Socio-demographic, ideological, and psychological predictors of internalized misogyny among women in Serbia

Background: Individual psychological traits may interact with social influences to shape the development and expression of internalized misogyny among women. Aim: To examine the predictive value of sociodemographic, ideological, and psychological variables for internalized misogyny among women. Materials and Methods: An online survey was conducted with a sample of 260 women from the Republic of Serbia, aged 18 to 65 years. The psychometric battery comprised the Internalized Misogyny Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Pearlin Mastery Scale, Gender Microaggressions Scale, Personal Experience of Gender Disempowerment Scale, Social and Economic Conservatism Scale, Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale, and Political Orientation and Religiosity Scale. The hypotheses were evaluated using a four-step hierarchical linear regression analysis. Results: The instruments demonstrated satisfactory to excellent internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.74 - 0.92). The final hierarchical regression model explained 22% of the variance in internalized misogyny (R² = .22, p < .05). In the final step, right-wing political orientation (β = .15, p < .05), right-wing authoritarianism (β = .18, p < .05), and perceived gender-based microaggressions (β = .12, p < .05) emerged as statistically significant positive predictors. Conversely, higher self-esteem (β = -.14, p < .05) and greater mastery (β = -.21, p < .05) were significant negative predictors of internalized misogyny. Sociodemographic factors and social conservatism did not retain significant predictive value in the final model. Conclusion: The results of our study provide actionable guidance for nursing professionals in designing targeted mental health interventions aimed at mitigating the psychological burden of internalized gender oppression.