Abstract
Over a half century of research has identified constellations of rigid, sexist, and hegemonic beliefs about how men should think, feel, and behave within Western societies (i.e., traditional masculine ideologies; TMI). However, there is a dearth of literature examining why people adhere to TMI. Within in this study, we examined TMI from an identity perspective. Specifically, we focused on the concepts of identity exploration and identity commitment to identify distinct identity statuses based on Marcia’s (1966) identity status theory. Our sample (N = 1136) was composed of college and community cisgender women (n = 890) and cisgender men (n = 244) in the United States. We conducted a Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) to allow identity status groups to naturally emerge based on levels of identity exploration and commitment. A three-class solution emerged as the best fit to the data. Individuals in the foreclosed status (i.e., high commitment but low exploration) scored higher on all seven TMI domains and lower on feminist attitudes compared to those who were high in exploration but low in identity commitment (i.e., identity moratorium). However, there was no difference between individuals high in both identity commitment and exploration (i.e., identity achievement) and the identity foreclosed individuals on feminist attitudes and three of seven dimensions of TMI. Implications and future directions are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychological Association, Boys and Men Guidelines Group (2018). APA guidelines for psychological practice with boys and men. https://www.apa.org/about/policy/psychological-practice-boys-men-guidelines.pdf
Arneaud, M. J., Alea, N., & Espinet, M. (2016). Identity development in Trinidad: Status differences by age, adulthood transitions, and culture. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 16(1), 59–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/15283488.2015.1121818
Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. (2021). Auxiliary variables in mixture modeling: Using the BCH method in Mplus to estimate a distal outcome model and an arbitrary secondary model. https://www.statmodel.com/examples/webnotes/webnote21.pdf
Auster, C. J., & Ohm, S. C. (2000). Masculinity and femininity in contemporary American society: A reevaluation using the Bem Sex-Role Inventory. Sex Roles, 43(7–8), 499–528. https://doi.org/10.1037/t00748-000
Bakk, Z., & Vermunt, J. K. (2016). Robustness of stepwise latent class modeling with continuous distal outcomes. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 23(1), 20–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705511.2014.955104
Balistreri, E., Busch-Rossnagel, N. A., & Geisinger, K. F. (1995). Development and preliminary validation of the Ego Identity Process Questionnaire. Journal of Adolescence, 18(2), 179–192. https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.1995.1012. psyh
Bartoszuk, K., & Pittman, J. F. (2010). Profiles of identity exploration and commitment across domains. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19(4), 444–450. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-009-9315-5
Bem, S. L. (1974). The measurement of psychological androgyny. Journal of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, 42(2), 155–162. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0036215
Bengt, O., Muthén (2009, July 31). I assume the 2-class model has 0 p values for both as well. BLRT and LMR agree well in the [Comment on the blog post “Diverging LMR and BLRT p-values”]. http://www.statmodel.com/discussion/messages/13/4529.html?1249068377
Bengt, O., Muthén (2017, February 22). I would go by BIC in these cases. The problem of BIC not showing a minimum can be solved by [Comment on the blog post “Diverging LMR and BLRT p-values”]. http://www.statmodel.com/discussion/messages/13/4529.html?1249068377
Bilsker, D., Schiedel, D., & Marcia, J. (1988). Sex differences in identity status. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 18(3–4), 231–236. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287792
Borgogna, N. C., & McDermott, R. C. (2022). Is traditional masculinity ideology stable over time in men and women? Psychology of Men & Masculinities. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000393
Carlsson, J., Wängqvist, M., & Frisén, A. (2015). Identity development in the late twenties: A never ending story. Developmental Psychology, 51(3), 334–345. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038745
Cieciuch, J., & Topolewska, E. (2017). Circumplex of identity formation modes: A proposal for the integration of identity constructs developed in the Erikson–Marcia tradition. Self and Identity, 16(1), 37–61. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2016.1216008
Ciliberto, J., & Ferrari, F. (2009). Interiorized homophobia, identity dynamics and gender typization Hypothesizing a third gender role in Italian LGB individuals. Journal of Homosexuality, 56(5), 610–622. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918360903005279
