Psychology of Men & Masculinity

Alcohol consumption is a well-established risk factor for aggressive behavior. However, evidence suggests that alcohol's effect on aggression varies as a function of individual- and situational-based instigating and inhibiting factors. Endorsement of traditional masculine gender norms has been consistently identified as an instigating factor for alcohol-related aggression. Likewise, individuals who habitually engage in thought suppression (i.e., the attempt to inhibit the occurrence of unwanted thoughts) have been shown to be at increased risk for behavioral disinhibition and aggression...

This study explored the relations between Latino gender role attitudes (traditional machismo attitudes and caballerismo attitudes) and sexual behaviors among 242 Mexican American early adolescent boys in the southwest United States. Specifically, a multiple mediator model estimated the association between gender role attitudes and sexual activity through a mediational pathway connecting substance use, sexual motives, and peer influence. Results from analyzing this structural equation model indicated that traditional machismo attitudes were not associated with sexual behaviors...

Fraternity culture perpetuates traditional masculinity ideologies, but little research has considered the process by which men internalize these ideologies. Men may select into fraternities based on preexisting ideologies, or fraternities may have a socializing effect on ideologies. We used two longitudinal datasets to explore selection and socialization effects of fraternity membership on masculinity ideologies (gendered beliefs, gendered traits, and sexual double standard beliefs) and impersonal sex (sexual motives and multiple sex partners) among ethnically and racially diverse college men...

Heterophobia, defined as gay men's fear and avoidance of heterosexual men, has been linked to behavioral health outcomes and could contribute to social disconnectedness and intergroup conflict. The Gay Male Heterophobia Scale assesses 3 meaningful aspects of gay male heterophobia: disconnectedness, expected rejection, and unease/avoidance. The current study sought to assess the development of heterophobia among gay men over 2 weeks using a longitudinal cross-lagged panel design. Using data gathered from 253 gay-identified men collected on MTurk, the results indicated that disconnectedness is an important mediator in the relationship between minority stress and unease/avoidance of heterosexual men but does not mediate the relationship between minority stress and expectations of rejection...

Social media/social networks (SM/SNs), while ubiquitous in their use, have not been well integrated into psychological theory or practice. Most research addressing SM/SNs has examined frequency and modality of SM/SN use, rather than the valence of online interactions or potential mental health consequences of use. Further, SM/SN use has also not been well integrated with relevant paradigms from the psychology of men and masculinities paradigms. The present study contributes to both of these research need areas by testing the associations among SM/SN use, toxic masculinity, positive or negative SM/SN interactions, and depression among a sample of 402 men...

Rigid adherence to traditional male norms has been found to be associated with many health outcomes. This special issue aims to bring together biomedical and psychological researchers as a means to generate interest in integrating scientific approaches so as to advance the health of men and boys. In this guest editorial, the authors first provide a brief review of some key biological factors that contribute to sex differences in health. The editorial then introduces the ten articles included in this special issue, which focus on paternal influence on health-related behaviors; cancer; reproductive and sexual health; eating disorders; and health-related beliefs...

From 2010 to 2014, HIV diagnoses among Latino men who have sex with other men (LMSM) have increased by 14%, while diagnoses declined by 11% among white, non-Latino MSM. This health disparity is in part due to exposure to other LMSM with undiagnosed HIV infections. To effectively engage LMSM who are unaware of their serostatus, profiles of men differing in theorized determinants of HIV testing must be considered. In this retrospective study, we examined data from 546 LMSM to investigate whether hypothesized individual- (traditional masculine gender role conformity; sexual identity development status; alcohol and illicit drug use; sexual risk behaviors; perceived HIV susceptibility; and HIV stigma) and community-based (HIV prevention programming, access to health care, social support, neighborhood collective efficacy) factors were associated with differences in HIV testing...

Depression is a worldwide problem, and is especially prevalent in lower-income countries with insufficient resources and widespread poverty, such as Bangladesh. Yet multilevel determinants of depressive symptoms in men have not been studied in this context. We leverage a novel dataset from men in Bangladesh to determine the community- and individual-level influences of masculine dominance strain and financial strain on the frequency of married men's depressive symptoms in Bangladesh. Data were collected between January and June, 2011, as part of the UN Multi-Country Study of Men and Violence, conducted by The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b)...

Father involvement has been associated with positive child social, emotional, psychological, developmental, and health outcomes. However, tools for measuring father involvement have not kept pace with the expanding understanding of the roles of fathers, and in the area of child health, are blunt. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a self-report measure of father involvement in preschooler's health, the Father Involvement in Health-Pre-School (FIH-PS). In phase 1 item generation, 47 items were developed based on previous qualitative work and vetted through cognitive interviews with 21 fathers of children ages 3-5 (preschool)...

