Men’s head and heart: Health beliefs mediating depression’s relationship to heart-healthy behaviors.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to test whether health beliefs mediate the relationship between men's depression and their report of heart-healthy behaviors. Four hundred thirty-five participant men were recruited online from 50 states and completed an online survey of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, Cardiac-Related Health Behaviors Index, and the Health Belief Model Heart Disease Scale in randomized order. Path analysis using Hayes' PROCESS model was conducted to test mediation, and results indicated that (a) depression predicted fewer health-promoting behaviors and (b) men's health beliefs (perceived benefits and barriers to engaging in heart-healthy behaviors) mediated the relationship between depression and health behaviors. Efforts to increase men's adoption of heart-healthy behaviors should address how depression affects men's health, and focus psychoeducation on specific beliefs about health associated with depression, particularly barriers to heart-healthy behaviors and self-care related to depression. Future directions for research and practice are discussed. Public Significance StatementMen's depression and health-risk behaviors are understood as co-occurring and contributing to negative outcomes from human suffering to economic losses of productivity. The findings suggest that men's depression is associated with beliefs that there are fewer benefits and more barriers to heart-healthy behaviors which, in turn, explain adopting riskier health behaviors.

Men’s depressive symptoms, health beliefs, masculinity, and heart-healthy behaviors: Examining moderators of a mediated model.

“…The findings also extend Mahalik et al’s (2021) study by incorporating masculine norms into the model. That emotional control moderated the relationship between health beliefs and health behaviors supports both theoretical positions that masculinity is often constructed to incorporate health risk behaviors that show a lack of concern for self-care (Bunton & Crawshaw, 2002; Courtenay, 2000), as well as empirical studies demonstrating this relationship between masculinity and health behaviors (e.g., Iwamoto et al, 2011; Levant & Wimer, 2014; Mahalik et al, 2007, 2015).…”

“…Findings from the study provide additional support for the importance of previously identified psychological variables contributing to men’s cardiac health including depressive symptoms (Ameringer & Leventhal, 2010; Bonnet et al, 2005; Conner et al, 2009; Ng & Jeffery, 2003; Verger et al, 2009), health beliefs (Becker & Rosenstock, 1984; Rom Korin et al, 2012), and conformity to masculine norms (Iwamoto et al, 2011; Levant & Wimer, 2014; Mahalik & Burns, 2011; Mahalik et al, 2007, 2015). Replicating Mahalik et al’s (2021) findings, men’s depressive symptoms related to perceiving fewer benefits and more barriers to heart-healthy behaviors, which in turn related to adopting fewer heart-healthy behaviors. However, this study expanded upon those findings suggesting that men’s constructions of gender were important to consider as they related to perceived barriers directly, heart-healthy behaviors directly, and contributed to explaining men’s heart-healthy behaviors with emotional control magnifying the strength of the relationship between barriers and heart-healthy behaviors.…”

“…Applied to men's coronary disease, the model posits that men would be more likely to engage in heart-healthy behaviors if they believed they would produce benefits (e.g., living longer) that outweigh their barriers/costs (e.g., inconvenience). Mahalik et al (2021) found support for this conceptualization when they examined depressive symptoms in relation to the health belief model, reporting that depressive symptoms predicted fewer health-promoting behaviors and that men's health beliefs (i.e., perceived benefits and barriers to engaging in hearthealthy behaviors) mediated the relationship between depressive symptoms and health behaviors. As such, the study found support for the indirect effect of depressive symptoms on men's health behaviors but did not examine this effect in the context of masculine gender roles which have long been recognized as explaining significant variance in both depression (see Wong et al, 2017) and men's health behaviors (see Courtenay, 2000Courtenay, , 2011.…”

“…As such, the study found support for the indirect effect of depressive symptoms on men’s health behaviors but did not examine this effect in the context of masculine gender roles which have long been recognized as explaining significant variance in both depression (see Wong et al, 2017) and men’s health behaviors (see Courtenay, 2000, 2011). In this study, we seek to replicate the Mahalik et al (2021) study to determine whether there is consistent support for the mediated effects model of depressive symptoms on men’s health behaviors, as well as to determine the contribution that men’s conformity to masculine norms typically associated with depressive symptoms makes to that model. Below, we discuss the potential moderating role that men’s conformity to masculine norms may play in this mediated model.…”

Do Human Capital Investment and Technological Innovation Have a Permanent Effect on Population Health? An Asymmetric Analysis of BRICS Economies

“…However, though, as the investment in human capital spurs economic activity, this can also harm the quality of the environment ( 21 , 22 ), which will deteriorate the health status of the general public as well. Contrariwise, human capital can also improve the environmental quality of society through better and more sophisticated techniques of production, efficient use of energy, increased use of environmentally friendly products, and creating awareness about the greener and cleaner environment ( 23 ). Several studies show that a cleaner and greener environment certainly tends to have a positive impact on people's health—be it physical, emotional or psychological in nature ( 24 , 25 ).…”