THE INFLUENCE OF CONFORMITY TO MASCULINE NORMS ON RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION: AN EXAMINATION OF RUMINATION, EMOTIONAL INHIBITION, AND GENDER DIFFERENCES

Previous research has connected masculine gender norms to having adverse effects on health and relationships. The present study examined conformity to masculine norms and relationship satisfaction with emotional inhibition/rumination as a mediator. Data were collected from adults who identified as men or women with a current, opposite sex partner via Amazon Mechanical Turk (Mturk). Male participants reported their own experiences. Female participants reported on their experience of their male partners’ masculine norms and emotional inhibition/rumination, then reported their own relationship satisfaction. It was hypothesized that masculine norms would be a negative predictor of relationship satisfaction and that emotional inhibition/rumination would mediate this relationship. The results indicated that higher degrees of masculine norms significantly predicted lower relationship satisfaction among the male and female participants. Masculine norms also predicted higher levels of emotional inhibition/rumination in both groups. No mediation effect was observed with emotional inhibition/rumination. Clinical implications and potential directions for future research are discussed. Previous research has connected masculine gender norms to having adverse effects on health and relationships. The present study examined conformity to masculine norms and relationship satisfaction with emotional inhibition/rumination as a mediator. Data were collected from adults who identified as men or women with a current, opposite sex partner via Amazon Mechanical Turk (Mturk). Male participants reported their own experiences. Female participants reported on their experience of their male partners’ masculine norms and emotional inhibition/rumination, then reported their own relationship satisfaction. It was hypothesized that masculine norms would be a negative predictor of relationship satisfaction and that emotional inhibition/rumination would mediate this relationship. The results indicated that higher degrees of masculine norms significantly predicted lower relationship satisfaction among the male and female participants. Masculine norms also predicted higher levels of emotional inhibition/rumination in both groups. No mediation effect was observed with emotional inhibition/rumination. Clinical implications and potential directions for future research are discussed.