Introduction

The years between adolescence and adulthood (18–29 years) are classified as “emerging adulthood,” a distinct life stage where individuals struggle with uncertainty about future life endeavors including marriage, parenting, and careers [2]. Currently, the majority of emerging adults embody the Millennial generation, born between 1982 and 2000 [40]. About 88% of U.S. Millennials subscribe to a video streaming service and rank Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video as their most watched TV networks/streaming sources [17]. Further, 56% of emerging adults consume both television and digital news on a monthly basis [35]. Therefore, in a world where media (e.g., television, movies, news) are seemingly inescapable, this research investigates emerging adults’ (18–23 years) everyday life gender norm experiences and media gender norm perceptions to assess how these two realms are related to schematic constructions of gender norm attitudes and adulthood expectations. It is imperative to concurrently consider everyday life experiences and media perceptions in an American society where emerging adults’ everyday realities are pervaded by technology.

Accordingly, acknowledging that the current study is unable to test social cognitive theory, the theory’s premise that gender norms are observed in everyday life experiences and media is used to help frame hypotheses and explain findings [4, 11]. This study therefore proposes that both realms may help foster emerging adults’ gender norm attitude formation and concurrent life expectations. Notably, this research explores gender roles as a binary feminine/masculine construct because this is almost exclusively how gender roles are still depicted in entertainment media [13, 26] as well as in research investigating gendered aspirations or expectations [16].

Scholars such as Zemach and Cohen [43] originally used the terms “social reality” and “symbolic reality” to define “everyday life experiences” and “media perceptions.” Following Zemach and Cohen [43], the present study defines everyday life gender norm experiences by one’s experiences with family, immediate social environment, and society, whereas media gender norm perceptions are defined by one’s perceptions of television and movies via broadcast/cable/streaming services and news via digital and televised platforms. Importantly, the current study acknowledges that interpersonal relationships with family, friends, coworkers, and acquaintances occur in both face-to-face and mediated contexts (e.g., texting, video chat, email, social networking) [12]. Consequently, this research classifies everyday life experiences by the types of experiences or relationships generated rather than through the way emerging adults communicate.

Past research has looked at gender norm attitudes in relationship to everyday life gender norms, media gender norms, or future life expectations [3, 25, 31, 38, 39]. However, research has not concurrently assessed the interrelationships between these constructs. This research builds on previous studies by measuring the various gender norm facets of a person’s life and testing their connections in an empirical SEM. This study’s concurrent analysis of everyday life experiences and media perceptions is a critical addition to past gender norm literature as media’s presence becomes an inescapable entity in emerging adults’ lives [17].

Social Cognitive Theory

Bandura’s [4, 5] social cognitive theory provides theoretical grounding to explore gender norms experienced in everyday life and perceived in the media. Social cognitive theory recognizes that the majority of gender differences are socially cultivated by a society that attributes stereotypical gender roles in a solely gender binary system of only men and women [11]. Hence, the theory premises that ideas regarding gender and gender development are constructed throughout one’s life [10]. In turn, these gendered conceptions influence one’s gender-related behavior. Various social influences like family, friends, and media contribute to this process [5]. However, gender roles are also prone to change through individuals’ own gendered attitudes and actions. In turn, this process has the potential to gradually alter societal gender norms [10].

Importantly, in order to formally test social cognitive theory’s connection to mediated content, a study’s methodology must account for specific mediated models participants observe, how often these models are observed, the positive or negative nature of mediated behaviors observed, and the participants’ corresponding positive or negative behavior outcomes [37]. While the present study measures participants’ media gender norm perceptions (e.g., television, movies, news), gender norm attitudes, and future gender norm life expectations, it does not ask participants about specific media models nor does it account for duration of exposure to media models. Thus, this study, like past research [20, 21], employs social cognitive theory as a framework to help form hypotheses and explain the potential relationships between media perceptions, attitudes, and expectations. Accordingly, in line with social cognitive theory, since media content is more traditional in its gender norm portrayal [13], it is possible that when emerging adults report more traditional gender norm media perceptions, their personal gender norm attitudes will also be reinforced.

