AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF ATTITUDES TOWARD GENDER ROLES AMONG STUDENTS

Abstract

In today's society, gender roles and attitudes towards them play an important part in social relations. The perception of gender roles among young students holds scientific importance in the context of social transformation and the interaction between tradition and modern values. Therefore, this research article empirically analyzes the social factors that shape students' attitudes towards gender roles.

This study aims to identify young students' attitudes towards gender roles and the social determinants that shape them. It also assesses how institutional influence and perceptions of gender change in society impact attitudes towards gender equality. The study analyzes young students' gender positions using structural modeling and explains the mechanisms underlying the formation of gender attitudes.

We used a quantitative methodology and analyzed survey data using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) from 556 students at Korkyt Ata Kyzylorda University. We grouped attitudes towards gender roles into four latent constructs: traditional gender roles, attitudes towards gender equality, perceptions of gender changes in society, and institutional influence. The results indicate that perceptions of societal changes in gender and institutional influence have a positive and significant effect on attitudes towards gender equality, while institutional factors particularly reinforce traditional gender roles. These findings clarify that students' gender attitudes are both complex and varied, directly shaped by societal and institutional factors.