The Relations Among Feminist Identity Development, Gender-Role Orientation, and Psychological Well-Being in Women

Abstract

This study examined relations between feminist identity development, gender-role orientation, and psychological well-being in 244 women of varying ages and backgrounds. As hypothesized, both feminist identity development and gender-role orientation contributed independently to the explanation of variance in psychological well-being. Instrumentality, expressiveness, and a more developed feminist identity were all related positively to psychological well-being. In addition, instrumentality and a more developed feminist identity were correlated positively. Implications of these findings as well as limitations and future directions are discussed.