Correspondingly, this study proposes that emerging adults’ gender norm observations in everyday life and media are potentially connected to gender norm attitudes and future gender norm expectations. The following overview of literature is organized according to Fig. 1’s hypothesized path model relationships (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8) between the study’s key constructs (a, b, c, d, and e) that are based on theory and past research findings.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Hypothesized relationships between everyday life experiences (a), media perceptions (b), gender norm attitudes (c), and future expectations (d, e). Relationships are indicated with numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8) and are supported by past research

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Everyday Life Gender Norm Experiences (a) and Media Gender Norm Perceptions (b)

Utilizing social cognitive theory’s theoretical premises as a guiding framework, the present research investigates participants’ everyday life gender norm experiences and media gender norm perceptions. Acknowledging researchers that have questioned the distinction between everyday life and media [22, 41], this study nonetheless adopts a phenomenological approach to the social construction of individuals’ realities, which suggests that people are aware of their multiple realities [9]. Following this approach, this research proposes that individuals are able to differentiate between their everyday life experiences and media perceptions. For example, Zemach and Cohen [43] compared Israeli adults’ perceptions of gender norms in everyday life and media and found that despite expressing a basic similarity between the two domains, participants differentiated between the two realms. Specifically, participants found media’s portrayal of feminine traits, masculine occupations, and roles of grocery shopping, money management, and providing for family as more traditional than everyday life gender norms.

Everyday Life Experiences (a), Media Perceptions (b), and Gender Norm Attitudes (c)

Past literature has studied the relationship between everyday life gender norm experiences and gender norm attitude formation. Scholars attribute adolescents’ gender norm development to many social factors including family and peer groups. For example, Lemaster et al. [29] surveyed college students and found that whereas men and women who participated in more masculine activities reported less feminist attitudes, same-sex peer affiliation (i.e., friendship or association) was not significantly related to gender norm attitudes. Investigating parental influences, longitudinal research connected African American adolescents’ (9–18 years) attitudes about gender marital roles to mothers’ gender marital role attitudes, finding that boys were more likely to adhere to traditional marital beliefs than were girls [27].

While studies following Zemach and Cohen [43] have investigated participants’ perceptions of media gender norms [15, 18], they do not establish direct connections with gender norm attitudes. However, scholars have measured emerging adults’ perceived realism of stereotypical media content and have found connections between perceiving the content as more realistic to everyday life and holding more stereotypical gender norm views [8]. Relatedly, numerous studies have linked participants’ television consumption to more traditional gender norm attitudes [19]. Thus, it is still expected that media gender norm perceptions will predict participants’ gender norm attitudes based on past research that has connected greater gendered TV with more traditional gender norm attitudes or stereotypical beliefs [38].

This investigation seeks to extend Zemach and Cohen’s [43] research by considering emerging adults’ everyday life and media gender norms in relationship to gender norm attitudes. Concurrently analyzing these two realms will hopefully facilitate comparisons between the information that is perceived on screen and the information acquired off screen that is possibly used to reinforce emerging adults’ gender norm attitudes. Thus, the following is proposed:

H1

Participants’ traditional everyday life gender norm experiences and media gender norm perceptions will positively correlate with traditional gender norm attitudes (hypothesized relationships 1 and 2).

Gender Norm Attitudes (c) and Future Life Expectations (d and e)

An additional goal of this study was to investigate the connection between gender norm attitudes and expectations of gendered responsibilities or role allocation (i.e., percentage of a role assumed by one gender or the other) in future families and careers.

