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
Recommended Citation
Shine, Zahra S., "Masculine norms, psychological symptom severity, and intentions to seek formal help in male college students" (2019). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 312.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/312
Included in
Clinical Psychology Commons, Counseling Psychology Commons, Health Psychology Commons, Multicultural Psychology Commons, Personality and Social Contexts Commons, Social Psychology Commons