In recent years, several studies by the CNR-IRPPS MUSA research group have highlighted not only the persistence but also the growth of gender stereotypes among young people. The first results of the MiB project, conducted on more than 3,000 fourteen-year-olds in Rome, show that in 2025, 62.3% of participants display medium-to-high adherence to these preconceptions—a phenomenon that also affects girls.

Among adolescents, adherence to gender stereotypes remains high, and it also shapes girls’ attitudes. This is confirmed once again by the latest survey by the Social Change, Evaluation and Methods (MUSA) research group at the Institute for Research on Population and Social Policies of the National Research Council (CNR-IRPPS), on a sample of more than 3,000 students from 25 upper secondary schools in Rome. The study, launched in 2024 and running until 2029, includes face-to-face interviews with adolescents to investigate and explore endemic and emerging social issues, including the presence and effects of gender stereotyping—a true social “virus” which, fed by unresolved educational norms, is responsible for discrimination, educational and occupational segregation, and often even extreme violence.

“The research findings—since this is a longitudinal study—currently concern only fourteen-year-olds (3,068), and show that in 2025, 62.3% of respondents have a medium-to-high adherence to gender stereotypes,” explains Antonio Tintori of CNR-IRPPS, head of the MUSA research group. “The problem affects boys more, but girls are by no means exempt. Among boys, however, the medium-to-high level of gender stereotyping is actually double that of their female peers (79.0% versus 40.2%).”

The data highlight a still widespread belief in gender roles that place men in top positions—those involving leadership, power and control; this conditioning, meanwhile, still confines women to the domestic sphere, meaning they are expected to shoulder caregiving and family assistance responsibilities.

“Moreover, comparing these data with those from the latest national CNR survey on the state of adolescence, carried out by the same research group in 2022, reveals another alarming fact: these stereotypes are more widespread today than in the past, when, at national level and for the same age group, medium-to-high adherence to this social conditioning was 37.9% (20.8% girls; 49.2% boys),” Tintori continues.

In order to investigate these social influences in greater depth, adherence to the idea of specific gender roles was also measured, which is a direct consequence of the internalization of the stereotypes of the same name. In this case, the research technique involved providing adolescents with a list of roles and actions and asking them to indicate who was best suited to perform them: men, women, or whether gender was irrelevant. A medium-high adherence to male gender roles, which attribute certain skills or activities to men, such as being in charge at work, being president, being a police officer, driving, competing in sports, earning a lot of money, and being a scientist, is found in 47.9% of 14-year-olds in Rome, and is significantly more prevalent among male respondents (67.1% of males and 23.4% of females). On the other hand, 33.3% of adolescents have a medium-high adherence to female gender roles, as reflected in activities such as cooking, caring for children, cleaning, shopping, and teaching, with a significant prevalence still among males (43.0% males and 20.6% females). Even in the case of gender role analysis, a comparison with 14-year-olds in the national survey on the state of adolescence reveals a decidedly worrying trend, as medium-high adherence to male gender roles has increased by 10.8% and that to female gender roles by 9%.

The latest data confirm that these stereotypes are more widespread in technical institutes (75.1% compared to 66.1% in vocational schools and 51.4% in high schools), among students with a migrant background (70.8% compared to 61.0% of those with Italian citizenship) and among those with a low cultural status in the family (71.1% compared to 52.5% of those with a high cultural status),” adds the researcher. “These trends, which have been progressively worsening over the last few years, indicate the need for urgent, targeted, and structural interventions, delivered by specialized personnel, aimed at pupils starting from primary school and focused on the exercise of critical thinking, emotionality, affectivity, and the development of relational skills,” concludes Tintori. In this regard. The MUSA research group has prepared the ‘Guide to Deconstructing Gender Stereotypes: Recognizing Them to Break Them Down’, which is a streamlined and practical tool aimed not only at the younger generation but also at teachers and parents.

For information:
Antonio Tintori
CNR – Institute for Research on Population and Social Policies
antonio.tintori@cnr.it

Press Office:
Sandra Fiore
CNR – Press Unit
sandra.fiore@cnr.it

Head of Press Office Unit:
Emanuele Guerrini
emanuele.guerrini@cnr.it
ufficiostampa@cnr.it
06 4993 3383

See also:

• MiB Research Report 2025
• State of Adolescence Report 2023
• Summary of the 2023 State of Adolescence Report
• A Guide to Deconstructing Gender Stereotypes: Recognizing and Breaking Down Gender Stereotypes