Boys who cling to so-called ‘manly’ traits are more likely to hurt others – but they are in the minority, study finds

Boys with less strict gender beliefs are more likely to have healthy attitudes to equality and to reject violence against women, a survey by Jesuit Social Services found. Photograph: The Photo Commune/Getty Images

Adolescent boys who cling to stereotypically masculine traits are far more likely to hurt others, and be hurt themselves, a major study has found, but it also found that overall those boys were in the minority.

Through The Men’s Project, 1,401 male, female and non-binary adolescents aged 14 to 18 were surveyed about masculinity by Jesuit Social Services (JSS).