Masculine gender role stress and intimate abuse: Effects of gender relevance of conflict situations on men's attributions and affective responses.

Abstract

This article proposes an approach to understanding men's abuse of their intimate partners. The authors suggest that the concept of masculine gender role stress (MGRS) might be useful in identifying men who are predisposed to become abusive with their intimate partners. College men who scored either high or low on an MGRS scale were assessed, and their attributions, affect, and conflict resolution behavior toward their intimate female partners were examined. Participants were presented with masculine-gender-relevant and masculine-gender-irrelevant vignettes involving disputes with their intimate female partners. Results indicated that men high in MGRS attributed greater negative intent; expressed more irritation, anger, and jealousy; and endorsed aggressive responding more often than did men low in MGRS. Implications of MGRS and masculine relevance of conflicts for understanding male abusive behavior are discussed.