Masculine Gender Role Stress and Men's Fear of Emotions as Predictors of Self-Reported Aggression and Violence

To test the hypothesis that relationship violence may be related to men's fear of emotions, a secondary data analysis examined a sample of 155 male students attending an Eastern urban university. The men had been assessed using measures of masculine gender role stress, fear of emotions, and self-reported perpetration of relationship violence. Men's fear of emotion predicted relationship violence beyond what was accounted for masculine gender role stress. In addition, men's fear of emotions was found to partially mediate the relationship between masculine gender role stress and relationship violence. Results are discussed in terms of implications for future research and clinical interventions.