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Social Sciences and Childhood
2025. Vol. 6, no. 4, 41–56
doi:10.17759/ssc.2025060403
ISSN: 2713-0584 (online)

The image of an ideal man among contemporary teenagers: value-normative aspect

 
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Abstract

Context and relevance. In the context of a pronounced crisis associated with significant transformations of gender roles in modern society, the urgency of the problem of masculinity is growing Attempts to rethink traditional attitudes towards masculinity give rise to contradictory ideas about it. That creates social and psychological difficulties for teenagers of both sexes and affects the development of their gender identities. Objective. To analyse the image of an ideal man as contemporary teenagers perceive it. Hypothesis. The image of an ideal man among contemporary teenagers is characterized by a departure from traditional ideas about masculinity and a gravitation towards alternative variants of male identity, primarily associated with the recognition of gender equality. Young men’s and young women’s ideas about masculinity differ. Methods and materials. The study involved 85 senior teenagers aged 15—16 (9th—10th grade students), including 51 girls and 34 boys. To test the hypothesis, the questionnaire ‘Study of Male Identity Development (SMID) “Me and Other Men”’ was used. Results. The research has shown that the image of an ideal man among modern teenagers correlates with both traditional and alternative ideas about masculinity. At the same time, young men mainly hold traditional views on masculinity, while young women are more inclined to attribute alternative qualities and characteristics to the ideal man. Conclusions. The results demonstrate a set of inherent contradictions in the image of an ideal man which brings significant pressure in the process of gender identity development, especially among young men.

General Information

Keywords: gender identity, masculinity, ideal, patriarchal views, egalitarian views, senior teenagers

Journal rubric: Age-Related Psychology

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/ssc.2025060403

Received 03.12.2025

Revised 25.12.2025

Accepted

Published

For citation: Subbotin, S.V., Shapovalenko, I.V. (2025). The image of an ideal man among contemporary teenagers: value-normative aspect. Social Sciences and Childhood, 6(4), 41–56. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17759/ssc.2025060403

© Subbotin S.V., Shapovalenko I.V., 2025

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

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Information About the Authors

Sergei V. Subbotin, Independent Researcher, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3167-1302, e-mail: vasilich_1990@mail.ru

Irina V. Shapovalenko, Candidate of Science (Psychology), Professor of Department of Age Psychology Named After Professor L.F. Obukhova, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3845-3473, e-mail: irin_vlad@mail.ru

Contribution of the authors

Sergei V. Subbotin — research ideas; annotation, writing and formatting of the manuscript; planning of the research; application of statistical, mathematical or other methods for data analysis; conducting the experiment; data collection and analysis; visualisation of research results.

Irina V. Shapovalenko — research ideas; annotation, writing and formatting of the manuscript; planning of the research; control over the research.

All authors participated in the discussion of the results and approved the final text of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethics statement

The research was conducted in strict accordance with ethical standards outlined in the Helsinki Declaration (1964).

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