Literature has employed multiple-item measures to evaluate emerging adults’ gender norm attitudes and anticipated role allocation. Specifically, Kaufman [23] found that women with less traditional gender norm attitudes were less likely than women with more traditional gender norm attitudes to expect to marry and have children whereas men with less traditional gender norm attitudes expected to spend less time at work and more time at home in comparison to men with more traditional gender norm attitudes. Further, Erchull et al. [16] showed that women with less traditional gender norm attitudes anticipated doing fewer household and childcare chores, whereas men with less traditional gender norm attitudes expressed expectations of doing more of these chores. Similarly, Askari et al. [3] showed that women who reported liberal feminist attitudes expected to do fewer household chores than women with less liberal feminist attitudes and liberal men expected to do more household chores than men with less liberal attitudes.

Research that has investigated emerging adults’ gender norm attitudes in relationship to workplace expectations has often done so through participants’ career motivations. For instance, Morinaga et al.’s [32] comparative analysis examined U.S., Slovenian, and Japanese college students’ gender norm attitudes and career motivations and found that U.S. college women with less traditional gender norm attitudes were more career-oriented than U.S. college women with more traditional gender norm attitudes. More recently, using data collected from the 2009 Young Adult Panel Study, Kaufman and White [24] examined Swedish adults’ (29–41 years) job attribute preferences in relationship to single-item measures assessing beliefs about whether men or women should take care of children or work. This study found that women with less traditional gender norm attitudes placed greater importance on career advancement and being proud of their work; however, they were less concerned with family-friendly work policies. In contrast, men with less traditional gender norm attitudes placed greater weight on family-friendly work policies and less weight on high salaries and workplace security.

Following past scholars’ findings [23, 24], the following is predicted:

H2

Participants’ more traditional gender norm attitudes will be associated with more traditional family division of labor and career role allocation expectations (hypothesized relationships 3 and 4).

Everyday Life Experiences (a), Media Perceptions (b), and Future Life Expectations (d and e)

While research in this area is not extensive, multiple studies’ findings [31, 39] lend support to this study’s final hypothesis:

H3

Traditional everyday life experiences and media perceptions will correlate with traditional future family division of labor and career role allocation expectations (hypothesized relationships 5, 6, 7, and 8).

Specifically, Meeussen et al. [31] identified mostly positive associations between descriptive everyday life gender norms (i.e., what men and women currently do) and participants’ life aspirations. For example, college women who reported more traditional descriptive family norms for men and women as well as more traditional descriptive career norms for women reported more traditional family aspirations. Additionally, women who reported more traditional descriptive family norms for women also reported more traditional career aspirations. Conversely, college men who reported more traditional descriptive family norms for women reported more traditional career aspirations. Notably, Meeussen et al. [31] found one negative relationship between college men’s traditional descriptive career norms for men and traditional family aspirations. Nevertheless, this study did not measure media gender norm perceptions.

Further, other researchers suggest parent socialization, a practice that takes place in one’s everyday life experiences, is important for adolescent development. Lawson et al.’s [28] 15-year longitudinal survey examined how family gendered socialization experiences in adolescence (M age = 10.87 years) were related to occupational choices in emerging adulthood (M age = 26.25 years). For emerging adult men, mothers’ more traditional gender norm attitudes during childhood years predicted holding a gender-stereotyped career and more time spent with fathers during childhood predicted women holding less and men holding more gender-stereotyped careers later in life.

A handful of studies have explored media’s connection to future expectation development; however, no known studies have specifically examined media gender norm perceptions in relationship to gender norm life expectations. For example, Uhls et al. [39] found that youth (9–15 years) who more frequently engaged with TV and social networking sites were more likely to report self-focused future aspirations such as fame, image, money, and status. Moreover, Paa and McWhirter [36] surveyed high school students to investigate perceived influences on career expectations finding that the top three perceived background influences were ability, role models, and media. While these studies did not specifically investigate media gender norm perceptions in relationship to future gender norm expectations, they nevertheless give reason to expect that what emerging adults observe in the media should be related to future expectations.

Thus, this study proposes that when men and women report more traditional everyday life gender norm experiences and media perceptions, they will also report more traditional gender norm attitudes, future family division of labor expectations, and career role allocation expectations (H1 and H3). In addition, when men and women report more traditional gender norm attitudes, they will also report more traditional family division of labor and career role allocation expectations (H2).

Method

Participants, Procedure, and Measures

The University of Michigan Health Sciences and Behavioral Sciences IRB approved this study prior to recruitment and data collection. Seven hundred and fifty men and women between the ages of 18 and 23 were recruited nationally through Qualtrics panels throughout January and February of 2018. The data were vetted for quality to ensure survey measures were answered without apparent satisficing. The final sample consisted of 663 respondents (M age = 20.32 years). Three hundred and six respondents identified as men, 334 respondents identified as women, and 23 respondents indicated another gender identity. However, only complete cases of participants identifying as a man or a woman were included in SEM analyses (male participant model n = 299; female participant model n = 331). Participants were only eligible to participate if they had never been married and did not have children, ensuring that they reported future life expectations for events they had not yet experienced. After participants consented to participate in the study, they completed the survey online. Respondents received non-cash compensation (e.g., gift cards, magazine subscriptions) for their time and efforts.

Descriptive statistics are as follows. Three hundred and eighty one respondents identified as White, 106 as Black or African American, 79 as Hispanic or Latino, 63 as Asian, 13 as Native American or Alaska Native, 4 as Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 11 as Other, and 6 preferred not to respond. Economic class status was measured via fathers’ and mothers’ highest level of education. Of fathers, most (42%) were high school graduates, 21% received bachelor’s degrees, 15% received an associate’s degree, 12% did not complete high school, 7% had master’s degrees, and 3% completed a PhD. Most (32%) mothers finished high school, 23% had a bachelor’s degree, 21% an associate’s degree, 12% a master’s degree, 9% did not complete high school, and 3% had a PhD.

The following measures are organized by Fig. 1’s constructs (a–e).

Everyday Life Experiences (a) and Media Perceptions (b)

Employing Zemach and Cohen’s [43] 25-item scale, participants indicated the extent to which they believe traits, roles, and occupations characterize women or men on a 1-to-7 Likert-type scale ranging from “mainly women” (1) to “both genders equally” (4) to “mainly men” (7). Participants responded to this scale twice. Before responding to scale items, participants read, “From what you have seen in your personal everyday life experiences (e.g., your own life, or the lives of your neighbors, family, and community)/OR in the media (e.g., movies, television, news), please indicate who occupies these traits/roles/occupations across the following continuum: mainly women, both genders equally, or mainly men.” The 12 trait items included: willingness to take risks, leadership abilities, aggressiveness, independence, ambition, resourcefulness/ability to improvise, conscientiousness, children-loving, warmth, shyness, sensitivity, and gentleness. The three domestic-oriented roles included: housework, childcare, and shopping for food. The three out-of-home-oriented roles included: management of money, decisions on major spending, and providing for the family. The seven occupation items included: clerical work, teaching, medicine, science, public service, management, and political activity. Standardized 0-to-6 scales were created for male participants (Everyday Life Experiences: M = 3.59, SD = 0.48, α = 0.76; Media Perceptions: M = 3.87, SD = 0.70, α = 0.87) and female participants (Everyday Life Experiences: M = 3.52, SD = 0.46, α = 0.75; Media Perceptions: M = 4.06, SD = 0.76, α = 0.90). Items were reverse-coded as needed so higher scores indicated more traditional gender norm experiences/perceptions in everyday life and media.

Gender Norm Attitudes (c)

Participants responded to Kaufman’s [23] 6-item Gender Role Attitudes scale ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree” on a 7-point scale. After reading, “Please indicate the extent to which you agree with the following items” respondents answered items including: “Men should be the primary financial providers” and “Women should be the primary caretakers of children.” Items were reverse-coded as needed so higher scores on the standardized 0-to-6 scale indicated more traditional gender norm attitudes for male participants (M = 1.73, SD = 1.00, α = 0.80) and female participants (M = 1.08, SD = 0.94, α = 0.84).

