The Role of Gender in the Relationship Between Negative Reactions to Sexual Abuse Disclosure and Masculinity Norm Adherence.

Abstract

Although men and women generally receive positive and negative reactions to childhood sexual abuse (CSA) disclosure (Filipas & Ullman, 2001), negative reactions are more common (Gagnier & Collin-Vézina, 2016). Negative disclosure reactions - such as disbelieving, retaliating against, or distracting the survivor - are both prevalent and associated with poorer post-abuse recovery and well-being (Kennedy & Prock, 2018; Ullman, 2010). For male survivors in particular, the responses one receives from others following disclosure may complicate one's sense of masculinity. Thus, the present study explored the nature of the association between negative reactions to CSA disclosure and masculinity norm adherence between men and women who are CSA survivors. Participants (N = 299; M_age = 35.9; 52.8% women; 77.9% White) - who disclosed their CSA to at least one person - completed self-report measures pertaining to social reactions to CSA disclosure and adherence to various masculinity norms. Negative reactions to CSA disclosure were significantly, positively correlated with Winning (r = .20), Playboy (r = .42), Heterosexual Self-Presentation (r = .42), and Power over Women (r = .71) masculinity norms. Moderation analyses revealed that at low levels of negative reactions, men endorsed higher Power Over Women and Playboy adherence; at high levels of negative reactions, women endorsed these norms almost as much as men did. Findings highlight important differences in adherence that shed light on the impact of negative disclosures on masculine ideologies.