Development and Validation of a Feminism Scale

Abstract

To develop a valid and reliable measure of attitudes toward women embodied in the aims of the women's movement, we (1) gave a revised feminism scale (Feminism I) to 225 students, (2) administered Feminism I to selected campus groups, and (3) gave one short form of Feminism II to two groups of 25 students, and alternated tests after 2 wk. Factor analysis of the Feminism I data established the measure as relatively homogeneous and resulted in a shortened Feminism II Scale (split-half reliability estimate of .976). The Feminism II Scale was partially validated by a significant effect ( p < .001) for organizational membership. Short forms of the Feminism II Scale demonstrated an alternate forms reliability of .95, indicating their equivalency. Implications are discussed.