Higher Levels of Masculine Gender Role Stress in Masculine than in Feminine Nations A Thirteen-Nations Study

• Published in: Cross-cultural research Vol. 47; no. 1; pp. 51 - 67
• Main Authors: Arrindell, W. A., van Well, Sonja, Kolk, Annemarie M., Barelds, Dick P.H., Oei, Tian P. S., Lau, Pui Yi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.02.2013; Sage Publications; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Cognitive models; Cross cultural studies; Cross-cultural analysis; Cultural norms; Femininity; Gender; Gender roles; International; Intervention; Males; Masculinity; Personality. Social role; Sex Roles; Social psychology; Sociology; Sociology of health and medicine; Stress; masculine gender role stress; national masculinity; Hofstede; MGRS Scale; cross-cultural psychology; Masculinity; Male Role; Cultural Pattern; Health; Cultural Values; Stress; Regional difference; Sexual Role; Social behavior; MGRS Scale, cross-cultural psychology; Cultural difference; Crossnational Comparisons
• ISSN: 1069-3971; 1552-3578
• DOI: 10.1177/1069397112470366

It was hypothesized that societies that put greater emphasis on men being rigidly committed to culturally accepted models of masculinity (nations with high Hofstede MASculinity scores) would report higher mean national levels of masculine gender role stress (MGRS) than societies that emphasize such to a clearly lesser extent (low national MAS scores). Supporting this expectation, a large country-level correlation of +.64 (p = .01) was found across 13 countries (n = 6,420) between national MAS scores and national MGRS scores. In line with previous findings, Hofstede’s MAS measure was found to be conceptually distinct from Bem’s measure of instrumentality. Implications for intervention and further studies are briefly pinpointed.