Adolescent boys’ aggressive responses to perceived threats to their gender typicality

Abstract

When adult men are made to feel gender-atypical, they often lash out with aggression, particularly when they are pressured (vs. autonomously motivated) to be gender-typical. Here, we examined the development of this phenomenon. Specifically, we provided a first experimental test of whether threatening adolescent boys’ perceived gender typicality elicits aggression as a function of their pressured (vs. autonomous) motivation to be gender-typical. We also investigated whether this causal link emerges as a function of boys’ chronological age versus pubertal development. Participants were a geographically diverse sample of 207 adolescent US boys (ages 10–14; 23.2% boys of color) and one of their parents. Boys played a “game” and received randomly-assigned feedback that their score was atypical versus typical of their gender. For boys in mid-to-late puberty (but not before), feedback that they are gender-atypical predicted an aggressive reaction, particularly among boys whose motivation to be gender-typical was pressured (vs. autonomous). Next, we explored which aspects of boys’ social environments predicted their pressured motivation to be gender-typical. Boys’ pressured motivation was positively correlated with their perceptions that their parents and peers would be “upset” if they deviated from gender norms, as well as with their parents’ endorsement of so-called hegemonic beliefs about masculinity (i.e., that men should hold power over women). Parents with these beliefs resided in more conservative areas, had less formal education, and had lower incomes. Our results inform theorizing on gender identity development and lay the foundation for mitigating the harmful effects of gender typicality threat among adult men.

Research Highlights

• Similar to young adult men, adolescent boys in mid-to-late puberty (but not before) responded with aggression to perceived threats to their gender typicality.
• Aggression was heightened among boys whose motivation to be gender-typical was pressured (i.e., driven by social expectations) rather than autonomous.
• Which boys showed pressured motivation? Those whose parents endorsed hegemonic beliefs about masculinity (e.g., that men should have more power than people of other genders).
• Hegemonic beliefs about masculinity were strongest among parents who resided in more conservative US counties, had less formal education, and had lower incomes.