Growing up Male: The Development of Mature Masculinity

Gender role conflict and psychological distress: The role of social support.

“…Overall, evidence for the mediation of social support between GRC and psychological distress was found for two of the elements of GRC, namely RE and RABBM. Given that those two dimensions of GRC coincide with Jolliff and Horne's (1999) view of male relationships as potentially distant and empty, it appears that the deleterious effect of increased restricted emotionality and affectionate behavior between men may be accounted for by lower levels of social support. As such, men who scored highly on RE and RABBM subscales of GRC likely had poorer levels of social support accounting for their increased psychological distress.…”

“…Blazina, Eddins, Burridge, and Settle (2007) postulate that many of these consequences are the result of a relational failure in the lives of men, which leads to the development of a masculine self characterized by emotional distance, avoidance of intimacy, and a defensive style of moving away from others (see Blazina et al, 2007, for discussion). Indeed, Jolliff and Horne (1999) remarked that “one of the more poignant issues men deal with is the lack of friendship” (p. 11) and that for many men their developmental trajectory excluded trusting relationships that over time produced “an emptiness of friendship” (p. 11). They went on to propose a model of adaptive masculine development (Jolliff & Horne, 1999; see also Horne, Jolliff, & Roth, 1996) in which they assert that it is through healthy trusting relationships that men develop an adaptive sense of masculinity.…”

“…Indeed, Jolliff and Horne (1999) remarked that “one of the more poignant issues men deal with is the lack of friendship” (p. 11) and that for many men their developmental trajectory excluded trusting relationships that over time produced “an emptiness of friendship” (p. 11). They went on to propose a model of adaptive masculine development (Jolliff & Horne, 1999; see also Horne, Jolliff, & Roth, 1996) in which they assert that it is through healthy trusting relationships that men develop an adaptive sense of masculinity. Blazina et al (2007) describe this as a mature interdependence, developed through relationships with others and rooted in an “emotional attunement that facilitate[s] its growth” (2007, p. 50).…”

Turn the Wheel: Integral School Counseling for Male Adolescents

“…Initiation of male youths into a higher form of being differs from one that inducts them into an essentialist model of masculinity. An essentialist model for counseling boys (see e.g., Jolliff & Horne, 1999) assumes one universal, invariant, and biologically deterministic notion of masculinity. As Connell (1995) pointed out, the weakness in the essentialist approach is that the choice of the essence is quite arbitrary, and claims about a universal basis of masculinity say more about the ethos of the claimants than anything else.…”