Men and masculinities: Scales for masculinity ideology and masculinity-related constructs

This review evaluates 11 masculinity ideology measures that examine attitudes toward men and masculinities and 6 instruments for other masculinity-related constructs. Four conclusions regarding the available measures and the future development of instrumentation in the area are drawn from the review. First, there is evidence that measures of gender orientation and measures of gender ideologies are independent, and have differential correlates. Instruments that attempt to determine gender orientation and masculinity ideology concurrently will have limited utility by virtue of not distinguishing between these two constructs. Second, there is also evidence that gender ideologies about men are distinct from, and have differential correlates than, gender ideologies about women and gender relations in general. Thus, measures intending to index attitudes toward masculinities should not include gender-comparative items. Third, measures of the gender-related conflicts or stresses of manhood are likely to predict males’ behavior more directly than measures of masculinity ideology. Finally, a number of the existing instruments measuring either masculinity ideology or personal experiences with masculinity standards direct attention too narrowly toward a single definition of masculinity.