Masculinity and Depression: A Longitudinal Investigation of Multidimensional Masculine Norms Among College Men

Abstract

The transition from high school to college represents a pivotal developmental period that may result in significant maladjustment for first-year college men. Men may feel pressured to “prove” their masculinity by engaging in traditional masculine behaviors that could be negative for their overall well-being. Although adherence to multidimensional masculine norms has been associated with poorer mental health, no studies have examined the role of masculine norms on prospective depressive symptoms among first-year college men. Examining college men’s adherence to multidimensional masculine norms longitudinally can offer a promising theoretical framework to explain within-group variability in depression symptomatology. The sample included 322 men from the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Masculine norms were assessed during the beginning of their first year of college. Depressive symptomatology was assessed 6 months after the first wave of data collection. Masculine norms were positively and negatively related to prospective depression scores, such that men who endorsed the masculine norms of Self-Reliance, Playboy (i.e., desire to have multiple sexual partners), and Violence, had heightened risk, whereas men who endorsed Winning and Power Over Women were less likely to report depressive symptomatology. Distinct masculine norms appear to confer risk for depression while other norms appear to be protective. This study was the first to examine the role of multidimensional masculine norms on prospective depressive symptomatology among college men. The results suggest that practitioners working with men should consider assessing their clients’ adherence to distinct masculine norms and explore how these might be impacting their current mental health.

Dimensions of Masculine Norms, Depression, and Mental Health Service Utilization: Results From a Prospective Cohort Study Among Emerging Adult Men in the United States

“…This study sought to understand how the masculine norms of status, toughness, and anti-femininity affect depression symptomology, the related outcomes of substance use and hostility, and mental health service utilization among emerging adult men of diverse backgrounds. This study's findings add support to a growing body of literature that demonstrates that some masculine norms increase men's risk of adverse mental health outcomes and reduce the likelihood of psychological support seeking, while others can have a protective effect and are associated with more help-seeking behavior (Iwamoto et al, 2018;Wong et al, 2017). The findings extend the current literature by examining these research questions with a diverse sample of emerging adult men from low-income areas, a group underrepresented in the literature.…”

“…Strategies put forth include gender-sensitive staff training, the use of gender-sensitive language in public health campaigns and counseling, a "male-positive" approach that recognizes men's assets and engages men as partners, and activities to improve men's emotional expression and communication (Robertson et al, 2018). In tandem with other similarly aimed studies (Iwamoto et al, 2018;Wong et al, 2017), this study has implications for the tailoring of outreach messaging and counseling to engage and retain young men in mental health services. This study's findings reinforce the need to reconfigure masculine toughness norms in order to improve men's capacity to engage in psychological services, which may increase young men's substance use, hinder their emotional expression, and exacerbate stigma associated with help seeking (Vogel et al, 2014).…”

“…Future research should seek to further dissect the context-and population-specific effects of masculine norms on depression and psychological help seeking. This is only the second study after Iwamoto et al (2018) to use longitudinal data to understand the impact of masculine norms on prospective depressive symptomology. This study strengthens the existing evidence base of primarily cross-sectional studies and extends this literature by examining substance use and hostility as secondary outcomes.…”

“…Conformity to dimensions of "self-reliance," "power over women," and "playboy" (i.e., desire to have multiple sexual partners) were consistently associated with unfavorable mental health-related outcomes, whereas conformity to the masculine norm of "primacy of work" was not significantly related to any mental health-related outcome. Specific to depression, a recent prospective study among college men reported greater risk for depression among men who endorsed the masculine norms of "self-reliance," "playboy", and "violence" and less depressive symptomatology among those endorsing "winning" and "power over women" (Iwamoto et al, 2018). "Winning" and the related construct of "status" (i.e., striving for success and power) have been positively associated with other positive health outcomes and treatment-seeking behavior (e.g., less substance use, healthy diet, use of general health services; Gordon et al, 2013;Salgado et al, 2019).…”

“…This literature highlights the need for more research that examines the population-and context-specific multidimensional effect of masculine norms on depression, related mental health outcomes, and mental health service engagement. Only one study to date has used longitudinal data to understand masculine norms and depression (Iwamoto et al, 2018), highlighting the need for more prospective studies with this aim. The specific aims of this study were to explore the effect of dimensions of masculine norms ("status," "toughness," "anti-femininity") on (a) depression, substance use, and hostility and (b) mental health service utilization among an ethnically and racially diverse sample of emerging adult men from low-income neighborhoods.…”