Role perceptions of senior college women and their mothers

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationships between feminine role perception of senior college women and their mothers. The sample was comprised of 99 senior college women living in the resident halls of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and 79 of their mothers. Questionnaires used in collecting data consisted of a modified version of Christensen's (1963) "Comparison of Marital Role Perceptions of Men and Women” and a personal data form; Each of four questionnaires contained 33 similar questions measuring either seniors or their mothers' perceptions of their own role or the other's role. These questionnaires investigated feminine role perception in the two main areas of dominance and submission, and division of labor. The sample was not paired, therefore, a test of significance was not feasible. An analysis of various questions was made and the .05 level of significance was approximated with .25 as the criterion for distinguishing significant differences.

The senior women and their mothers differed significantly when perceiving their roles in the areas of the wife working, dominance and submission in decision making, sharing in the discipline and care of children, managing money, and responsibilities of household tasks. Traditional concepts about the wife being subordinate and the husband. dominant in decision making appears to be shifting to the more contemporary concept where young women perceive themselves more actively involved in pursuing their career, combining motherhood, engaged in decisions affecting management of the home, and division of household tasks and care of children.