Joual of Men's Studies. Harriman: Winter 2006. Vol. 14, Iss. 1;
pg. 27
This study investigated the relationship between masculine gen-
der- role conflict and stress factors, on one hand, and religious ori-
entation and spiritual well-being, on the other, using a sample of
Australian men. Participants were separated into two groups based
on their self-reported level of religiousness. There were 73 partici-
pants in the religious group (who described themselves as some-
what, very, or extremely religious) and 70 participants in the
non-religious group (who identified themselves as not-at-all or
not very religious). All participants completed a personal infor-
mation sheet and four questionnaires: The Gender Role Conflict
Scale, The Gender Role Stress Scale, The Intrinsic-Extrinsic Reli-
gious Orientation Scale-Revised, and The Spiritual Well-Being
Scale. As predicted, the nonreligious men exhibited higher levels
of masculine gender-role conflict and stress than religious men.
Separate canonical correlation analyses for the two groups
revealed significant relationships between the measures assessing
masculine gender-role conflict and stress and those assessing reli-
giousness and spiritual well-being. Limitations and directions for
additional research on religion and psychological well-being of
men as well as implications for practice are discussed.
Keywords: masculine gender role conflict, stress, religious orien-
tation, spiritual well-being, Australian men.
This study investigated the relationship between masculine gen-
der- role conflict and stress factors, on one hand, and religious ori-
entation and spiritual well-being, on the other, using a sample of
Australian men. Participants were separated into two groups based
on their self-reported level of religiousness. There were 73 partici-
pants in the religious group (who described themselves as some-
what, very, or extremely religious) and 70 participants in the
non-religious group (who identified themselves as not-at-all or
not very religious). All participants completed a personal infor-
mation sheet and four questionnaires: The Gender Role Conflict
Scale, The Gender Role Stress Scale, The Intrinsic-Extrinsic Reli-
gious Orientation Scale-Revised, and The Spiritual Well-Being
Scale. As predicted, the nonreligious men exhibited higher levels
of masculine gender-role conflict and stress than religious men.
Separate canonical correlation analyses for the two groups
revealed significant relationships between the measures assessing
masculine gender-role conflict and stress and those assessing reli-
giousness and spiritual well-being. Limitations and directions for
additional research on religion and psychological well-being of
men as well as implications for practice are discussed.
Keywords: masculine gender role conflict, stress, religious orien-
tation, spiritual well-being, Australian men.