An Abbreviated Tool for Assessing Feminine Norm Conformity: Psychometric Properties of the Conformity to Feminine Norms Inventory-45

The Conformity to Feminine Norms Inventory-45 (CFNI-45; Parent & Moradi, 2010) is an important tool for assessing level of conformity to feminine gender norms and for investigating the implications of such norms for women's functioning. The authors of the present study assessed the factor structure, measurement invariance, reliability, and validity of the CFNI-45 with data from 520 college women (55% White). Confirmatory factor analyses with data from this sample suggested acceptable fit for the posited 9-factor structure. Furthermore, analyses of measurement invariance indicated similar structural properties with members of socioculturally dominant (i.e., White) and nondominant (i.e., women of color) racial/ethnic status groups. Also, subscales of the CFNI-45 demonstrated acceptable internal consistency reliability coefficients, and correlations with convergent and discriminant validity indicators supported the validity of subscales scores. Overall, results offered support for the CFNI-45 as a multidimensional measure of women's conformity to feminine norms. The CFNI-45 can be used in research to facilitate evaluation of the theorized roles of conformity to feminine norms in women's mental health, vocational behavior, interpersonal relationships, and other domains. The CFNI-45 can be used in clinical practice to assess and attend to clients' conformity to feminine norms as is called for in the American Psychological Association's (2007) Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Girls and Women.