The goal of the current study is to test - among samples of men - some previous findings relative to Johnson's (2008) typology of partner violence (PV). Among samples of exclusively women, Johnson has found that the frequency and severity of PV - and victims' mental health - are worse for female victims of intimate terrorism (IT) than of situational couple violence (SCV). However, such findings have rarely been tested in male victims of PV. Furthermore, although Johnson posits that mutual violent control (MVC) is relatively rare, other research suggests that it is about as common as IT and may be associated with worse PV and health...

Gender role discrepancy (GRD), or nonconformity to socially prescribed gender roles, has been linked to a multitude of adverse mental and behavioral health outcomes. Masculine discrepancy stress (MDS), stress about being perceived not to conform to one's gender role, may explain the relationship between GRD and deleterious health outcomes. However, research on MDS has primarily been restricted to adult males. This leaves a critical gap pertaining to the potential effect of MDS on adolescent boys, who may be more malleable and susceptible to the influence and pressures of gender socialization...

The Mexico-USA border is one of the most active borders in the world with many migrant men traveling to the United States to serve as "breadwinners" for their families. Yet knowledge within psychology is limited regarding how Latino migrants' masculine identities may be shaped within the migration context as a vast majority of studies are set within the United States. This gap in the literature continues to exist despite many Latino migrant men's engagement in transnational lifestyles involving multiple migrations between their country of origin and the United States...

The current study provided an exploratory mixed methods investigation of the messages undergraduate men received about sex and relationships from their male and female friends. Participants included 310 undergraduate men who provided written responses regarding the specific messages they had received from male and female friends. Descriptive codes included: Just Do It, Meaningful Intimacy, Gentlemen, Postpone Sex, Women's Sexual Desire, and Objectification of Women. Reports of sexual communications were typically consistent with the Heterosexual Script and congruent with the friend's gender...

A major task for parents during the transition to second-time parenthood is to help their firstborn adjust to their new roles as siblings. Increased father involvement has been theorized to be protective for firstborn adjustment. Fathers, however, are under increasing pressure to balance both work and family responsibilities. Here we evaluate fathers' relative involvement in two-child families as a function of family structure, gender role beliefs, and work-family conflict in 222 dual- and single-earner families from the Midwestern region of the United States after the birth of a second child...

Men's misogynistic attitudes (i.e., dislike or contempt for women) have been shown to be associated with men's perpetration of physical/sexual violence against women and poor health outcomes for women. However, these attitudes have rarely been examined for their influence on men's own health. This paper examines the socio-demographic, substance use, and mental health correlates of misogynistic attitudes among a binational sample of men (n=400) in Tijuana, Mexico with high-risk substance use and sexual behaviors...

Men's perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) is common, but its multilevel determinants are understudied. We leveraged novel data from a probability sample of 570 junior men (married, 18-34 years) from 50 urban and 62 rural communities who took part in the Bangladesh survey of the 2011 UN Multi-Country Study of Men and Violence . We tested whether more equitable community gender norms among senior men (N=938; married, 35-49 years) was negatively associated, and a junior man's greater exposure to childhood violence was positively associated, with his lifetime count (or scope) of physical IPV acts perpetrated...

Substance use is prevalent among adolescents in the U.S., especially males. Understanding the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between gender norms and substance use is necessary to tailor substance use prevention messages and efforts appropriately. This study investigates the relationship between adherence to gender-typical behavior (AGB) and substance use from adolescence into young adulthood. Participants in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health completed self-report measures on the frequency of binge drinking, cigarette smoking and marijuana use as well as various behaviors and emotional states that captured the latent construct of AGB...

As the third most common cause of cancer death among United States men, colorectal cancer (CRC) represents a significant threat to men's health. Although adherence to CRC screening has the potential to reduce CRC mortality by approximately half, men's current rates of adherence fall below national screening objectives. In qualitative studies, men have reported forgoing screenings involving the rectum (e.g., colonoscopy) due to concern about breaching masculinity norms. However, the extent to which masculinity beliefs predict men's CRC screening adherence has yet to be examined...

The needs of South African men with HIV may often be overlooked in the provision of HIV services, leading to care programs that do not adequately serve the unique needs of male patients. Additionally, norms of masculinity guide men's behaviors as they navigate health decision-making and the healthcare systems. The aim of this study is to examine how masculinity influences healthcare access and utilization in South Africa, and to identify opportunities for interventions. The qualitative study took place at one primary health care clinic in a peri-urban township in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa...

Although extensive research documents that Black people in the U.S. frequently experience social discrimination, most of this research aggregates these experiences primarily or exclusively by race. Consequently, empirical gaps exist about the psychosocial costs and benefits of Black men's experiences at the intersection of race and gender. Informed by intersectionality, a theoretical framework that highlights how multiple social identities intersect to reflect interlocking social-structural inequality, this study addresses these gaps with the qualitative development and quantitative test of the Black Men's Experiences Scale (BMES)...