Examining patterns of feminist identity development, empowerment and mutuality in women's friendships.

摘要

This study examined the influence of feminist identity development and level of personal empowerment on mutuality within same-sex friendships among adult women. Two hundred and twenty-six adult women participated in the study. These participants completed a demographic form, the Feminist Identity Composite (FIC), Personal Progress Scale-Revised (PPS-R), and the Mutual Psychological Developmental Questionnaire (MPDQ). A hierarchical cluster analysis using Ward's method was first conducted on the FIC and revealed two clusters of women, Traditional Female Values and Emerging Feminist Values. The second stage of data analysis included running a hierarchical multiple regression with four steps. The regression revealed that the full model predicted significant variance in mutuality scores. More specifically, step one and step two of the regression model, which included the predictors of number of close, female friends and empowerment, emerged as statistically significant predictors of mutuality scores. In contrast, neither feminist identity cluster nor the interaction terms emerged as significant predictors was most salient in determining levels of mutuality in women's friendships with other women.