Measuring policing of masculinity in adolescent boys and predicting its relationship to academic, psychological, and relational well-being

The Policing of Masculinity Scale (POMS) was developed to quantitatively measure boys' experiences with this normative, pervasive, and highly influential gender social process. POM can be defined as any action intended to prevent or punish individual or group behavior perceived as inappropriately masculine because it deviates from contextual gender norms. Prior to the development of the POMS, there had been no quantitative scale through which to measure the range of normative policing behaviors. While qualitative data has yielded important and rich findings that have greatly contributed to our knowledge of boys and masculinity, there is much to be learned about masculine gender socialization from studies that explore POM quantitatively. Thus, this study (N = 235) psychometrically assessed the POMS on boys in three different private schools (rural/urban and single-sex/coeducational settings) in the Northeastern United States. In assessing the POMS, construct and criterion validity were investigated in relation to variables of interest and relevant well-being outcomes for adolescent boys, i.e., relational, academic, and mental health. To begin to establish baseline levels of boys' participation in this social process, frequencies were explored for the range of POM behaviors. Additionally, analyses were conducted to investigate whether meaningful group differences exist in different boys' experiences with policing.;Findings from exploratory factor and other analyses revealed that the POMS is a valid and reliable measure with predictive utility. For each of the primary scales, three factors emerged demarcating conceptually distinct, yet also overlapping types of policing behaviors including Verbal Policing & Epithets, Challenges & Dares, and Masculinity Deviations. Thus, the POMS will enable the field to pursue new research directions and quantitatively explore initiating and being targeted by policing behaviors, along with the emotional impact. It is also now possible to investigate policing of masculinity in relation to social, psychological, developmental, and other significant well-being outcomes for boys. For group differences, boys appear to engage in policing behaviors to varying degrees and with significant differences in level of initiation and targeting based on grade level and academic performance. Additionally, exploratory regression results indicate that that POMS helps to predict conduct problems and attitudes toward school. In advancing the field, the POMS will enable researchers, and consequently society, to more deeply understand masculine gender socialization and the contexts in which boys may be more likely to enact and/or resist hegemonic masculinities.