Linking Ambivalent Sexism to Violence-Against-Women Attitudes and Behaviors: A Three-Level Meta-analytic Review

Abstract

Ambivalent sexism (hostile and benevolent sexism) maintains gender inequalities and has been applied to investigate violence against women (VAW). We conducted a comprehensive three-level meta-analytic review testing ambivalent sexism as predictors of VAW-supportive attitudes and behaviors regarding sexual harassment, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence. Relevant articles published between 1996 and April 2022 were retrieved from the PsycINFO, Pro Quest Dissertations and Theses, Cochrane Database Reviews, ERIC, and Web of Science online databases. A total of 141 reports (with 912 unique effect sizes) met our inclusion criteria (e.g., assessed Glick and Fiske’s 1996 ASI and at least one self-reported measure of VAW-supportive attitudes or men's VAW perpetration and/or proclivity; VAW was limited to violence against women perpetrated by men). Our review revealed hostile and benevolent sexism, respectively, were associated with greater VAW-supportive attitudes across genders (r =.47, 95% CI [.43–.50]; r =.26, 95% CI [.23–.29]) and to greater VAW behaviors among men (r =.23, 95% CI [.19–.27]; r =.08, 95% CI [.04–.12]). Our review also highlighted participant gender, VAW type, and domain of VAW as important moderators. Notably, benevolent sexism was more strongly tied to VAW-supportive attitudes among women (r =.31, 95% CI [.27–.35]) than men (r =.22, 95% CI [.18–.26]). Overall, the results underscore the importance of addressing hostile and benevolent sexism in future research and interventions on VAW.