Family Division of Labor Expectations (d)

Following Askari et al. [3], the combined household expectation scale’s first 14 items assessed household and childcare chore expectations. The final three scale items were adapted from Zemach and Cohen’s [43] measures to assess finance expectations. Respondents read, “Thinking about your expected future life with a partner (e.g., dating, marriage), please respond to the following household and childcare responsibilities. Select a value ranging from “Never” (0) to “Always” (100) with the slider on the scale for the percentage of chores you EXPECT to do. Do not consider paid labor and assume that your partner would perform the remaining proportion of the chore.” Questions included, “How often would you expect to be in charge of grocery shopping?” and “How often would you expect to be in charge of decisions on major spending/purchases?” Items were coded so that higher scores indicate a tendency toward more traditional roles for that participant’s gender. For men, feminine items were reverse-coded so that higher scores would indicate the percentage of traditional masculine roles the men expected to fulfill (i.e., less housework, less childcare, more financial responsibility). For women, masculine items were reverse-coded so that higher scores would indicate the percentage of traditional feminine roles the women expected to fulfill (i.e., more housework, more childcare, less financial responsibility). To improve reliability, three items were dropped (i.e., organizing social activities, keeping in touch with family and friends, and earning the primary source of income). Means corresponding with the standardized 0-to-6 scale for male participants are as follows: Combined household expectations, M = 52.41, SD = 12.42, α = 0.84; Household, M = 49.71, SD = 15.84, α = 0.82; Childcare, M = 52.51, SD = 18.29, α = 0.92; and Finance, M = 58.81, SD = 19.39, α = 0.80. For female participants: Combined household expectations, M = 57.91, SD = 12.77, α = 0.85; Household, M = 60.88, SD = 15.40, α = 0.80; Childcare, M = 58.71, SD = 19.18, α = 0.93; and Finance = M = 47.70, SD = 17.71, α = 0.83.

Career Role Allocation Expectations (e)

The 5-item Occupational Role Commitment subscale (Life Role Salience Scales) measures perceived role allocation commitment in participants’ future careers on a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree” [1]. Participants read, “Thinking about your expected future career, please indicate the extent to which you disagree or agree with the following items.” Scale items include: “I expect to make as many sacrifices as are necessary in order to advance in my work/career” and “I expect to devote a significant amount of my time to building my career and developing the skills necessary to advance in my career.” To improve reliability, the item “I want to work, but I do not want to have a demanding career” was removed from final scale items. Items were reverse coded so higher scores indicated more traditional career role allocation expectations on a standardized 0-to-6 scale for male participants (M = 4.29, SD = 1.05, α = 0.81) and female participants (M = 1.84, SD = 1.17, α = 0.87).

Results

Data Analysis

Data analysis was completed with “R” and Amos software. The predicted path model (see Fig. 1) was tested with SEM due to its ability to reveal a pattern of potential correlations between key constructs. Two separate SEMs representing male participants and female participants (see Fig. 2) were created to test the model by gender. This decision was made based on past research that explores both men’s and women’s gender norm attitudes and expectations [3]. In addition, a multi-group analysis revealed that the male and female participant models significantly differed by gender (x2(8) = 50.23, p < 0.001).

Fig. 2
figure 2

SEM illustrating the relationships for male participants/female participants between traditional everyday life experiences (a), traditional media perceptions (b), traditional gender norm attitudes (c), and traditional future expectations (d, e). Significant relationships are indicated with an asterisk (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001)

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SEMs Testing Hypotheses (H1, H2, and H3)

This study is transparent in its employment of Amos’ best model fit feature, which guides researchers in decisions regarding model modification. In order to avoid issues of “cherry-picking,” wherein all possible alternative paths are applied without sound reason to find the strongest support for hypotheses [33], all structural paths were based on theory and past research. The following decisions were made in order to achieve a fitting model.

