Masculinity-The Next Generation: Millennials, the MRNI, and Measurement Invariance

Abstract

Socialization is, “the process of learning to behave in a way that is acceptable to society” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). It is inescapable and pervasive. One of the most socialized constructs is gender. Gender roles, norms, expectations, shape how male and female identified folx move through the world and expect others to move through the world. However, this can become problematic when such norms become rigid and insurmountable. Adherence to traditional or hegemonic masculine norms, has been correlated with worse mental health outcomes (Gerdes & Levant, 2018). For decades, psychologists have utilized the Male Role Norms Inventory (Levant et al., 1992; Levant et al., 2007) to study the impact that such norms have on male identified individuals. However, this inventory has not been normed or explored using younger generations of men. Due to recent social and political shifts, it is likely that an inventory normed on older populations, may not resonate with newer generations (Yeazel, 2015). Measurement invariance is statistical evidence that a measure is assessing the same construct between groups (Lee, 2018). For a measure to be truly valid, it must demonstrate strong measurement invariance. The current study explores measurement invariance on the Male Role Norms Inventory-Revised (Levant et al., 2007) between younger and older generations of men to assess whether the construct of masculinity, originally developed in the 90s, still holds true for male identified folx today.