BACKGROUND: This research explores the role of masculine gender role stress (MGRS) in male adolescent dating violence (MADV). Previous research has found that progress towards gender equality between men and women is in certain contexts related to the greater prevalence of male intimate partner violence against women. These studies of adult men found that masculine gender role stress could help explain this surprising result.
METHOD: The incidental sample of this study consisted of 339 boys residing in Madrid, Spain, aged 13 to 16. MGRS was assessed by two factors from the Eisler & Skidmore scale (1987): subordination to women (SW) and intellectual inferiority (II). MADV against women was assessed according to two subscales of the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale, CTS2: psychological aggression and physical aggression.
RESULTS show for the first time in adolescents that MGRS caused by situations of subordination to women is an important MADV risk factor both in terms of physical and psychological violence. Our study also found that MGRS mediates the relationship between MADV against women and the justification of intimate partner violence against women (JIPVW).
CONCLUSIONS: This article discusses the implications of these results for the prevention of MADV against women.