Psychology of Men and Masculinity

Development of the Relationships Fostering Healthy Masculinities Scale.
This article describes the development of the Relationships Fostering Healthy Masculinities Scale, which emerges from Di Bianca and Mahalik’s (2022) application of relational–cultural theory to masculine socialization, centering the role of interpersonal relationships as influencing either the development of hegemonic masculinity or growing toward healthy ways of being men. Our first study (n = 300) describes the development of the measure and examines a series of models testing the factor structure of the scale, leading to a six-factor structure for the measure showing a strong fit to the data, as well as evidence for criterion validity and measure invariance. Support for criterion validity was established through significant relationships to theoretically identified constructs including individual well-being, relationship quality, social justice worldview, and lower adherence to masculine norms emotional control, self-reliance, and violence norms. Assessment for measurement invariance also demonstrated configural, metric, and scalar invariance for men of color and White men. Our second study (n = 278) reports a confirmatory analysis on the 24-item, six-factor model found in the first study, along with additional support for the scale’s validity. Future directions for research and practice on boys’ and men’s experiences of interpersonal relationships in masculinity-focused preventative and social change efforts are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Men’s weekly household labor and relationship quality during COVID-19 in Canada and Germany: Between-person differences and within-person associations.
How are within-person fluctuations in men’s relative share of household duties (housework and childcare) associated with fluctuations in positive (e.g., “enjoyable”) and negative (e.g., “miserable”) relationship quality with their partner? This study answers that research question while controlling for fluctuations in the number of days spent working at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of hours worked, and traditional gender role attitudes. We analyzed weekly diary data provided by 277 German and Canadian men with preschool-aged children in mixed-gender intimate partnerships (56% had a university degree or higher, mean age was 36.82 years [SD = 4.92 years], 87% employed full time). Data were collected across 8 weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic (January–June 2021). Results from random intercept cross-lagged panel models did not detect any between-person associations between household labor and relationship quality, but found bidirectional within-person links. Completing a higher than typical share of household labor in a given week predicted lower positive relationship quality than average the next week. Conversely, higher than average positive relationship quality predicted within-person reductions in men’s share of household contributions the following week. Negative relationship quality was not associated with household labor contributions. This study provides new insight into the (within-person) links between men’s share of household labor contributions and their relationship quality and underscores the importance of examining relationship processes as they unfold in daily life to distinguish between-person differences from within-person fluctuations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Love isn’t colorblind: Internalized racism, resistance and empowerment against racism, and Asian American men’s racialized dating preferences.
Past studies indicate that sociocultural factors may affect who Asian American adults wish to date. To expand upon this burgeoning field of research, the present study examined how internalized racism and resistance and empowerment against racism are associated with Asian American men’s preferences to date four different racial groups of women: Asian women, Black women, Latina women, and White women. The study included a sample of 244 Asian American men living in the United States who completed a cross-sectional online survey. Results showed that internalized racism was negatively associated with a dating preference toward Asian and Black women, whereas greater resistance and empowerment against racism was positively associated with a dating preference toward Asian, Black, Latina, and White women. Paired-samples t tests also revealed that participants were more likely to prefer dating Asian women compared to Black, Latina, and White women; more likely to prefer dating White women compared to Black and Latina women; and more likely to prefer dating Latina women compared to Black women. The present study’s results emphasize the importance of taking into account how sociocultural factors such as internalized racism and resistance and empowerment against racism are associated with Asian American men’s racial dating preferences. Implications for interventionists and practitioners working with Asian American men are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
An intimacy gap? Exploring U.S. men’s experience with and capacity for physical intimacy in their same-sex friendships.
Despite research linking touch to closeness and intimacy in interpersonal relationships, few studies have explored patterns and practices of touch in men’s same-sex friendships. Given the benefits of close relationships for well-being, such research is essential in a context where adverse mental and physical health outcomes have risen among men. This study deployed a novel measure of physical intimacy in an online survey of 467 predominantly White (64.9%), 18–65 year old (M = 30.8, SD = 10.6) men in the United States to capture men’s subjective intimacy ratings of 62 discrete touch behaviors, assess men’s experience with and capacity for physical intimacy in their same-sex friendships, and explore associations between attachment, masculinity, and physical intimacy outcomes. Results revealed significant gaps between the amount of platonic and sexualized physical intimacy men experience in their same-sex friendships and the amount they report being open to. The platonic intimacy gap was present for men from all four generational cohorts (i.e., Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers)—though results revealed differences in gap size by generation. The sexualized intimacy gap was smaller but consistent across all cohorts except Baby Boomers. Regression models found attachment, normative male alexithymia, homohysteria, masculinity contingency, and multiple demographic factors to be associated with our physical intimacy outcomes. Differences between platonic and sexualized physical intimacy are explored in this regard. Results are discussed in terms of intervention-ready behaviors and barriers and facilitators to touch in men’s same-sex friendships. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Father’s engagement in direct care is associated with children’s social competence for preschool boys but not girls in Peru.
