The Relationships between Masculinity Variables, Health Risk Behaviors and Attitudes toward Seeking Psychological Help

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to directly compare traditional masculinity ideology, conformity to masculine norms, and gender role conflict to determine to what degree these masculinity variables are associated with self-reported risky health behaviors and negative attitudes toward seeking psychological help. Based on correlational analyses of the responses of 137 college men, higher gender role conflict was related to greater risky health behaviors, and higher levels of all three masculinity variables were related to more negative attitudes toward seeking psychological help. Using regression analyses, higher gender role conflict was a unique predictor of greater health risk behaviors, but traditional masculinity ideology was, unexpectedly, inversely associated with risky health behaviors. Conformity to masculine norms was a unique predictor of negative attitudes toward seeking psychological help. The limitations resulting from the overlap of the masculinity measures, the psychometric properties of the health risks measure, and the use of a college sample, as well as implications for practice and suggestions for future research, are discussed.