Balance versus Main Effects Androgyny: Their Relationship to Adjustment in Three Ethnic Groups

Abstract

This study investigated the relationships between psychological androgyny and adjustment for 630 adolescents from three ethnic groups, Anglo-Australian, Greek-Australian, and Italian-Australian. Androgyny was conceptualized in two ways—main effects and balance androgyny—following Taylor and Hall's (1982) review. For Anglo- and Italian-Australian adolescents, the main effect of androgyny was associated with adjustment, that is, a large number of adjustment measures related positively to high scores on both masculinity and femininity scales. For Greek-Australians, however, there was an interaction between masculinity and femininity on some adjustment measures such that a “balance” between the two traits was more consistent with high levels of adjustment than high scores on either masculinity or femininity. Results were discussed in terms of pressures toward assimilation into the mainstream of Australian culture for Italian- and Greek-Australian groups.