The relationship of care-oriented morality to gender and sex-role identity among adolescents, young and middle-aged adults

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the relationships of care-oriented morality to gender and sex role identity among adolescents, young and middle-aged adults. Care-oriented morality was measured by the Ethic of Care Interview(ECI) while sex role identity was assessed by the Korean Sex Role Inventory(KSRI) with a sample of 115 men and 125 women between 16 and 59 years of age. Care-oriented morality of most of the subjects was on Level 2. For the young adults there was a significant difference between genders with females reporting higher care-oriented morality than males. For the middle-aged adults, there was a significant difference among sex role identity types, indicating that feminine individuals possessed higher care-oriented morality than masculine individuals. A significant difference between gender groups was also found with females reporting higher care-oriented morality than males.