Sex-Role Influences on Turkish Adolescents' Self-Identity

This study was undertaken to investigate sex role influences on Turkish adolescents' self-identity process as part of an international self-identity research project. Specifically, the purpose of this study was to examine the role gender plays in the value systems of Turkish adolescents through a questionnaire. A total of 154 male and 119 female adolescents mainly at age 14 through 17 from urban and rural areas of Turkey were surveyed. In Turkish society, where women's social status is inferior to that of men, the segregation of the sexes strongly reinforces traditional sex role expectations among Turkish adolescents. The results indicated that "family" was the dominant source of belongingness for both males and females, followed by "friendships" and "school." Friendships and education were valued more by females than by males. Symbolic things, like relationships and happiness, influenced females' self-identity more than males', while males tended to place a greater importance on material items such as house, television, and sports equipment, than did females. Sports and athletic activities were highly important in males' self-validation process, while females were oriented more toward artistic and creative activities. General affective attributes like honesty, respect, or thoughtfulness were somewhat equally valued by males and females as important criteria for self-evaluation. Finally, males were more religious, patriotic, and felt stronger ties to ancestors, while females appeared to be more altruistic and placed a high importance on social relationships. Females were dependent on non-physical attributes in evaluating themselves, while males emphasized physical attributes as important sources of self-validation. (DK) *******************************************************A*************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************