The Role of Masculine Honor Beliefs in the Perceptions of a Father’s Violent Retaliation Against His Child’s Sexual Abuser

Violence Vict. 2026 May 28;41(2):191-209. doi: 10.1891/VV-2022-0217.

ABSTRACT

We examined how masculine honor beliefs (MHBs, beliefs that violence is sometimes necessary for a man to protect himself, his family, or his reputation; Cohen & Nisbett, 1994; Saucier et al., 2015) relate to perceptions of parental retaliation against their child’s sexual abusers. Participants (N = 203) read a hypothetical scenario about a father who learned that his child was molested by a male daycare worker and then violently retaliated against the male abuser. Participants completed the Masculine Honor Beliefs Scale (MHBS; Saucier et al., 2016) and rated their perceptions of the father, the male abuser, the actions they believed the father should take after learning about the sexual abuse (e.g., legal, social retaliation) before reading that he retaliated violently, and his decision to retaliate violently. Consistent with hypotheses, higher levels of MHBs were related to greater desires for harsher punishment for the male abuser and greater desired retaliation (social, legal, and violent) toward the male abuser. Higher levels of MHBs were also related to lighter punishment for the father’s violent retaliation and more favorable perceptions of the father due to his violent retaliation. However, MHBs were negatively correlated with support for the father enacting child-focused (e.g., get the child therapy) and self-focused responses (e.g., talk to his wife about it). Our results are consistent with an important foundational concept of MHBs: It is important for a man to respond aggressively against insults and threats to protect his family and their reputation. Our findings suggest that those who more endorse MHBs focus more on punishing sexual offenders and less on supporting survivors of their offenses. When cases of parental retaliation against a child’s sexual abuser occur in real life, the public is often divided on whether this violent retaliation is justified. Our research indicates that MHBs help explain these perceptions.

PMID:42215039 | DOI:10.1891/VV-2022-0217