The unmanliness of ostracism: The role of masculine gender role stress and intimate partner violence in men’s mental health

Abstract

Given the high risk that intimate partner violence poses to its victims, understanding factors which predict its enactment is critical. In the present research, we presented ostracism as a novel predictor of intimate partner violence perpetration by men through masculine gender role stress. We further examined the implications of ostracism-related intimate partner violence perpetration for men’s mental health, specifically symptoms of depression and anxiety. We proposed that ostracism would predict more masculine gender role stress and intimate partner violence perpetration, which would then predict worse mental health. As expected, regression analyses revealed that ostracism was positively associated with masculine gender role stress, intimate partner violence perpetration, anxiety, and depression. Moreover, structural equation modeling provided preliminary support for our serial mediation model. The results revealed that masculine gender role stress and intimate partner violence perpetration serially mediated the relationship between ostracism and mental health. These findings offer significant theoretical implications to the fields of research on ostracism, masculinity, and intimate partner violence, particularly for the associations between them, as well as practical implications for clinicians related to potential mental health outcomes, and policymakers and activists in relation to real-world instances of intimate partner violence and gender violence.