The best model fit feature suggested an additional path connecting traditional everyday life experiences to traditional media perceptions. Theoretically, this path was added due to social cognitive theory’s premise that gender roles can be observed in both everyday life and media [10]. Thus, more traditional everyday life gender norm experiences likely drive how participants make sense of media gender norms by forming the schemas and frames through which they interpret their perceptions. Further, despite the hypothesized relationship (H3: Traditional everyday life experiences and media perceptions will correlate with traditional future family division of labor and career role allocation expectations), it was advised to remove the path between traditional media perceptions and traditional career role allocation expectations. Theoretically, while past studies have established connections between media and career values [39], the present SEM utilized a scale asking participants about expected career role allocation. Thus, the decision to remove this path was based on a dearth of past research. Finally, the best fit feature recommended adding a path between family division of labor expectations’ and career role allocation expectations’ error terms. This change was made based on the reasoning that any other life expectation responsibilities that fall outside of these constructs (i.e., family/home and career) are most likely absorbed by the error terms. Individual summaries of SEM output for male participants and female participants follow (see Fig. 2).

The SEM model for male participants (n = 299) was nonsignificant (x2(1) = 0.86, p = 0.35) with good model fit (NFI = 0.99, CFI = 1.00, AGFI = 0.98, RMSEA = 0.00). Significant positive paths mapped traditional everyday life experiences to traditional media perceptions, traditional everyday life experiences to traditional gender norm attitudes (H1), traditional gender norm attitudes to traditional family division of labor expectations (H2), and traditional everyday life experiences to traditional family division of labor expectations and career role allocation expectations (H3). Negatively correlated paths included traditional media perceptions to traditional gender norm attitudes (H1 not supported), and traditional gender norm attitudes to traditional career role allocation expectations (H2 not supported).

The SEM model representing female participants (n = 331) was also nonsignificant (x2(1) = 0.28, p = 0.59) and results showed good model fit (NFI = 0.99, CFI = 1.00, AGFI = 0.99, RMSEA = 0.00). Positive significant paths included traditional everyday life experiences to traditional media perceptions, traditional everyday life experiences to traditional gender norm attitudes (H1), traditional gender norm attitudes to traditional family and career role allocation expectations (H2), and traditional everyday life experiences to traditional family division of labor expectations (H3). Traditional media perceptions were negatively correlated with traditional gender norm attitudes (H1 not supported).

Discussion

The discussion is organized by exploring the implications of each hypothesis’ outcomes.

H1: Everyday Life and Media (a and b): Contrasting Relationships with Gender Norms (c)

Unpredictably, while more traditional everyday life experiences were linked to reporting more traditional gender norm attitudes, more traditional media perceptions were linked to reporting less traditional gender norm attitudes. This pattern lends support to Zemach and Cohen’s [43] finding that adults are able to differentiate between everyday life and media and theoretically corresponds with social cognitive theory’s assumption that gender norms are learned by observing gender norms in both realms [10].

First, it may be the case that participants who reported more traditional everyday life gender norms attribute positive affiliations to these experiences. In turn, these positive traditional everyday life gender norm experiences are used when forming gender norm beliefs, aligning with the arguments of scholars who have established significant connections between participants’ traditional family or peer influences and more traditional gender norm attitudes [25]. However, participants who reported more traditional media perceptions were perhaps more likely to reject the stereotypical gender norms they see on screens, possibly feeling oppressed or manipulated by media. Thus, counter-intuitively, it is possible that the current study’s emerging adults actively or subconsciously reject perceived traditional gender norms they see in media to in turn reinforce less traditional gender norm attitudes.

