Examining Masculine Gender-Role Conflict and Stress in Relation to Religious Orientation and Spiritual Well-Being in Australian Men

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between masculine gender-role conflict and stress factors, on one hand, and religious orientation and spiritual well-being, on the other, using a sample of Australian men. Participants were separated into two groups based on their self-reported level of religiousness. There were 73 participants in the religious group (who described themselves as “somewhat,” “very,” or “extremely religious”) and 70 participants in the non-religious group (who identified themselves as “not-at-all” or “not very religious”). All participants completed a personal information sheet and four questionnaires: The Gender Role Conflict Scale, The Gender Role Stress Scale, The Intrinsic-Extrinsic Religious Orientation Scale-Revised, and The Spiritual Well-Being Scale. As predicted, the nonreligious men exhibited higher levels of masculine gender-role conflict and stress than religious men. Separate canonical correlation analyses for the two groups revealed significant relationships between the measures assessing masculine gender-role conflict and stress and those assessing religiousness and spiritual well-being. Limitations and directions for additional research on religion and psychological well-being of men as well as implications for practice are discussed.