The Ambivalent Sexism Theory suggests that there are two complementary types of sexism: hostile (subjectively negative attitude towards gender groups) and benevolent (subjectively positive attitude towards gender groups). In this meta-analysis we analyzed the relationship between ambivalent sexism and attitudes toward male-to-female violence or violent behavior. Violence type, the context of violence, respondents' gender, the countries' level of gender inequality, and sample type were tested as moderators. The results showed that both hostile and benevolent sexism independently impact on attitudes toward violence and violent behavior albeit to a different degree. Specifically, the relationship between hostile sexism and attitudes and behavior is stronger than for the benevolent sexism. The type and context of violence moderate the relationship between hostile sexism and attitudes toward violence and violent behavior. Only the country's gender inequality levels showed a moderation effect for benevolent sexism. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.
We analyzed 498 effect sizes about the relationship between ambivalent sexism and attitudes toward male-to-female violence, and 133 effect sizes about the relationship between ambivalent sexism and violent behavior. The results showed that hostile sexism is more strongly associated with both attitudes toward violence (r = .517) and violent behavior (r = .250) than benevolent sexism is (r = .328 and r = .049, respectively). The type of violence and the target of violence are the significant moderators for hostile sexism: the smallest effect size was observed for attitudes toward physical violence and the weaker correlation between hostile sexism and violent behavior was where an intimate partner was involved. Our findings revealed that gender and sample type were not significant moderators while the higher the level of equality in the country where the study was conducted, the higher the correlation between benevolent sexism and attitudes toward violence.
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