The Precarious Man: Measuring masculine discrepancy and its relationships with aggression and misogyny

In the studies of men and masculinity, most of the focus has been on masculine dysfunction strain, or the strain males feel as it relates to the various expectations of masculinity. In contrast, the research on discrepancy strain (or the strain males feel when they fail to meet these expectations) is limited. Unlike dysfunction strain, there are not any widely accepted and utilized scales measuring discrepancy. By combining identity theory and general strain theory with gender and feminist theory, my goal is to examine how masculine discrepancy may be related to the endorsement of aggression and misogyny. The aim of this dissertation is to develop and validate a scale to operationalize masculine discrepancy as it is theorized; this scale will then be used to examine the following research questions: does masculine discrepancy impact males' individual endorsement of aggression and misogyny? And if so, are these impacts moderated by failure to meet particular aspects, or "pillars," of masculinity? I created a masculine discrepancy scale that more accurately operationalizes the theoretical concept of masculine discrepancy. First, I synthesized various masculinity scales, namely the Male Role Norms Inventory, the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory, and the Man Box scale to develop assessments of males' masculine ideals ("ideal") and perceptions of their lived experiences ("actual" or "experiences"). By comparing ideal to actual, we can calculate a discrepancy score, where a score of 0 indicates consistency, and scores further from 0 indicate discrepancy. These scores are calculated both as an overall assessment of discrepancy and by particular pillars of masculinity. Following a pilot study of undergraduate sociology students, 1,000 males above the age of 18 were surveyed. These surveys were conducted via Cint panel distribution in December 2023. I then use factor and cluster analysis as well as regression analyses to test the following hypotheses: (1) Masculine Discrepancy Stress will have a positive ...