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In this study, the authors examined gender differences in levels of individuation, the relation of individuation and psychosocial development, and whether this relation is of a curvilinear nature. Two hundred and twenty-four students completed the Measure of

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The conceptualization of masculinity and femininity as separate and independent dimensions is an underlying assumption of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and the Personality Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ). This assumption was examined by a factor analytic technique to identify possible factors within each measure. Initial factor analysis of the BSRI employed a principal components extraction rotated to an oblique position through the use of the Harris‐Kaiser Type II method. Subsequently, the intercorrelations of the oblique factors were subjected to a principal components extraction, which in turn was rotated to the varimax criterion. Factor analysis of PAQ also employed principal components extraction, rotated using Varimax criteria. Sixteen first‐order and 16 second‐order factors were identified for the BSRI, with 6 first‐order and 9 second‐order factors designated as major factors. Six first‐order factors were identified for the PAQ, with 4 labeled as major. No single, independent, masculine or feminine factors were identified for either the BSRI or the PAQ, although several factors represented or approximated constellations of sex‐typed items. The results suggest that more than two dimensions of masculinity and femininity, as well as other personality variables, are being measured by the instruments.

This study examined the psychosocial adjustment of 79 siblings of children suffering from burn injuries. Nonparametric statistics were used to compare psychosocial adjustment of the study group, as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist with an age-matched and gender-matched reference groups. Analyses found that the study group was better adjusted than the normative group on psychological dimensions; however, the study group fared worse than the normative group on overall competence, particularly social competence. Further analyses found significant differences in sibling adjustment as a function of the severity of the burn injury. The siblings of children with moderate burn injuries did significantly better on psychological adjustment than the normative group, and siblings of children with moderate and severe burn injuries did significantly poorer on social competence. Descriptive analysis of measures developed for the study for parent and sibling reports supported findings of the Child Behavior Checklist quantitative analysis and offered insight into reasons for findings. Results indicate that the burn injury to one child in a family significantly impacts the siblings of that child. The noninjured child may be strengthened in the process of adapting to the changes imposed on the family, but it is also possible that the sibling's growth in one dimension is at the cost of success in another dimension.