Similarly, respondents who reported perceiving less traditional gender norms in media might believe media are too progressive, therefore reinforcing more traditional gender norm attitudes, particularly in an era where media frequently portray gender norm movements. For example, scholars have shown that media’s portrayal of gender movements associated with “feminism” can negatively affect the public’s perceptions of women due to media’s frequent depiction of feminist women as aggressive rather than assertive [7]. As previously noted, this study measured general perceptions of media rather than specific perceptions of media content types. Consequently, this study is not able to test social cognitive theory’s connection to mediated content. Nevertheless, based on the theory’s premises, it is logical to speculate that emerging adults’ media perceptions are perhaps fostered by what they attend to in the media, the basis of observational learning via the media [36]. Hence, while gender norm ideas may be acquired via media as social cognitive theory suggests [10], they may also be rejected to form opposing attitudes that resist media’s portrayal. Curiously, these findings seem to challenge scholars who established connections between consuming more traditional gendered TV content and reporting more traditional gender norm beliefs [38]. However, past scholars have not specifically measured emerging adults’ perceptions of media gender norms. This difference in methodology between exposure and perception potentially accounts for the present study’s negative relationship.

This finding also corresponds with the third-person effect, the idea that an individual believes media content will impact others more than oneself [6]. Despite this study not formally measuring media’s perceived influence on others, in line with third-person effect, the respondents who reported more traditional media gender norm perceptions may also believe they are capable of evaluating media portrayals while avoiding media influence. Theoretically, this possibly explains why respondents frequently reported more traditional perceived media gender norms yet less traditional gender norm attitudes.

Despite the realms’ differing relationships with traditional gender norm attitudes, SEMs modeled traditional everyday life experiences positively predicting traditional media perceptions. Intuitively, the direction of this relationship makes sense. Emerging adults’ gender norm experiences in their everyday lives should frame the way they perceive gender norms in media. This idea is also consistent with selective perception, a theory proposing that individuals’ prior beliefs influence the way they interpret media [30]. Accordingly, it is possible that the participants’ everyday life experiences and media perceptions are connected due to individuals’ tendency to give more attention to media messages that coincide with prior dispositions [30].

H2: Gender Norm Attitudes (c) and Future Life Expectations (d and e)

While both SEMs visualized significant positive relationships between traditional gender norm attitudes and traditional future family division of labor expectations, only the female SEM found a positive relationship between traditional gender norm attitudes and traditional career role allocation expectations. Interestingly, the male SEM revealed a negative relationship between traditional gender norm attitudes and traditional career role allocation expectations. Nevertheless, the SEMs’ positive relationships support past research that has also found similar associations [3].

However, as the male participants reported more traditional gender norm attitudes they reported less traditional career role allocation expectations, refuting research that has shown college men with less traditional gender norm attitudes report less traditional career expectations [23, 24]. It is important to note that “occupational role allocation,” representing “career role allocation expectations,” had an overall higher average on its 0-to-6 standardized scale (M = 4.29, SD = 1.05), indicating more traditional occupational role allocation expectations. Further, a t-test revealed that the men’s average for gender norm attitudes was significantly more traditional than the women’s average (M = 1.73 vs. M = 1.08, p < 0.001). Therefore, men with slightly more traditional gender norm attitudes reported more traditional family division of labor expectations and less traditional career role allocation expectations. If these men expect future partners to traditionally manage the household chores and childcare duties but do not expect to devote as much time to a career themselves, this could have consequences for healthy work-family balance. In spite of research that found men and women report similar career hours while women do more housework and childcare, this time allocation arrangement is probably not sustainable [42]. Moreover, research shows that while emerging adult men anticipate as many work-family conflicts as women, they do not anticipate using conflict reducing strategies as often [14]. Therefore, many of the present study’s men may report contrasting gendered expectations in family and career due to a subconscious or conscious awareness of but lack of concern regarding potential future work-family conflict.

