Latina/o Gender Roles: A Content Analysis of Empirical Research From 1982 to 2013

To explore how gender role research has been conducted among Latinas/os in the psychological literature, we conducted a content analysis of empirical studies in this area, emphasizing content areas, sample characteristics, and research methods. We incorporated database searches and reviews of relevant publication reference lists and tables of contents of journals that typically publish research on Latina/o samples. We used several search terms, such as gender role, sex role, Hispanic, Latino, machismo, and marianismo, and the following inclusion criteria: (a) published between 1982 and 2013; (b) published or translated into English; (c) empirically based; (d) psychology-focused research questions; and (e) involving a majority of Latina/o participants. Studies that met these criteria (n = 56) were categorized into 1 of the following content areas: gender role attitudes, beliefs, and identity (n = 14); personality functioning (11); education, career, and work (9); interpersonal relationships (9); acculturation (8); and instrument development (5). We also analyzed the types of methods researchers used, which included qualitative methods, quantitative methods involving either the use of common instruments (e.g., Bem Scale, Attitudes Toward Women), or culturally based instruments (e.g., Machismo Measure,Marianismo Beliefs Scale), and mixed methods, involving both qualitative and quantitative methods. Findings also included descriptions of sample characteristics (i.e., gender, age, race, ethnicity, sample size). Implications for future research are discussed relative to the impact of gender role conceptualizations on findings, such as cultural (e.g., machismo, marianismo) or egalitarian perspectives and the need to develop more rigorous, culturally based gender role measures.