Masculine Discrepancy Stress, Teen Dating Violence, and Sexual Violence Perpetration Among Adolescent Boys

Abstract

Purpose Addressing gender norms is integral to understanding and ultimately preventing violence in both adolescent and adult intimate relationships. Males are affected by gender role expectations which require them to demonstrate attributes of strength, toughness, and dominance. Discrepancy stress is a form of gender role stress that occurs when boys and men fail to live up to the traditional gender norms set by society. Failure to live up to these gender role expectations may precipitate this experience of psychological distress in some males which, in turn, may increase the risk to engage in physically and sexually violent behaviors as a means of demonstrating masculinity. Methods Five-hundred eighty-nine adolescent males from schools in Wayne County, Michigan completed a survey assessing self-perceptions of gender role discrepancy, the experience of discrepancy stress, and history of physical and sexual dating violence. Results Logistic regression analyses indicated boys who endorsed gender role discrepancy and associated discrepancy stress were generally at greater risk to engage in acts of sexual violence but not necessarily physical violence. Conclusions Boys who experience stress about being perceived as “sub-masculine” may be more likely to engage in sexual violence as a means of demonstrating their masculinity to self and/or others and thwarting potential “threats” to their masculinity by dating partners. Efforts to prevent sexual violence perpetration among male adolescents should perhaps consider the influence of gender socialization in this population and include efforts to reduce distress about masculine socialization in primary prevention strategies.

Masculine discrepancy stress, substance use, assault and injury in a survey of US men

“…Response options for each question ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). This scale has demonstrated construct and criterion validity in prior studies of men and adolescent boys 4 6 7. Cronbach's αs for the 5-item discrepancy and 5-item discrepancy stress scales were 0.91 and 0.86, respectively.…”

“…Based on previous studies examining the effects of men's discrepancy stress on engagement in intimate partner violence and risky sexual behaviour,4 6 7 a small to medium effect was expected for the interaction term on each criterion variable. Power analysis indicated a minimum of 436 participants to achieve an acceptable level of power for the negative binomial regression procedures.…”

“…Additionally, in a sample of adolescent boys, discrepancy stress was found to be associated with the perpetration of sexual violence 7. Considering the link between the male gender role in the USA and a number of deleterious behaviours associated with risk taking and injury such as aggression and substance abuse,1 5 8 9 it is important to clarify the role of masculine discrepancy stress in such forms of maladjustment in a sizeable US sample.…”

Expanding perspectives: A social inequities lens on intimate partner violence, reproductive justice, and infant mental health

“…When men and boys perceive that they violate norms of masculine behavior, masculine discrepancy stress can result; this has been shown to play a key role in IPV for both adult men and boys. Specifically, Reidy, Smith‐Darden, Cortina, Kernsmith, and Kernsmith () found in a study of high‐school boys that study participants’ whose self‐perceptions about their masculinity did not match masculine norms were more likely to have a history of perpetrating sexual dating violence or other sexually violent acts, suggesting the immense pressure that society places on male individuals to demonstrate their masculinity. In addition, Berke, Reidy, Gentile, and Zeichner () found a similar pattern in a survey of adult men: Those who had higher discrepancy stress were more likely to report of history of perpetrating sexual abuse.…”

Man's Heaviest Burden: A Review of Contemporary Paradigms and New Directions for Understanding and Preventing Masculine Aggression

“…Of importance, Reidy and colleagues () showed that discrepancy stress predicted men's personal history of multiple forms of intimate partner violence even after controlling for trait masculinity and the endorsement of masculine norms. Additionally, in a sample of adolescent boys, discrepancy stress positively predicted a perpetration of sexual violence (Reidy, Smith‐Darden, Cortina, Kernsmith, & Kernsmith, ). Outside the confines of romantic relationships, finally, participants higher in discrepancy stress had a higher lifetime frequency of engagement in assaults with a weapon and assaults causing injury (Reidy, Berke, Gentile, & Zeichner, ).…”