Relationships Fostering Healthy Masculinities Scale

Description

The Relationships Fostering Healthy Masculinities (RFHM) Scale (Di Bianca & Mahalik, 2025) is designed to evaluate experiences within interpersonal relationships that promote healthy masculinities among men. The development of this scale is rooted in relational-cultural theory (RCT; Jordan et al., 1991; Miller, 1976), specifically the concept of growth-fostering relationships, and feminist perspectives on masculine socialization (Di Bianca & Mahalik, 2022). The initial item pool was generated through consultations with men experienced in mentoring groups and retreats, supplemented by insights from relevant literature (e.g., Rabinowitz, 2019; Reichert, 2019; Way, 2011). A pilot study was conducted to refine the items before data collection, resulting in an initial pool of 50 items. The scale was administered online to adult men in the U.S. across two studies. Confirmatory factor analyses on these samples resulted in a 6-factor structure comprising 24 items. The studies also reported on measurement invariance, reliability, and validity.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the RFHM Scale is to assess interpersonal relationships that foster healthy masculinities.

Instrument

• Test Type: Original

• Format: The measure uses 6 response options.

• Language Available: English

• Population Group: Male

• Age Group: Adulthood (18 years & older), Young Adulthood (18-29 years), Thirties (30-39 years), Middle Age (40-64 years), Aged (65 years & older)

• Population Details:

  • Age Range: 18-84

  • Location: United States

  • Respondents: Men

• Test Methodology: Test Validity, Criterion Validity, Test Reliability, Internal Consistency, Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Measurement Invariance

• Administration Method: Electronic

• Number of items: 24

• Test Items Available: Yes

Factors and Subscales

The RFHM Scale consists of six factors:

1. Rejecting Shame

2. Fostering Vulnerability

3. Rejecting Hyper-Independence

4. Fostering Connection

5. Rejecting Violence

6. Fostering Compassion

Reliability

Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega, ranging from .81 for Fostering Compassion to .84 for Fostering Vulnerability and Rejecting Violence.

Validity

Criterion validity was supported by significant relationships with theoretically relevant constructs, including individual well-being, relationship quality, social justice worldview, and lower adherence to masculine norms of emotional control, self-reliance, and violence.

Factor Analysis

Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA): After removing items with high interitem correlations to reduce redundancy, the authors conducted CFAs, retaining 35 items. The final 24-item, 6-factor measurement model demonstrated a strong fit to the data (RMSEA = .048, 90% CI [.039, .056]; χ² = 390.59, df = 232; CFI = .96; TLI = .95; SRMR = .044), with all item and first-order factor loadings significant at p < .001. The final RFHM model includes six factors: experiences in relationships that (1) Reject Shame, (2) Promote Vulnerability, (3) Reject Hyper-Independence, (4) Promote Connection, (5) Reject Violence, and (6) Promoting Compassion—all of which loaded onto a second-order factor representing RFHM.

Measurement Invariance: Configural, metric, and scalar invariance were demonstrated for men of color and White men.

Keywords

Fostering Compassion, Fostering Connection, Fostering Vulnerability, Healthy Masculinities, Interpersonal Relationships, Rejecting Hyper-Independence, Rejecting Shame, Rejecting Violence, Independence (Personality), Interpersonal Influences, Male Attitudes, Masculinity, Shame, Violence, Interpersonal Relationships, Compassion, Social and Interpersonal Measures, Sex and Gender Measures, Social Connectedness

Authors

• Di Bianca, Michael

  • Affiliation: Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Boston College

  • Email: [email protected]

• Mahalik, James R.

  • ORCID Identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9463-2698

  • Affiliation: Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Boston College

  • Email: [email protected]

  • Correspondence Address: Di Bianca, Michael: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Health, 25 Carleton Street, E23, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, 02412, [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

• Permissions: May use for Research/Teaching

• Fee: No

• Test Year: 2025

Files

• No data is Available

Reference’s

Di Bianca, M., & Mahalik, J. R. (2025). Development of the Relationships Fostering Healthy Masculinities Scale. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 26(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000488

Items of the Relationships Fostering Healthy Masculinities (RFHM) Scale

Instructions: The following statements describe how the important people in your life might relate to you. Please rate how true each statement is for you using the scale below.

Stem: The important people in my life …

1. Would see me as weak for having any feeling other than anger*

2. Would see me as weak if I needed some self-care*

3. Would think less of me if I cried*

4. Want me to act strong even if it means hiding my real feelings*

5. Accept me for who I really am when I’m struggling

6. Make me feel safe enough to cry in front of them

7. Let me know that who I am is good enough

8. Want to know how I feel when I’m going through hard times

9. Expect me to always go it alone*

10. Teach me that “real men” should never need help*

11. Would judge me as needy if I wanted more closeness with them*

12. See closeness as something real men shouldn’t want*

13. Encourage me to grow closer with others

14. Like when we show each other affection

15. Teach me to lean on the important people in my life

16. Are okay with me asking them for support

17. Make me think I should be aggressive to be seen as a real man*

18. Expect me to be dominating as a guy*

19. See the measure of a man as how much power he has over others*

20. Respect me more if I prove my strength through aggression*

21. Teach me to be a good man

22. Teach me to treat all people with dignity in how I speak and act

23. Set an example for me to have compassion for others

24. Teach me to respect women and girls

Response Scale:
1 = absolutely not true
2 = untrue
3 = kind of untrue
4 = kind of true
5 = true
6 = absolutely true

Subscales:
Shame: Items 1-4.
Vulnerability: Items 5-8.
Hyper-Independence: Items 9-12.
Connection: Items 13-16.
Violence: Items 17-20.
Compassion: Items 21-24.

*Indicates reverse-scored item for the total score.