Sometimes You Need More than a Wingman: Masculinity, Femininity, and the Role of Humor in Men's Mental Health Help-Seeking Campaigns

Abstract

The clinical literature has consistently documented that men seek help for mental health less often than do women, although they suffer from mental illness at comparable rates. This is particularly troublesome as depression and anxiety in men are more likely to manifest in substance abuse and suicidal behavior. This gender discrepancy in help-seeking may be explained by the social psychological literature on traditional masculinity, which has been associated with stigmatizing thoughts about mental illness and opposition to help-seeking. The present research explored this link between masculinity and mental health help-seeking, including the use of affiliative humor in public awareness messages about help-seeking for mental health. We hypothesized that incorporating light humor into this campaign might reframe help-seeking in a less threatening way, effectively circumventing the defensive reactions of masculine men. Across three studies, we presented young men with ads encouraging them to reach out to a friend suffering from anxiety or depression. Consistently, the perceived funniness of the ads predicted their persuasiveness without increasing stigma or trivializing the issue of mental health. Masculinity did not in fact predict stigmatizing and defensive thoughts about mental illness; rather, men's femininity emerged as the strongest and most consistent predictor of these reactions.