Graduation Date

Summer 2019

Document Type

Thesis

Program

Master of Arts degree with a major in Psychology, option Counseling

Committee Chair Name

Carrie Aigner

Committee Chair Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Second Committee Member Name

Elena Padron

Second Committee Member Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Third Committee Member Name

Benjamin Graham

Third Committee Member Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Keywords

Masculinity, Help-seeking, Symptom severity, Mental health, Counseling services, Seeking help, Accessing care, Utilizing services, Counseling center, Males, College students, Men, Masculine, Manhood, Precarious Manhood theory, Moderation, Interaction

Subject Categories

Psychology

Abstract

Research has consistently found men to be less likely than women to seek help for mental health symptoms. Additionally, greater symptom severity is related to higher levels of help seeking, although this relationship is less clear among men. Greater conformity to masculine norms may help to explain the relationship between symptom severity and help seeking among men. The present study aimed to further research on men’s help-seeking by examining whether conformity to masculine norms would moderate the relationship between symptom severity and help-seeking intentions in male college students (N = 89). A multiple regression analysis was conducted with all three predictors entered into the same model. Inconsistent with hypotheses, results did not find conformity to masculine norms, psychological symptom severity, or their interaction to significantly predict intentions to seek formal help for mental or emotional problems. Given that the study was underpowered, the chance that the nonsignificant findings are due to Type II errors is high in the present study. Future research should aim to recruit a larger sample including men experiencing a wider range of symptom severity.

Citation Style

APA

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