Vocational and 4-H Youth Group Members Knowledge and Attitudes Concerning Expanding Roles.

A survey research study was conducted to determine the range and attitudes of youth in New York State vocational and 4-H organizations concerning traditional and changing sex roles. The survey instrument consisted of two parts: a short multifactor true/false quiz to sample knowledge of changes in male and female participation in employment, family, and marriage situations (test-retest reliability .55) and an attitude measure on the same variables plus educational and social activities (Spearman-Brown .62 reliability). Random sampling techniques, including stratification for region and vocational group, were used for every organization except 4-H. A total of 1218 scorable surveys were returned: 862 from females, 356 from males. Although knowledge among the respondents appeared to increase with age, survey results indicated that youths are not as knowledgeable as adults about changes in the labor force and the family and that they tend to hold traditional sex role expectations. Attempts to promote more liberal sex-role attitudes have apparently been more successful with females, since males were significantly less knowledgeable and more traditional in attitudes about changing roles. Further research should concentrate on reasons for the differences in response among the sexes and appropriate intervention strategies. (Author/MEK)