H3: Traditional Everyday Life Experiences (a) Predict Traditional Future Life Expectations (d and e)

When this study’s men and women reported more traditional everyday life gender norms they also reported more traditional family division of labor expectations, a finding that lends support to recent literature that has primarily found positive associations between emerging adults’ traditional everyday life gender norms and traditional family expectations [31]. In line with social cognitive theory, if an individual grew up immersed in a traditionally gendered family environment it makes sense that they might subsequently expect a more traditional family structure [11]. Accordingly, participants’ everyday life experiences may affect the way in which they are formulating expectations for adulthood in their future families.

The male SEM also illustrated that traditional everyday life experiences predicted traditional career role allocation expectations. In light of the same model establishing a negative relationship between traditional gender norm attitudes and traditional career role allocation expectations, this finding is intriguing. The men’s traditional gender norm attitudes accruing from traditional everyday life experiences predicted less traditional rather than more traditional career role allocation expectations. Nonetheless, the expectation was that this construct relationship would be positive rather than negative. Consequently, the measure utilized to represent career role allocation expectations may not reliably represent traditional masculinity for Millennial men. For example, survey research with undergraduate students revealed that while Millennials seek rapid advancement in careers they also desire meaningful and satisfying lives outside of work [34]. Despite Millennials valuing opportunity for advancement [34], the current study’s men may possess a different picture of traditional masculine career role allocation expectations. Future research should investigate what determines gendered career role allocation expectations among the current generation of emerging adults. Furthermore, it is important to note that this study’s findings refute research that found no relationship between college men’s gendered career experiences and career expectations and a positive affiliation between traditional career descriptive norms and traditional career expectations [31].

Finally, the fact that traditional media perceptions did not predict expectations across either of the SEMs perhaps means that for the majority of participants, everyday life experiences are more influential than media perceptions when forming future expectations. Since the SEMs visualized traditional everyday life experiences predicting traditional media perceptions, everyday life’s significance and media’s lack of significance with future expectations are perhaps not surprising. Children experience their everyday lives before media are able to influence their worldviews. Applying this study’s findings, everyday life experiences likely shape media perceptions, and everyday life experiences more prominently predict future expectations.

Limitations

The current study relied on correlational data. Further, in light of this study’s use of best model fit changes, it is logical that other models outside of the predicted path model might exist. Subsequently, inverse models were run using identical SEM predicted paths. While these models fit as well as the utilized SEMs, it makes little sense to predict past everyday life experiences and media perceptions on future expectations. Moreover, because this study asked participants about their general media perceptions of television, movies, and news, it did not compare specific media types nor did it account for consumption of specific media types. In addition, this study tested general perceptions of media gender norm portrayal rather than specific portrayals of positive and/or negative consequences of mediated gender norm content. Future studies are encouraged to attend to social cognitive theory’s specific theoretical constructs in order to fully test the theory. Finally, the items for everyday life experiences and media perceptions were worded in a way that indicate past experiences and past perceptions whereas future expectation items were worded to indicate future plans. Nonetheless, what participants currently expect in their futures may influence what is recalled about the past. Longitudinal research tracking experiences, perceptions, attitudes, and life expectations over time would provide needed clarity to the possibility of alternative path relationships.

Implications

SEM paths differed slightly for both genders measured. Regardless, what each SEM suggests is that the pattern of relationships between the proposed constructs is somewhat consistent. Despite past research that has considered path relationships between everyday life and media with gender norm attitudes and future expectations [25, 31, 36, 38] and gender norm attitudes with future expectations [3], this is the first known study to synchronously and statistically connect these relationships. Further, by employing social cognitive theory as a theoretical framework, this study’s findings suggest that emerging adults’ gendered attitudes and expectations have the potential to shift societal gender norms, a process that may eventually alter the U.S.’s current gender norm structure in family and career [10]. Accordingly, continued research is crucial because this study, while preliminary, demonstrates that relationships between everyday life experiences, media perceptions, gender norm attitudes, and future life expectations do perhaps have the ability to indirectly and directly influence one another [10, 11].