Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Cottrell, Catherine

Keywords

Gender, Relationship Satisfaction, Gender Roles, Masculinity, Dyadic Analysis

Area of Concentration

Psychology

Abstract

Many researchers have discussed the negative effects that male gender roles have on men and those around them. These negative effects are known as male gender role conflict. Although previous studies have asked individual men and women questions about male gender role conflict and relationship satisfaction, this study is the first to use a dyadic approach – simultaneously asking both partners in a heterosexual romantic relationship, in order to obtain both actual and perceived male gender role conflict. This is then compared with both partners’ relationship satisfaction. The current study assesses the usefulness of this dyadic approach by surveying 30 couples and examining whether a model that incorporates both male self-reports and female other-reports of male gender role conflict would be better at predicting relationship satisfaction, compared with a model that only used one type of report. This hypothesis was partially supported – whereas male relationship satisfaction was best predicted with only male self-report gender role conflict scores, female relationship satisfaction was best predicted with a model that used both male and female assessments of gender role conflict. In addition, male self-reports scores tended to be higher than their female partners’ other-report scores, and male gender role conflict scores and relationship satisfaction negatively correlated. Implications and possibilities for future research are discussed.

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