The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 38, No. 2 & Volume 39, No. 1 - 205

Men’s Identity Development

scott and robinson (2001) point out that the Key model tries to examine multiple aspects of a person’s individual development and can take into account the various subgroups that represent all men; it also “addresses the convergence of race and gender attitudes” (p. 418). the Key model is best viewed as layers of multiple circular discs: all the discs represent one individual, with each disc representing the individual’s development in understanding their role and their connection with dissimilar individuals.

THE FIVE TYPES OF MALE ATTITUDES IN THE KEY MODEL
the Key model (scott & robinson, 2001) was developed as a tool for professionals to use when working with White men. Over the past 10 years, it has been used in mental health and business settings to understand how men struggle with issues related to power and privilege and their oppression of others to secure these advantages. the primary goal of the Key model is to provide a guide for professionals who work with men to help their clients realize—through discussion, education, and experience—how preconceived notions of superiority can be a factor in their gender role conflicts and maladaptive behaviors towards women and dissimilar men. the Key model identifies five types of thinking and attitudes that men may exhibit as they explore the true meaning of manhood: (a) Non-Contact, when the man is oblivious of his oppression of others; (b) Claustrophobic, when a man feels that women and dissimilar men are closing in on him; (c) Conscious Identity, when a man feels a dissonance between his reality and his belief system; (d) Empirical, when a man

is questioning his role in the oppression of others; and (e) Optimal, when a man has an understanding of his role in the oppression of others and works to improve relationships with women and dissimilar men. this model is not applicable to all men; as Harper and Harris (2010) note, there are some male students who do not experience issues related to the typical maladaptive male behaviors and are able to “achieve healthy masculine identities” (p. 11). the Key model was developed to work specifically with men who have problems dealing with gender role conflicts and negative attitudes towards women and dissimilar men. no model, however, can account for the complexity of a single person, much less an entire gender, and evans et al. (2010) encourage professionals to identify when a specific theoretical concept is applicable and when it is not needed in practice.

Type 1: Non-Contact
a man displaying non-contact behavior operates in a very traditional and stereotypical manner. His worldview, thinking, and interactions with others are very androcentric, and he has little knowledge of the struggles that women or dissimilar men undergo. He may enter the residence halls with a sense of entitlement, feeling superior to these groups since past interactions with them have been very traditional and thus unlikely to create enough dissonance to generate any change in his view of them. this man tends to congregate with others like him and only interacts with women and dissimilar men out of necessity (e.g., they are forced to work on a project together). this man would be considered reference group dependent in Wade’s (1998) theory of gender identity.
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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 38, No. 2 & Volume 39, No. 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 38, No. 2 & Volume 39, No. 1