- Study found three traditionally sexist attitudes cause poor mental health – playboy attitude, being self-reliant, and wanting power over women
- Men with these attitudes more likely to develop depression, study said
- But these men were also less likely to seek mental health treatment
Mia De Graaf For Dailymail.com
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Sexism is bad for men’s mental health, new research reveals.
Scientists studied 20,000 men, analyzing how strongly they conformed to 11 typical ideas of masculinity.
They found that men who wanted power over women, had a ‘playboy attitude’, and insisted on being self-reliant were significantly more depressed than others.
But disconcertingly, those men were also less likely to seek mental health treatment.
The American Psychological Association says the findings should act as a warning to dispel the ‘snowflake’ reputation afforded men’s mental health treatment.
Sexism ‘bad for mental health’: Men who wanted power over women, had a ‘playboy attitude’, and insisted on being self-reliant were significantly more depressed than others
Lead author Dr Y. Joel Wong, of Indiana University Bloomington, said he was surprised by how strongly sexism and poor mental health were associated.
‘It underscores the idea that sexism is not merely a social injustice, but may also have a detrimental effect on the mental health of those who embrace such attitudes,’ he added.
‘In general, individuals who conformed strongly to masculine norms tended to have poorer mental health and less favorable attitudes toward seeking psychological help.’
Dr Wong and his colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of 78 research samples involving 19,453 participants.
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Each study focused on the relationship between mental health and 11 norms generally considered to reflect society’s expectations of traditional masculinity.
These were:
- desire to win
- eed for emotional control
- risk-taking
- violence
- dominance
- playboy (sexual promiscuity)
- self-reliance
- primacy of work (importance placed on one’s job)
- power over women
- disdain for homosexuality
- pursuit of status
After recording each man’s social attitudes, they looked at their mental health, and whether they have sought treatment.
The biggest drivers for poor mental health were: a playboy attitude, insistence on being self-reliant, and wanting power over women.
The one factor that did not detrimentally affect mental health was ‘primacy of work’ – prioritizing one’s job.
‘Primacy of work was not significantly associated with any of the mental health-related outcomes,’ said Wong.
‘Perhaps this is a reflection of the complexity of work and its implications for well-being.
‘An excessive focus on work can be harmful to one’s health and interpersonal relationships, but work is also a source of meaning for many individuals.’
Meanwhile, conformity to the masculine norm of risk-taking was significantly associated with both negative and positive mental health outcomes, suggesting that risk-taking can have both positive and negative psychological consequences, said Wong.
Most of the studies focused on predominantly white males, which limited the study somewhat.
However, there was some that focused predominantly on African-Americans and some on Asian-Americans.
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