Masculine Gender Role Stress: a potential predictor of phobic and obsessive-compulsive behaviour

Eisler and Blalock (Clin. Psychol. Rev. 11 (1991) 45) developed a cognitively mediated notion of Masculine Gender Role Stress (MGRS) which assumes that rigid commitment to masculine schemata for appraisal and coping with life's problems may both produce stress and result in dysfunctional coping patterns in men. Previous findings obtained in a non-clinical sample pointed to the ability of the MGRS General scale to predict different forms of irrational fears. Using a predominantly psychologically distressed sample, the present study replicated this finding. In addition, different subordinate concepts of MGRS (Physical inadequacy, Emotional inexpressiveness, Subordination to women, Intellectual inferiority, and Performance failure) predicted Agoraphobic fears, Blood-Injury fears, Social fears, and Obsessional checking and washing compulsions distinctively. Intellectual inferiority was the strongest predictor of Social fears. Most MGRS measures emerged as better predictors of Checking than of Washing rituals. There were no sex differences in the predictive capabilities of any of the MGRS measures on any of the criterion measures. A hypothetical explanation is given for the observation of MGRS being more strongly predictive of Checking than of Washing rituals using the concept of "inflated responsibility". Implications for assessment, treatment and further studies are briefly pinpointed.