GENDER-RELATED INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT IN TERMS OF THE BIG-5 AND CIRCUMPLEX MODELS

In 2 studies, college men and women were assessed on the Big Five, masculinity (M), femininity (F), gender diagnosticity (GD), and a broad array of adjustment measures, including a circumplex measure of interpersonal problems. Study 1 showed that M and F but not GD have strong Big Five and circumplex representations. Also, M and F but not GD correlate with Negative Affectivity and various interpersonal problems, and M correlates with aggressiveness in men. Study 2 replicated the main findings of Study 1 with a larger sample of participants and showed additionally that GD, but not M or F, correlates with authoritarianism and social dominance in men. Results show that the Big Five and circumplex models can be used to conceptualize gender-related individual differences, psychological adjustment, and their interrelationships.