Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI)

About This Assessment

What is the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory?

The Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI) is a validated psychological scale that measures the degree to which a person conforms to traditional masculine norms in Western culture. Developed by Mahalik and colleagues (2003), the original CMNI contained 94 items measuring 11 norms. Parent and Moradi (2009, 2011) developed the CMNI-46, a 46-item version measuring 9 norms while maintaining strong psychometric properties.

What Does the CMNI-46 Measure?

The CMNI-46 assesses conformity to nine distinct masculine norms:

• Winning: The drive to be successful and win at all costs
• Emotional Control: Suppressing vulnerable emotions such as sadness and fear
• Risk-Taking: Seeking danger and risky situations
• Violence: Believing violence is sometimes justified
• Power Over Women: Believing men should control and dominate women
• Playboy: Pursuing casual sex and multiple partners
• Self-Reliance: Solving problems alone and never asking for help
• Primacy of Work: Making work the top priority in life
• Heterosexual Self-Presentation: Being seen as unambiguously heterosexual

CMNI vs. CMNI-46

The original CMNI (Mahalik et al., 2003) has 94 items and 11 norms. The CMNI-46 (Parent & Moradi, 2009, 2011) is an abbreviated version with 46 items covering 9 norms. Both versions show good reliability and validity; the CMNI-46 is more efficient while retaining strong psychometric properties.

Research Evidence

The CMNI and CMNI-46 are among the most widely used measures of masculine norm conformity. They have been translated into many languages and used in hundreds of studies on men's health, attitudes, and behavior. Research links higher conformity to certain norms—such as emotional control, self-reliance, and power over women—with poorer mental health outcomes, less help-seeking, and more restrictive attitudes.

Interpreting Your Results

Each norm is scored from 0 to 3 (the mean of its item responses). Higher scores mean greater conformity to that norm. There is no single healthy profile—conformity to masculine norms can be adaptive in some contexts and costly in others. Use your profile to reflect on which norms align with your true values.

References

• Mahalik, J. R., Locke, B. D., Ludlow, L. H., Diemer, M. A., Scott, R. P. J., Gottfried, M., & Freitas, G. (2003). Development of the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 4(1), 3-25. https://doi.org/10.1037/1524-9220.4.1.3
• Parent, M. C., & Moradi, B. (2009). Confirmatory factor analysis of the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory and development of the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory-46. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 10(3), 175-189. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015481
• Parent, M. C., & Moradi, B. (2011). An abbreviated tool to assess conformity to masculine norms: Psychometric properties of the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory-46. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 12(4), 339-353.