Item-Level Psychometric Properties of the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI-46): An Item Response Theory Analysis

Measurement of masculinities is commonly discussed and debated in gender studies and psychology, but there is limited psychometric evaluation of popular measures of masculinities. One highly contested and frequently used measure is the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI), which has undergone numerous iterations attempting to generate a psychometrically viable composite scale for understanding properties of masculinity. The present study utilizes an item response theory (IRT) approach to examine the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory 46-item (CMNI-46) subscale item viability in a sample of n = 361 southeastern U.S. college students. In support of previous literature, we found a lack of support for a latent factor structure with nine intercorrelated subscales and mixed results for IRT analysis comparing men and women in some subscales of the measure. We advise caution in using the CMNI-46 to compare latent traits across genders. Considering the substantial number of mixed results regarding the measure's psychometric nature, researchers should generally approach utilizing the CMNI-46 with caution until more complex IRT models can be applied to larger samples.