Using the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory to work with men in a clinical setting

Abstract

Given that gender roles are increasingly viewed as salient in clinical work with men, this article describes a process of exploring masculine gender roles with male clients in therapy by using the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI). Specifically, this article (a) discusses how men's degree of conformity to masculine norms may be connected to a variety of benefits and costs, (b) describes the CMNI as a tool that can be used to explore men's degree of conformity to masculine norms, (c) describes a process by which to use the CMNI to explore the relevance of men's masculine selves to their presenting concerns, and (d) illustrates the process with a case example. As such, the paper is intended to provide a systematic procedure for clinicians working with men who want to explore the benefits and costs that both conformity, and nonconformity, to specific masculinity norms brings for male clients.

Moral Atmosphere and Masculine Norms in American College Football

“…Conformity to masculine norms theory has identified a subset of dominant norms of traditional masculinity that are prevalent in American society: (a) Winning; (b) Emotional Control; (c) Risk-Taking; (d) Violence; (e) Power Over Women; (f) Playboy; (g) Self-Reliance; (h) Primacy of Work; and (i) Heterosexual SelfPresentation. Research in the psychological study of men and masculinity has demonstrated that conforming to traditional masculine norms can exact a cost on men and on others in men's lives (e.g., Burn & Ward, 2005;Liu & Iwamoto, 2007;Mahalik, Levi-Minzi, & Walker, 2007;Mahalik, Talmadge, Locke, & Scott, 2005;Parent & Moradi, 2009). Even though sport is believed to serve as a primary influence on young men's construction of masculinity (Martin & Harris, 2006;Messner, 1992;Wellard, 2002;Whannel, 2007), there has been a dearth of research into how masculine norms operate in sport.…”

Internalization as a mediator of the relationship between conformity to masculine norms and body image attitudes and behaviors among young men in Sweden, US, UK, and Australia

“…Given that expressions of masculinity are highly culturally dependent, examining differences across countries would provide important additional information about potential cultural meanings of masculinity in relation to male body ideals and appearance. Given this, our group recently examined the relationship between conformity to masculinity norms (CMN) and several measures of body image in Australia, Sweden, the UK, and the US (Holmqvist Gattario et al, in press), finding that higher CMN was not only associated with higher drive for muscularity, as reported in the literature (Mahalik, Talmadge, Locke, & Scott, 2005;Smolak & Murnen, 2008), but also predicted higher drive for leanness and fitness (Smolak & Murnen, 2008).…”

Help-Seeking Behaviors of Men for Mental Health and the Impact of Diverse Cultural Backgrounds

“…The Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI) was developed to assess the extent to which a male conforms to major masculinity norms found in the dominant culture in the United States. The norms are: winning, emotional control, risk-taking, violence, dominance, playboy image, self-reliance, primacy of work, power over women, disdain for homosexuality, and pursuit of status (Mahalik & Talmadge, 2005). Men with higher levels of education represented lower scores of conformity to masculine norms (Reilly, Rochlen, & Awad, 2013).…”