Men Who Endorse Hostile Sexism Feel Vulnerable and Exploited When Seeking Support in Close Relationships

Hostile sexism encompasses beliefs about the risks of depending on women, so men's endorsement of hostile sexism should interrupt access to social support. Across two studies, U.S. and Canadian men who more strongly endorsed hostile sexism expressed lower satisfaction with support from female romantic partners (Study 1; N = 293) and lower desire for support from close others in stressful scenarios (Study 2; N = 396). Moderation and mediation analyses identified more (vs. less) interdependent relationships as a key context of discomfort with support and two potential mechanisms: Men who endorsed hostile sexism perceived support as potentially threatening and felt more vulnerable when seeking support, partially explaining their discomfort with support. Surprisingly, results for women's hostile sexism showed similar patterns of discomfort with support. Our findings illustrate that endorsing hostile sexism has costs for men themselves, but also suggest the effects of hostile sexism are less gender specific than previously theorized. Public Significance Statement Men who more strongly endorsed hostile sexism toward women expressed more discomfort with support from both romantic partners and nonromantic close others. Feelings of vulnerability and threat when depending on others partially explained this discomfort with support and offered possible targets for interventions aimed to improve men's access to social support.