title: On the validity of popular masculinity rating scales with gay men.
abstract: During the past decade, greater quantitative attention has been given to how gay men's lives are affected by traditional notions of masculinity. Consequently, it is important that masculinity-related measures that are often used in research are valid for use with gay men. This study examined the factor structures, loadings, and psychometric properties of three commonly used masculinity-related measures: the Gender Role Conflict Scale, the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory, and the Reference Group Identity Dependence Scale. Data were collected via an online survey of 920 self-identified gay men (M(age) = 32.48 years, SD = 11.73). Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that while the goodness of fit statistics did not always indicate the model fit, there were similar endorsements of items across the three masculinity scales and subscale factor loadings consistent with published studies using mostly heterosexual male samples. Implications for future masculinity scale research on gay men are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Quantitative Foundations, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alt
authors.forename: Adam M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: William Ming
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vilain
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Sánchez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D020010:Heterosexuality; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D057228:Masculinity; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult