BSRI. It was also found that both male andfemale Japanese college students scored higher on theFemininity scale than on the Masculinity scale of the BSRI. A confirmatory factor analysisalso supported that Bems gender role model did not fitthe data collected in Japan. The limitations andimplications of the study are also discussed.

Gender role development in Japanese culture: Diminishing gender role differences in a contemporary society

This paper presents the development of the Japanese Gender Role Index (JGRI) and Japanese mens and womens self-ratings on the scale. Two hundred ninety-six Japanese words that describe masculine and feminine characteristics were gathered. Examination of endorsements by 200 Japanese participants indicated 66 items as socially desirable characteristics for either men or women in the society. The validation process, including social desirability ratings, factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis, identified 2 subscales with 10 items for each. Internal consistency and the means and standard deviations of social desirability ratings for the subscales were also examined. Self-ratings on the JGRI by 423 Japanese participants showed that there was no significant difference between men and women on feminine and masculine characteristics. It was also found that both men and women possessed an equivalent amount of masculine and feminine characteristics.

GENDER‐ROLE PERSONALITY TRAITS IN JAPANESE CULTURE

The etic (universal) aspect of gender-role personality traits was examined in Japanese culture. The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1974, 1977) was validated for the Japanese culture and modified for this study. An investigation of the personality traits among 1,227 college students using the Japanese BSRI indicated that male students scored significantly higher on the Masculine scale than the female students, whereas they did not differ from each other on the Feminine scale. It was also found that both female and male students scored significantly higher on the Femininity than on the Masculinity scale.

A Preliminary Validation of the Bem Sex Role Inventory in Japanese Culture

The purpose of this study was to preliminarily validate the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) in Japanese culture. A total of 289 college students were asked to rate the social desirability of the BSRI items for both men and women. The results of multiple paired t tests indicated that, overall, the BSRI is a valid measurement in Japanese culture. Exchanging some items within the BSRI was recommended for higher validity with Japanese samples.

Gender Differences in Gender-Role Perceptions Among Japanese College Students

This study investigated gender differences ingender role perceptions among contemporary Japanesecollege students. Originally, a total of 309 students(111 men and 198 women) rated the desirability of 60 items of the Japanese version of Bem SexRole Inventory for both men and women. One hundredfifty-nine students desirability ratings for men and150 students desirability ratings for women wererandomly selected. A significant gender difference wasfound only on the desirability ratings of feminine itemsfor men with the males having a higher mean score thanthe females (p < .001). There was no gender difference in the desirability ratings offeminine items for women and masculine items for men andfor women. Several possible explanations for the presentresults were discussed. A comparison of the present findings to the results of the previous study(Kashiwagi, 1974) was also discussed.

Mexican-American male batterers on the MCMI-III

This study examined personality characteristics of Mexican-American male batterers. 60 Mexican-American male batterers (M = 33.6 yr.) in the court system in South Texas took the MCMI–III and their MCMI–III scores were compared with the scores of a community sample of 45 Mexican-American individuals (M=30.4 yr.). The batterers frequently scored higher than the nonbatterers on the Avoidant and Passive-Aggressive scales, while nonbatterers frequently scored higher on the Histrionic scale. The batterers scored significantly higher on 18 out of 24 MCMI–III scales, while nonbatterers scored significantly higher on two scales.

Endorsements by Mexican-Americans of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory: Cross-Ethnic Comparison

Gender-related personality traits among Mexican-American men and women were examined. The sample consisted of 307 Mexican-Americans (150 women, 157 men) in a predominantly Mexican and Mexican-American community in South Texas. Mexican-American men scored significantly higher than the women on eight masculine items, whereas Mexican-American women scored higher than the men on four feminine items. A comparison between the scores of Mexican-Americans on the Bern Sex-Role Inventory with those of the original sample in the inventorys manual showed that the scores for the Masculinity and Femininity subscales for both Mexican-American men and women were not significantly different from those of the original sample. A significant difference, however, was found on some of the items of the inventory. Analysis also indicated that more Mexican-American men were categorized as Feminine and Androgynous than were non-Hispanic Euro-American males in the original sample. Among Mexican-American women there were more individuals classified as Masculine and Undifferentiated and a lower percentage as Feminine than among the original sample. Implications and recommendations based on the results are discussed.

Knowledge of HIV/AIDS in Texas‐Mexico border colonias: A pilot study

Abstract This study examines the knowledge of HIV/AIDS among colonia residents in the Texas‐Mexican border region. Spanish and English versions of questionnaires were developed to ask a series of public health questions about HIV/AIDS knowledge. One hundred twelve colonia residents completed the questionnaire. Sixty‐two percent of the questionnaire respondents reported United States citizenship while 29 percent were Mexican nationals. Respondents answered questions about various public health dimensions of HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention. Results indicate that colonia residents need more knowledge of HIV/AIDS. For example, it is important to know the difference between being HIV infected and having AIDS. A significant number of residents lack knowledge of prevention techniques and how HIV is transmitted. The conclusion is that a culturally sensitive prevention program in both English and Spanish is necessary to prevent HIV/AIDS transmission among colonia residents in the U.S.‐Mexican border area.