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CONSTRUCT VALIDITY EVIDENCE
AbstractThe construct validity of the Male Role Norms Inventory-Short Form (MRNI-SF) was assessed using a latent variable approach implemented with structural equation modeling (SEM). The MRNI-SF was specified as having a bifactor structure, and validation scales were also specified as latent variables. The latent variable approach had the advantages of separating effects of general and specific factors and controlling for some sources of measurement error. Data (N = 484) were from a diverse sample (38.8% men of color, 22.3% men of diverse sexualities) of community-dwelling and college men who responded to an online survey. The current paper is a companion piece to a study (Levant, Hall, Weigold, & McCurdy, 2015) published in the April 2015 issue of this journal, which investigated the factor structures of three short-form masculinity measures. Here we assess evidence for the construct validity of the latent factors of the Male Role Norms Inventory-Short Form (MRNI-SF), specified with a bifactor structure. The bifactor model partitions the reliable variance in each item-level response into two components: a broad general influence and a specific influence associated with a narrower content domain, an approach that is consistent with the theoretical meaning of the underlying constructs (see Figure 1). The MRNI-SF measures the endorsement of masculinity ideologies, a construct that is frequently used in the study of psychological issues related to men and masculinities. Masculinity ideologies are cultural beliefs about the appropriate standards or norms for boys' and men's role performance. They are theorized to influence the socialization of boys and to pressure men to conform to masculine norms (Levant, 2011). Such pressure results in various forms of gender role strain and conflict (O'Neil, Good, & Holmes, 1995;Pleck, Sonenstein, & Ku, 1994a).Traditional masculinity ideology was the dominant ideology prior to the deconstruction of gender driven by second-wave feminism in the U.S., beginning in the late 1960s. Since masculinity ideologies vary by culture and there are many cultures in the U.S., it is more accurate to refer to this construct as "traditional White Western masculinity ideology" (hereinafter referred to as TMI for simplicity) to denote its association with the predominantly White Western world (Levant, 2011).Nonetheless, TMI remains influential in the U.S., and men of color must contend with it as well as their own culture's masculini...