Assessing the Current Validity of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory

The Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) is a widely used instrument in measuring gender role perception s. Recent concerns regardin g the validity of the adjectives have arisen as changes in the roles of men and wom en have occurred in American society since the 1970’s. A partial replication of the method that Bem (1974) used to validate the masculine and feminine adjectives comprising the instrument was conducted. All but two of the adjectives were validated using Bem’s criteria. These findin gs suggest that the BSRI may still be a valid instrument for assessing gender roles. However, evidence was revealed that tradition al masculine and feminine gender role perception s may be weakening. Future validation of the BSRI is warranted in light of these patterns.