Attitude toward women in Turkey: Combined effect of sex, place, and culture

Bugay A., Delevi R., Mullet E.

CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY, vol.40, no.7, pp.3284-3292, 2021 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 40 Issue: 7
  • Publication Date: 2021
  • Doi Number: 10.1007/s12144-019-00273-2
  • Journal Name: CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, BIOSIS, Business Source Elite, Business Source Premier, Psycinfo
  • Page Numbers: pp.3284-3292
  • Keywords: Attitude to women, Sex, Gender socialization, Place, Political orientation, Culture, Turkey, GENDER-ROLE ATTITUDES, AMBIVALENT SEXISM, INDIVIDUALISM, VIOLENCE, ROLES, RELIGIOSITY, STUDENTS, SCALE, SELF
  • Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

We examined the combined effect of sex and gender socialization, place and political orientation, and culture (individualism-collectivism) on Turkish students' attitudes toward women (ATW). A convenience sample of 3235 students from 16 universities in Turkey was presented with the Turkish versions of the ATW Scale, the Bem Sex Roles Inventory, and the Individualism-Collectivism scale. A stepwise regression analysis showed that sex, level of political conservatism in the area, vertical collectivism, and horizontal individualism explained 31% of the variance in ATW. Being a male or being a female was a stronger predictor of ATW than the level of masculinity-femininity. Participants living in politically conservative areas and participants high in vertical collectivism (emphasis on hierarchy and inequality in society) expressed more traditional views than participants living in less conservative areas and those low in vertical collectivism. Sex and vertical collectivism interacted: Among males, the impact of vertical collectivism on ATW was stronger than it was among females. A complex model of effects is suggested in which negative ATW in Turkey depends on (a) place and (b) sex in interaction with culture.