Evidence shows that fathers have an important role in child development, but few studies explore this influence in the Latin American context. This study aimed to contribute to bridge this gap by analyzing in a Peruvian urban, mainly middle socioeconomic sample, the associations between different dimensions of father engagement (i.e., interaction in direct care, teaching/discipline, and play activities) and children’s social adjustment (i.e., social competence, anxiety-withdrawal and anger-aggression) during the preschool years, while controlling for child’s age and parents’ education, and testing the interaction effects between father’s engagement and child’s gender. Two hundred three 2-parent families with preschool children (M = 52.82, SD = 10.06; 57.63% were girls) participated in the study. Multiple ordinary least squares regression models were conducted. Only for social competence, an interaction between father’s engagement in direct care and child’s gender (boys) was found. These results contribute to highlight the importance of fathers in domains traditionally associated with mothers in a Latin American context. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Opioid addiction and gender role conflict: A comparative study of fathers receiving treatment for an opioid use disorder.
Although the concept of gender role conflict has advanced contemporary research on the psychology of men and masculinities, there has been little exploration of gender role conflict within clinical samples of men. Consequently, variable- and person-oriented approaches to the analysis of data collected from a racially and ethnically diverse sample of 224 fathers living in southern New England were used to document differences in gender role conflict when fathers with an opioid use disorder were compared with fathers living in the same community without an alcohol or drug use disorder. Analyses of covariance indicated that, after allowance for demographic characteristics, the clinical group reported significantly more concern about restrictive emotionality and restrictive affectionate behavior between men. Cluster analysis indicated that there were five potentially meaningful profiles of gender role conflict among the fathers. Multinomial logistic analysis examining assignment to clusters representing more versus less concern showed that, after allowance for demographic characteristics, the odds were much greater that the fathers in the clinical group were assigned to clusters reflecting more concern about gender role conflict. The results highlight ways internalization of masculinities emphasizing constriction of emotional expression and interpersonal relations may represent risk for opioid addiction, and they illustrate how documentation of differences in masculine constructs may inform gender-sensitive parent intervention pursued with fathers in clinical and community contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Australian nonresident fathers’ tattoos that relate to their children: An exploration of motivation and meaning.
Research on nonresident fathers after divorce is generally conducted from the perspective of others and rarely from their own perspectives. Becoming a nonresident father may mean major dislocation often presenting challenges to meaningful relationships with children. Some nonresident fathers may have tattoos that relate specifically to their children, which were acquired either before or after the divorce. Understanding the links between changing family configurations, fatherhood role identity, desired relationships with children, and how these are enacted and embodied through tattoos represents an important step toward understanding the experiences of nonresident fathers from their own perspectives. This article aimed to investigate the motivators and significance of nonresident fathers’ tattoos that specifically relate to their children and how they link to personal and mental well-being. In-depth interviews were conducted with seven nonresident fathers who had tattoos that related specifically to their children, had a mean age of 42 years, had been divorced for a mean of 6 years, and self-identified as Australian. The data were analyzed using a seven-step thematic analysis process. As a result, nonresident fathers’ tattoos that relate to their children could be used by them as a means of maintaining an emotional and psychological connection to their fatherhood role, and in doing this, their mental well-being may be positively affected. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
“How can you really step up?”: The dad-double-bind grounded theory of fathering in the United States during COVID-19.
Recent research suggests fathers are engaging more with their children, with an overall convergence in the amount of time mothers and fathers spend with their children. However, little is known about how fathering engagement was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, in which families found themselves working and living in new ways. Using a constructivist grounded theory methodology, we conducted 44 semistructured interviews with U.S. fathers of at least one child aged four or younger between May and July 2020. Interviews explored fathers’ perceptions of how COVID-19 affected fathering and family dynamics. Participants included fathers from 23 states who were predominantly White (86.36%), married (93.18%), college-educated (45%), and employed full-time (79.54%), with gross family incomes greater than $50,000 (70.4%). Axial and selective coding were used to inductively generate findings. Sensitized by a family systems perspective, our grounded theory analysis revealed that, for some families, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in increased father engagement, couple subsystem changes, stronger family cohesion, and a redefining of fathering roles and rules. A new theoretical fathering concept also emerged: the dad-double-bind, described as conflicting societal messages that told fathers to “step aside” (e.g., lack of fathering classes and support, their kids preferring mom) as “contemporary fatherhood” concurrently asked them to “step up.” We explore how the dad-double-bind was highlighted due to the fathers’ experiences early in the pandemic, which is shaped by a cultural lag between fathering desires, expectations of actions, and societal constraints. We conclude with recommendations to support fathering engagement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Relationships between social media, body image, physical activity, and anabolic-androgenic steroid use in men: A systematic review.
