Relationship between attitudes toward feminism and levels of dogmatism, achievement, and anxiety.

More than 1,500 American women from a wide range of age, socioeconomic, and educational backgrounds were administered measures of dogmatism, anxiety, achievement, and feminism. One hundred nine Ss who scored above the 75 percentile on the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (high supporters of the feminist movement) were matched with 109 Ss who scored below the 25 percentile on the Scale (low supporters of feminism). Statistical analyses showed that women who strongly supported women's equality were (a) less close-minded; (b) more goal oriented toward nontraditional roles (vocational, educational, etc.); and (c) no different from the low supporter group in anxiety level or ego strength on four out of five dimensions. These results support the notion that feminist supporters as a group are as well adjusted as their nonfeminist counterparts on these specific traits.