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Gender role conflict, instrumentality, expressiveness, and well-being in adult men

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Abstract

This study examined gender roles and gender role conflict in relation to a broad range of indices of psychological well-being in men. Eighty-eight community adult primarily white men (median age = 50) completed ten inventories assessing masculine role constructs and measures of psychological well-being. Whereas instrumentality continued to be the strongest correlate of traditional measures of well-being, the canonical analysis confirmed the Sharpe and Heppner 1991 study indicating that at least two roots or variates are needed to understand psychological well-being in men, and that expressivity and emotional well-being accounts for a third of the variance in adult men. The results also suggest a weak association between gender role conflict and psychological well-being. Implications and future research are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, University of Missouri, 210 McAlester Hall, 65211, Columbia, MO, USA

    Mark J. Sharpe, P. Paul Heppner & Wayne A. Dixon

Authors
  1. Mark J. Sharpe
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  2. P. Paul Heppner
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  3. Wayne A. Dixon
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Additional information

This study was conducted in fulfillment of dissertation requirements conducted by Mark J. Sharpe under the supervision of P. Paul Heppner.

The authors would like to thank Glenn E. Good for his helpful comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript.

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Sharpe, M.J., Heppner, P.P. & Dixon, W.A. Gender role conflict, instrumentality, expressiveness, and well-being in adult men. Sex Roles 33, 1–18 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01547932

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