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Abstract
The current study examined the relationship between sociocultural values (e.g., marianismo, familism, ethnic identity) and female gender-role orientation (e.g., femininity/masculinity) in gender-role conflict amongst Latina college students (N = 260) in higher education at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in the Western United States. The results indicated that Mexican American Latina College students who endorsed gender role attitudes of marianismo and adhered to the cultural value of familism experienced higher levels of gender-role conflict. Particularly, individuals who endorsed more marianismo experienced conflict with restrictive affectionate behavior (i.e., discomfort expressing feelings to another person) and individuals who adhered to familism experienced more conflict with success, power, and competition. Findings also indicated that ethnic identity was significantly and positively correlated to familism and gender-role orientation indicating that having a salient identification with the ethnic group can influence gender-role orientation and adherence to the cultural value of familism. Correspondingly, individuals who endorsed masculinity experienced higher levels of conflict with success, power, and competition and those who endorsed femininity experienced less conflict in expressing emotions and affection for others. Implications of the research and recommendations for future research are discussed.