Intimacy, empathy, and social distance as they relate to the construct of hypermasculinity in a college population

It has been assumed that a deficiency in some men's capacity for warmth, caring, and empathy underlies an internalized hypermasculine behavior pattern; however, direct evidence to support this assumption is lacking. The authors of the construct of hypermasculinity normed the concept on a deviant population, i.e., men that display inappropriate behavior. These men also possessed criminal backgrounds. However, to add to this, decades ago researchers found hypermasculine traits among college students. This study employed the characteristics that make up the construct of hypermasculinity (the experience of danger as exciting, the belief that violence is manly, and calloused sexual attitudes toward women) to examine how they related to several important variables that are associated with the socialization process, intimacy, empathy, and social distance. Whether or not hypermasculinity could be found in a current college population was investigated. First, intimacy and feelings of empathy were seen as crucial elements of interpersonal behavior. Empathy has been theorized to be a balanced focus between awareness of oneself and awareness of the emotions of others. The developmental view has seen attachment and intimacy as the roots of a sense of self. It is important to understand the role empathy plays in adult male behavior and whether or not it relates to intimacy. Finally, the degree of social distance to significant people in one's life is of importance. How much social distance exists for a male with high levels of hypermasculinity? A low level of intimacy, a lack of empathy, as well as feeling separated from others may characterize some males with an exaggerated sense of maleness as defined by the authors of the construct of hypermasculinity. Four hypotheses were tested using 63 college students, 18 through 30 years of age, using a modified version of the Hypermasculinity Inventory (HMI), the Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships Inventory (PAIR), the Empathy Quotient Test, and the Social Distance Scale. The results were analyzed using T-tests to examine relationships between high and low levels of hypermasculinity as well as intimacy, empathy, and social distance. High and low levels on the subscales of hypermasculinity were examined as well, i.e., the experience of danger as exciting, the belief that violence is manly, and calloused sexual attitudes toward women. This study found one significant difference between high and low levels of hypermasculinity in these participants in desired emotional intimacy. No significance was found for lack of social intimacy, lack of desired social intimacy, lack of emotional intimacy, lack of total intimacy, lack of empathy, or social distance. These findings are contrary to what was found a decade ago with young adult male college students. One assumption to be made is that, at least for educated males, attitudes toward females may be more positive as these males report closer intimacy, greater empathy, and less social distance than did males a decade ago. It was recommended that further research be conducted to replicate this research and either support or reject this assumption.