Study finds boys in puberty respond aggressively to gender threats

Adolescent boys may respond aggressively when they perceive their masculinity is under threat, particularly those growing up in environments with rigid gender norms, a new study shows.

The research, published in the journal Developmental Science , highlights the effects of social pressure on boys to conform to stereotypical masculine behaviors.

Conducted by a team of psychology researchers, the study found that boys in mid-to-late puberty, whose motivation to be masculine is externally driven, exhibit heightened aggression when their gender typicality is challenged. The study was led by Adam Stanaland, a postdoctoral researcher at New York University, who emphasized the importance of understanding these developmental processes.

“We know that not all men respond aggressively to manhood threats—in past work, we have found that it is primarily men whose stereotypical masculinity is socially pressured who are the most aggressive under such threats,” Stanaland said in an NYU statement . “Now we have evidence that certain adolescent boys respond similarly, pointing to the foundations of these potentially harmful processes.”

The study included over 200 adolescent boys in the US and one of their parents. Participants were assessed on their motivations to be masculine and subjected to a game designed to measure their responses to perceived threats to their gender identity. Aggression was measured through a cognitive task that analyzed the proportion of aggressive word completions in a series of word stems.

Key findings of the study indicated that boys whose masculinity motivation was pressured by social expectations showed increased aggression in response to gender typicality threats. These boys were also more likely to have parents who endorsed stereotypical beliefs about male status and power.

“Beyond just aggression, manhood threats are associated with a wide variety of negative, antisocial behaviors, such as sexism, homophobia, political bigotry, and even anti-environmentalism,” Stanaland said. “Our findings call for actively challenging the restrictive norms and social pressure that boys face to be stereotypically masculine, particularly during puberty and coming from their parents and peers.”

The researchers also accounted for environmental sources of pressure, including peer and parental influences, and evaluated participants’ stage of pubertal development using the Pubertal Development Scale.

Andrei Cimpian, a professor in NYU’s Department of Psychology and the study’s senior author, stressed the broader implications of the findings.

“Men’s aggression presents challenges for societies across the world, ranging from public safety to intimate personal relationships,” Cimpian noted. “By identifying when and why certain boys begin showing aggressive responses to masculinity threats, this research is a first step in preventing the development of ‘fragile’ masculinities—masculinities that need to be constantly proved and reasserted—and their many negative consequences among adult men.”