- Unipolar scales capture greater diversity in adolescent gender expression than bipolar scales across cisgender, transgender, and nonbinary youth.
- Unipolar measures show broader concurrent validity, correlating with mental distress, parental acceptance, bullying victimisation, self-kindness, and self-judgement.
- Researchers should prefer unipolar femininity and masculinity scales to improve measurement quality in adolescent gender expression surveys.
Psychol Sex Orientat Gend Divers. 2026 Oct 15. doi: 10.1037/sgd0000958. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
The measurement of gender expression is an evolving area of sexual orientation and gender identity research. Extant research has assessed bipolar and unipolar measures of femininity and masculinity among adults; however, no known research has evaluated their use among adolescents. This study presents results of a split-ballot experiment that compared bipolar and unipolar responses to femininity and masculinity and examines differences in concurrent validity. In 2021, 279 U.S. adolescents ages 13-17 were surveyed using a probability-based household panel. Youth were asked, “How do you describe yourself?” at two points in the survey. Response scales were either a bipolar, seven-point scale from Very masculine to Very feminine or two unipolar, seven-point scales, one asking about femininity and one about masculinity, from Not at all to Very. The order of items (bipolar or unipolar first) was randomly assigned. The sample included 49.9% cisgender boys, 44.4% cisgender girls, and 5.5% transgender and gender nonbinary adolescents. For all genders, unipolar scales captured more diversity of gender expression than the corresponding bipolar scale. Unipolar measures showed statistically significant associations with mental distress, parental acceptance, bullying victimization, self-kindness, and self-judgment, whereas bipolar measures were associated with only mental distress, parental acceptance, and bullying victimization. Findings indicate that unipolar measures capture more diversity in gender expression than bipolar measures. Regression analyses suggest this diversity is meaningful beyond methodological variance. Future research may consider using unipolar measures to enhance measurement quality when assessing gender expression among adolescents.
PMID:42974601 | PMC:PMC13727296 | DOI:10.1037/sgd0000958
Share Evidence Blueprint
Save to Google Notes
Search Google Scholar
Save as PDF
⭐ My Revision List