Collins, L. M., & Lanza, S. T. (2010). Latent class and latent transition analysis: With applications in the social, behavioral, and health sciences. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Connell, R. W., & Messerschmidt, J. W. (2005). Hegemonic masculinity: Rethinking the concept. Gender & Society, 19(6), 829–859. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243205278639
Duncan, L. E., Peterson, B. E., & Winter, D. G. (1997). Authoritarianism and gender roles: Toward a psychological analysis of hegemonic relationships. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23(1), 41–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167297231005
Eagly, A. H., Eaton, A., Rose, S. M., Riger, S., & McHugh, M. C. (2012). Feminism and psychology: Analysis of a half-century of research on women and gender. American Psychologist, 67(3), 211–230. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027260
Fadjukoff, P., Pulkkinen, L., & Kokko, K. (2016). Identity formation in adulthood: A longitudinal study from age 27 to 50. Identity, 16(1), 8–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/15283488.2015.1121820
Fernández, J., & Coello, M. T. (2010). Do the BSRI and PAQ really measure masculinity and femininity? The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 13(2), 1000–1009. https://doi.org/10.1017/S113874160000264X
Frisén, A., & Wängqvist, M. (2011). Emerging adults in Sweden: Identity formation in the light of love, work, and family. Journal of Adolescent Research, 26(2), 200–221. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558410376829
Gerdes, Z. T., Alto, K. M., Jadaszewski, S., D’Auria, F., & Levant, R. F. (2018). A content analysis of research on masculinity ideologies using all forms of the Male Role Norms Inventory (MRNI). Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 19(4), 584–599. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000134
Goodnight, B. L., Cook, S. L., Parrott, D. J., & Peterson, J. L. (2014). Effects of masculinity, authoritarianism, and prejudice on antigay aggression: A path analysis of gender-role enforcement. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 15(4), 437–444. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034565
Grotevant, H. D., & Adams, G. R. (1984). Development of an objective measure to assess ego identity in adolescence: Validation and replication. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 13(5), 419–438. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02088639
Halpern, H. P., & Perry-Jenkins, M. (2016). Parents’ gender ideology and gendered behavior as predictors of children’s gender-role attitudes: A longitudinal exploration. Sex Roles, 74(11), 527–542. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-015-0539-0
Helmreich, R. L., Spence, J. T., & Wilhelm, J. A. (1981). A psychometric analysis of the Personal Attributes Questionnaire. Sex Roles, 7(11), 1097–1108. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287587
Kroger, J., Martinussen, M., & Marcia, J. E. (2010). Identity status change during adolescence and young adulthood: A meta-analysis. Journal of Adolescence, 33(5), 683–698. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.11.002
Levant, R. F. (2011). Research in the psychology of men and masculinity using the gender role strain paradigm as a framework. The American Psychologist, 66(8), 765–776. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025034
Levant, R. F., Hall, R. J., & Rankin, T. J. (2013). Male Role Norms Inventory–Short Form (MRNI-SF): Development, confirmatory factor analytic investigation of structure, and measurement invariance across gender. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60(2), 228–238. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031545
Levant, R. F., Hall, R. J., Weigold, I. K., & McCurdy, E. R. (2015). Construct distinctiveness and variance composition of multi-dimensional instruments: Three short-form masculinity measures. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 62(3), 488–502. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000092
Levant, R. F., McDermott, R., Parent, M. C., Alshabani, N., Mahalik, J. R., & Hammer, J. H. (2020). Development and evaluation of a new short form of the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI-30). Journal of Counseling Psychology, 67(5), 622–636. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000414
Levant, R. F., & Richmond, K. (2016). The gender role strain paradigm and masculinity ideologies. In Y. J. Wong, S. R. Wester, Y. J. Wong (Ed), & S. R. Wester (Ed) (Eds.), APA handbook of men and masculinities. (2014-41535-002; pp. 23–49). American Psychological Association. https://libproxy.usouthal.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2014-41535-002&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Lo, Y., Mendell, N. R., & Rubin, D. B. (2001). Testing the number of components in a normal mixture. Biometrika, 88(31), 767–778. https://doi.org/10.1093biomet/88.3.76
