The current study aimed to determine if the socially constructed nature of manhood leads men to experience a pattern of cardiovascular reactivity that has been identified as a threat (versus challenge) response when asked to speak about a time they felt their masculinity was being questioned. To test this, men had their cardiovascular system monitored using electrocardiogram (EKG), impedance cardiography (IC), and blood pressure (BP) measurements. During monitoring, participants were assigned randomly to recall a time when they felt like less of a man (i.e., gender-relevant condition) or to describe their typical day (i.e., neutral condition). Then participants completed measures of precarious manhood beliefs (PMB) and gender identity (GI). When men talked about a time they felt like less of a man, they were expected to show a primarily vascular cardiovascular pattern, indicative of threat, rather than a primarily myocardial pattern typically associated with challenge. This effect was expected to be more pronounced among men who highly endorse PMB and strongly identify with their gender. However, PMB interacted with speaking topic to reveal that men high in PMB, compared to men low in PMB, showed a greater challenge pattern when speaking about an event in which they felt like less of a man. These results lend support for the proposition that gender-related stress contributes to the sex differences found in cardiovascular reactivity, disease rates, and mortality. By understanding the interaction of gendered beliefs, gender identity, and gender threats, health and wellbeing may be improved.
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Psychology
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Cardiography
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Masculinity
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = RULIB)
ETD
Identifier
ETD_8722
PhysicalDescription
Form (authority = gmd)
electronic resource
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Extent
1 online resource (viii, 37 p. : ill.)
Note (type = degree)
M.S.
Note (type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
Note (type = statement of responsibility)
by Caitlin Anne Bronson
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
School of Graduate Studies Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = local)
rucore10001600001
Location
PhysicalLocation (authority = marcorg); (displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.