Abstract
Using data from 179 undergraduate men from 38 higher education institutions, we examined if adherence to masculine norms and social dominance hazing endorsement changed over three years of membership in a historically white college social fraternity. In addition, we examined if changes in conformity to specific masculine norms affected their social dominance hazing endorsement. We found no significant differences in social dominance hazing endorsement or conformity to seven masculine norms from 2017 to 2020, though conformity to power over women and heterosexual presentation were statistically significantly lower in 2020 than 2017. Increased conformity to power over women and risk-taking was associated with social dominance hazing endorsement. Findings indicate that membership in a historically white college social fraternity have limited effects on men’s conformity to masculine norms and social dominance hazing motivations. We identified implications for fraternity recruitment practices and interventions, and encourage collaboration with middle and high school stakeholders to address the precollege gender socialization of adolescent boys.
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Notes
Our study relies on Mahalik and colleagues (2003) definition for conformity to masculine norms, defined as “meeting societal expectations for what constitutes masculinity in one’s public or private life” (p. 3).
Institutions varied in geographic location (10 located in the Great Lakes, eight in the Southeast, seven in the Plains, five in the Mid East, four in the Far West, three in the Southwest, and one in New England) as well as control (28 are public and 10 are private) and Carnegie Classification (33 are Doctoral Universities, three are Masters Colleges, and two are Baccalaureate Colleges).
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The article is based on data collected by Dyad Strategies, LLC.. Adam M. McCready is affiliated with Dyad Strategies, LLC. as independent contractor, but had no role in the data collection for this study. Laura S. Dahl has no potential conflicts of interest to disclose. There are no other declarations to disclose.
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McCready, A.M., Dahl, L.S. A Longitudinal Study on the Conformity to Masculine Norms and Social Dominance Hazing Motivations of Members of a Historically White Social Fraternity. Innov High Educ 48, 39–54 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-022-09597-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-022-09597-7