Marcia, J. E. (1966). Development and validation of ego-identity status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 3(5), 551–558. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0023281
Marttinen, E., Dietrich, J., & Salmela-Aro, K. (2016). Dark shadows of rumination: Finnish young adults’ identity profiles, personal goals and concerns. Journal of Adolescence, 47(2016), 185–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2015.10.024
McDermott, R. C., Borgogna, N. C., Hammer, J. H., Berry, A. T., & Levant, R. F. (2020). More similar than different? Testing the construct validity of men’s and women’s traditional masculinity ideology using the Male Role Norms Inventory-Very Brief. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 21(4), 523–532. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000251
McDermott, R. C., Brasil, K. M., Borgogna, N. C., Barinas, J. L., Berry, A. T., & Levant, R. F. (2021). The politics of men’s and women’s traditional masculinity ideology in the United States. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 22(4), 627–638. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000367
McDermott, R. C., Levant, R. F., Hammer, J. H., Borgogna, N. C., & McKelvey, D. K. (2019). Development and validation of a five-item Male Role Norms Inventory using bifactor modeling. Psychology of Men and Masculinities, 20(4), 467–477. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000178
McDermott, R. C., Levant, R. F., Hammer, J. H., Hall, R. J., McKelvey, D. K., & Jones, Z. (2017). Further examination of the factor structure of the Male Role Norms Inventory-Short Form (MRNI-SF): Measurement considerations for women, men of color, and gay men. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 64(6), 724–738. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000225
McDermott, R. C., & Schwartz, J. P. (2013). Toward a better understanding of emerging adult men’s gender role journeys: Differences in age, education, race, relationship status, and sexual orientation. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 14(2), 202–210. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028538
McDermott, R. C., Wolfe, G., Levant, R. F., Alshabani, N., & Richmond, K. (2021). Measurement invariance of three gender ideology scales across cis, trans, and nonbinary gender identities. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 22(2), 331–344. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000286
Meeus, W., van de Schoot, R., Keijsers, L., & Branje, S. (2012). Identity statuses as developmental trajectories: A five-wave longitudinal study in early-to-middle and middle-to-late adolescents. Journal of Youth Adolescence 41(2012), 1008–1021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-011-9730-y
Meyer, J. P., & Morin, A. J. S. (2016). A person-centered approach to commitment research: Theory, research, and methodology. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 37(4), 584–612. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2085
Morgan, B. L. (1996). Putting the feminism into feminism scales: Introduction of a Liberal Feminist Attitude and Ideology Scale. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 34(5–6), 359–390. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01547807
Morin, A. J. S., Bujacz, A., & Gagné, M. (2018). Person-Centered Methodologies in the Organizational Sciences: Introduction to the Feature Topic. Organizational Research Methods, 21(4), 803–813. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428118773856
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2017). Mplus user’s guide (8th ed.). Muthén & Muthén
Nelson, J. A., Liss, M., Erchull, M. J., Hurt, M. M., Ramsey, L. R., Turner, D. L., & Haines, M. E. (2008). Identity in action: Predictors of feminist self-identification and collective action. Sex Roles, 58(2008), 721–728. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9384-0
Nylund, K. L., Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. O. (2007). Deciding on the number of classes in latent class analysis and growth mixture modeling: A Monte Carlo simulation study. Structural Equation Modeling, 14(4), 535–569. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705510701575396
O’Neil, J. M. (2015). Men’s gender role conflict: Psychological costs, consequences, and an agenda for change. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/14501-000
O’Neil, J. M., & Carroll, M. R. (1988). A gender role workshop focused on sexism, gender role conflict, and the gender role journey. Journal of Counseling & Development, 67(3), 193–197. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.1988.tb02091.x
Pastorino, E., Dunham, R. M., Kidwell, J., Bacho, R., & Lamborn, S. D. (1997). Domain-specific gender comparisons in identity development among college youth: Ideology and relationships. Adolescence, 32(127), 559–577.
Peterson, B. E., & Zurbriggen, E. L. (2010). Gender, sexuality, and the authoritarian personality. Journal of Personality, 78(6), 1801–1826. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00670.x
Phillips, T. M. (2009). Does social desirability bias distort results on the Ego Identity Process Questionnaire or the Identity Style Inventory? Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 9(1), 87–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/15283480802579474. https://doi-org.libproxy.usouthal.edu/
Pleck, J. H. (1995). The gender role strain paradigm: An update. In R. F. Levant, W. S. Pollack, R. F. Levant (Eds), & W. S. Pollack (Eds.), A new psychology of men (pp. 11–32). Basic Books.
Pleck, J. (2017). Forward: A brief history of the psychology of men and masculinities. In R. F. Levant & Y. J. Wong (Eds.), The psychology of men and masculinities (pp. XI—XIX). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/00000023-000
Prager, K. J. (1983). Identity status, sex-role orientation, and self-esteem in late adolescent females. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 143(1983), 159–167. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221325.1983.10533547
Ryeng, M. S., Kroger, J., & Martinussen, M. (2013). Identity status and authoritarianism: A meta-analysis. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 13(3), 242–252. https://doi.org/10.1080/15283488.2013.799434
Schwartz, S. J. (2004). Brief report: Construct validity of two identity status measures: The EIPQ and the EOM-EIS-II. Journal of Adolescence, 27(4), 477–483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2004.03.005. https://doi-org.libproxy.usouthal.edu/
Schwartz, S. J., Zamboanga, B. L., Wang, W., & Olthuis, J. V. (2009). Measuring identity from an Eriksonian perspective: Two sides of the same coin? Journal of Personality Assessment, 91(2), 143–154. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223890802634266
Smiler, A. P. (2006). Living the image: A quantitative approach to delineating masculinities. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 55(9–10), 621–632. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-006-9118-8
Soenens, B., Duriez, B., & Goossens, L. (2005). Social-psychological profiles of identity styles: Attitudinal and social-cognitive correlates in late adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 28(1), 107–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2004.07.001
Solomontos-Kountouri, O., & Hurry, J. (2008). Political, religious and occupational identities in context: Placing identity status paradigm in context. Journal of Adolescence, 31, 241–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2007.11.006
Stefurak, T., Taylor, C., & Mehta, S. (2010). Gender-specific models of homosexual prejudice: Religiosity, authoritarianism, and gender roles. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 2(4), 247–261. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021538
Syed, M., & Seiffge-Krenke, I. (2013). Personality development from adolescence to emerging adulthood: Linking trajectories of ego development to the family context and identity formation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104(2), 371–384. https://doi.org/10.1037/a003/0070
Thompson, E. H. Jr., & Bennett, K. M. (2015). Measurement of masculinity ideologies: A (critical) review. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 16(2), 115–133. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038609
Verschueren, M., Rassart, J., Claes, L., Moons, P., & Luyckz, K. (2017). Identity statuses throughout adolescence and emerging adulthood: A large-scale study into gender, age, and contextual differences. Journal of Belgian Association for Psychological Science, 57(1), 32-42. https://doi.org/10.5334/pb.348
Wong, Y. J., Steinfeldt, J. A., Speight, Q. L., & Hickman, S. J. (2010). Content analysis of Psychology of Men & Masculinity (2000–2008). Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 11(3), 170–181. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019133
Worthington, R. L., Navarro, R. L., Savoy, H. B., & Hampton, D. (2008). Development, reliability, and validity of the Measure of Sexual Identity Exploration and Commitment (MOSIEC). Developmental Psychology, 44(1), 22–33. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.44.1.22
Zacarés, J. J., & Iborra, A. (2015). Self and identity development during adolescence across cultures. In J. D. Wright (Ed.), International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences (pp. 432–438). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.23028-6
Funding
Research reported in this publication was not funded.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
All authors agree to be accountable for ensuring the integrity and accuracy of this work.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interests disclosures
All authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McDermott, R.C., Brasil, K.M., Borgogna, N.C. et al. Traditional Masculinity Ideology and Feminist Attitudes: The Role of Identity Foreclosure. Sex Roles 87, 211–222 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-022-01302-4
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-022-01302-4