A landmark new report has found that teen boys who most strongly support rigid views about masculinity are most likely to cause harm to themselves and others.
Released today by The Men’s Project at Jesuit Social Services, the Adolescent Man Box report is based on an Australian-first survey of 1,400 adolescents of all genders aged 14 to 18.
The findings show that young Australian people overwhelmingly believe there is pressure on boys to appear strong, confident and tough at all times.
The study then maps agreement with this belief, as well as other statements around aggressive behaviour, mental health, bullying, pornography, image-based abuse and risk-taking behaviours.
The good news is that most young people, regardless of gender, reject rigid, restrictive ideas about masculinity. However, the cohort of boys who personally endorse these rigid beliefs are more likely to get into fights, sexually harass others and engage in risk-taking behaviours like alcohol use and gambling.
“Young people reported many positive trends to us, such as that almost all [96 per cent] of boys and girls surveyed believe it’s important for teenage boys to treat girls as equals,” said Executive Director of The Men’s Project at Jesuit Social Services Matt Tyler.
“However, there is a particularly concerning picture for the boys who most strongly endorse the Adolescent Man Box rules: ideas like boys should be strong, confident and tough at all times; not show fear or emotion; make fun of others and not do things that are considered ‘girly’.”
“Of these boys, two in five told us that they had used bullying, physical violence or sexual harassment in the past month. These same boys are also more likely to drink, gamble, get into physical fights, view pornography with violent and non-consensual acts, and experience poor mental health. They’re also more likely to be victims of violence themselves.”
Almost half (47 per cent) of boys with the strongest endorsement of the Adolescent Man Box rules said their online social life is more rewarding than their offline interactions, and 85 per cent had experienced poor mental health symptoms in the past two weeks with many not seeking help.
Almost half agree or strong agree that no one really knows them well, and more than a quarter believe that if a man is violent to his partner, then it’s probably because they deserve it or did something to provoke it.
More than 80 per cent of boys who have watched pornography report seeing harm happening to a female, and around one third of boys reported that if they weren’t given consent, they’d retaliate.
And more than a quarter say their friends would use AI to create fake nude images of people they know.
Reasons for hope
Among these concerning findings, Tyler also points out that the study found some reasons for hope.
“Almost all boys told us they are disturbed by the harassment of women and girls,” Tyler said.
“Across all respondents, 84 per cent indicated they feel mostly positive about their futures and many said they could be vulnerable with a family member or a friend. More adolescents reflected that parents had a bigger impact on their own ideas about how teenage boys should act than the media or other online influencers.
“Mindful of these bright spots and the opportunity to continue making progress, our report contains a range of recommendations with calls to action for government, service providers, schools, parents and digital technology companies such as social media and pornography sites.”
The report calls on Federal, State and Territory governments to commit to targeted initiatives towards the issues raised, drawing on the Adolescent Man Box to inform place-based youth violence prevention efforts, and the establishment of a dedicated National Action Plan for children and young people who have been victims of violence or abuse.