Research suggests that social media use is linked to greater body image concerns and appearance-altering behaviors (e.g., physical activity, anabolic-androgenic steroid use) in men; however, no review has collated these results specifically for men. Thus, the current systematic review examined the relationships between social media and body image (e.g., body satisfaction, internalization of the muscular ideal, self-objectification), physical activity, and anabolic-androgenic steroid use in men. Six electronic databases were searched. Included studies (N = 60) isolated the male data and reported at least one analysis of the relationship between social media and either body image, physical activity, and/or anabolic-androgenic steroid use. Studies looked at either general social media use, appearance-related social media behaviors, or exposure to social media content. Overall, while some forms of social media (namely, appearance-related) were linked to body image and appearance-altering behaviors, findings were mixed. This was attributed to the diversity and appropriateness of outcome measures for use with men and the type of social media (e.g., time spent on social media, selfie behaviors) used. However, it was clear that appearance-related social media use is related to a more negative body image and greater odds of anabolic-androgenic steroid use in men. Future research should continue to investigate the impacts of social media on men and choose appropriate measures for this demographic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Changes in the prevalence of muscular, but not thin, bodies bias young men’s judgments about body size.
Images of men in the media are becoming more muscular. The influence that the overrepresentation of idealized bodies in Western media plays on women’s body dissatisfaction has been well-documented, but less is known about how similar shifts in prevalence affect men. One idealized trait of masculinity is muscularity. In this study, we propose that prevalence-induced concept change may be one of the cognitive mechanisms underlying shifts in masculine beauty standards. We conducted an online within-subjects experiment with young cisgender men (N = 164) and found that when the prevalence of muscular bodies in the environment increased, participants increasingly judged objectively average bodies as nonmuscular. This effect was not present when men made judgments about overweightness. Computational modeling (hierarchical drift–diffusion modeling) revealed that concept change was driven by less cautious responding when judging muscular stimuli. Taken together, the current results show that men’s judgments about other male bodies and their own bodies are biased by an overrepresentation of muscularity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Weight-related eating among Latino college students.
An understanding of patterns of food consumption that are theorized to be “weight-related eating”—routine restraint, compensatory restraint, susceptibility to external cues, and emotional eating—among Latino college students may help with efforts to understand elevated rates of higher weight and combat risk of diet- and obesity-related diseases seen in Latino men. It was hypothesized that body-image variables, acculturation, enculturation, and acculturation–enculturation interaction would predict weight-related eating in Latino college students. Survey data from 96 U.S. college students who self-identified as male and Latino were analyzed. Approximately 60% of participants were people with higher weight. Correlations indicated that body mass index, acculturation, and enculturation played minimal roles in the prediction of weight-related eating in Latino college students. Logistic regressions revealed that Overweight Preoccupation was often the sole variable that contributed significantly to weight-related eating. However, higher levels of acculturation to Anglo culture were positively related to caring about appearance, whereas higher levels of enculturation to Latinx culture were positively related to satisfaction with appearance among Latino college students. Although body image is a multifaceted construct, preoccupation with being overweight may be a key phenomenon in weight-related eating among Latino college students. The results suggest the need for empirical attention to the importance of targeting Overweight Preoccupation to reduce weight-related eating in Latino college students. Implications also include the need for investigation of the relationships among body-image variables, acculturation, and enculturation. Limitations and future directions are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Early-life bullying victimization and perpetration and current disordered eating in Chinese men: An integrated theoretical model.
Much remains unknown regarding early-life bullying experiences, body image, and disordered eating in adult men. Using an integrated interpersonal and emotion dysregulation framework, the present study examined whether and how early-life bullying experiences might be related to current disordered eating in a sample of Chinese adult men (N = 500, 18–62 years). Participants completed questionnaires assessing early-life bullying victimization and perpetration and current emotion dysregulation, interpersonal problems, psychological distress, body fat dissatisfaction, muscularity dissatisfaction, thinness-oriented disordered eating, and muscularity-oriented disordered eating. Results showed that higher early-life bullying victimization was significantly related to higher current thinness-oriented (r = .39, p <.001) and muscularity-oriented disordered eating (r = .36, p <.001). Higher early-life bullying perpetration was also significantly related to higher current thinness-oriented (r = .21, p <.001) and higher current muscularity-oriented disordered eating (r = .20, p <.001). Using structural equation modeling, the relationships between early-life bullying experiences and both current thinness- and muscularity-oriented disordered eating could be explained by the integrated theory framework. Present findings extend the existing literature on eating disorder psychopathology by elucidating the potential links between early-life bullying experiences and current disordered eating in adult men. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)

Psychology of Men & Masculinities - Vol 26, Iss 1