Men’s Intentions to Recommend Professional Help-Seeking to Their Partners in the Postpartum Period: the Direct and Indirect Effects of Gender-Role Conflict

Abstract

Women’s partners may act as facilitators of professional help-seeking for mental health problems in the postpartum period. This study aimed to examine the sociodemographic and clinical correlates of men’s intentions to recommend professional help-seeking to their partners if they display postpartum mood and anxiety disorders and to explore the relationship between gender-role conflict and the intention to recommend help-seeking. A cross-sectional study included 214 adult men in a heterosexual relationship with a partner within the reproductive age. Men presented a high intention to recommend professional help to their partners. All dimensions of gender-role conflict were directly associated with the intention to recommend professional help-seeking (p < 0.05). High levels of gender-role conflict (dimensions success, power and competition, and restricted emotionality) were found to lead to increased levels of stigma and lower levels of intention to seek professional help, which, in turn, translated into lower intention to recommend help-seeking. These results emphasize the importance of developing universal awareness-raising and education campaigns directed at men aiming to reduce levels of gender-role conflict and stigma, and normalize the use of mental health services, to increase men’s intentions to recommend professional help-seeking to their partners.

Stigma, Health and Well-Being

“…In addition to obesity, mental illness (including anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum (ASD), dementia, and depression) is another disease/condition that is largely studied with stigma. Luís et al [ 14 ] investigated 214 male adults having a heterosexual relationship with a reproductive-age partner who were suffering from postpartum mood and anxiety disorder in Coimbra. They applied structural equation modeling to quantify the association between stigma (possibly self-stigma) and intentions to recommend professional help-seeking.…”

Comparação Da Funcionalidade Entre Mulheres Na Gestação E No Pós-Parto: Um Estudo Longitudinal

“…No entanto, não foram feitos questionamentos detalhados sobre o papel dessa rede de apoio na divisão das atividades domésticas e dos cuidados com o bebê. A literatura sugere que o suporte familiar presente, estratégias de educação em saúde e uma assistência pré-natal e puerperal adequadas, podem contribuir para que a puérpera tenha uma rotina mais organizada de autocuidado (Luís et al, 2019;Dodou et al, 2017).…”