ERIC Number: EJ775455
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 12
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1070-5309
EISSN: N/A
Development and Testing of a New Version of the Hypermasculinity Index
Peters, Jay; Nason, Carey; Turner, Winston M.
Social Work Research, v31 n3 p171-182 2007
The high prevalence and serious consequences associated with rape makes its prevention an important social work goal. Rape prevention necessitates understanding the attitudes and personality characteristics of actual and potential rapists. Within the research on attitudinal correlates of rape, hypermasculinity consistently emerges as one of the strongest predictors. The most commonly used measure of hypermasculinity, the Hypermasculinity Index (HMI), uses a forced-choice format that impairs its psychometric properties. This article presents the results of testing a revised version of the HMI using a phrase-completion response format. A convenience sample of undergraduate men (N = 284) from a rural New England university was used. Findings indicate that the new version yields more normally distributed data with a higher internal reliability coefficient. Even more important, the revised version greatly reduced social desirability bias and improved the ability to detect the underlying structure of hypermasculinity.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Psychometrics, Prevention, Personality Traits, Undergraduate Students, Males, Test Validity, Social Work, Social Desirability, Test Reliability, Rape, Student Attitudes, Test Construction, Masculinity, Incidence
National Association of Social Workers (NASW). 750 First Street NE Suite 700, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-227-3590; e-mail: press@naswdc.org; Web site: http://www.naswpress.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A

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