Masculinity Beliefs (Wave 2 — Preregistered Study)

Wave 2 preregistered a confirmatory replication of the exploratory patterns identified in Wave 1. The study tests whether the same latent dimensions of masculine trait endorsement—and the gaps between personal and societal expectations—replicate in a larger, independent sample of U.S. men. It further examines whether these discrepancies predict self-reported needs, wants, and struggles related to career direction, relationships, mental well-being, and sense of purpose.

Analyses include preregistered confirmatory factor analysis, gap-by-outcome associations, and robustness tests using multiple-comparison corrections.

This component provides the first confirmatory test of the Masculinity Beliefs framework and establishes the analytic foundation for the forthcoming Likert-scale replication study.

Preregistration defines the primary and secondary endpoints, hypotheses, analysis plan, and quality controls prior to expanding our Wave 1 survey from 500 to 1,200 participants. Wave 1 (n=500) was collected in [month] 2025 using identical survey questions (Q1-Q5 structure). This preregistration locks our analysis approach before collecting the additional 700 responses (Wave 1 Expansion) via Prolific. The combined dataset (n=1,200) will be analyzed as specified herein to examine expectation gaps between personal beliefs and perceived societal expectations regarding masculine traits among U.S. men aged 24-32.
Note: See uploaded file 'Technical Clarification_ Variable Naming Convention_10_24_25.pdf' for technical details on variable naming conventions