Wahto Rachel, Swift Joshua K
University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK, USA.
University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK, USA
Am J Mens Health. 2016 May;10(3):181-91. doi: 10.1177/1557988314561491. Epub 2014 Dec 11.
Despite a comparable need, research has indicated that on average men hold more negative attitudes toward psychological help seeking than women. Several researchers have suggested that the gender gap in service use and attitudes could be addressed through efforts to better market psychological services to men; however, a limited number of studies have tested this hypothesis. This study examined whether altering the labels for mental health providers (psychologist or counselor), settings (mental health clinic or counseling center), and treatments (problem or feeling focused) could result in less perceived stigma (social and self) by men. Participants, 165 male college students, were asked to read one of eight randomly assigned vignettes that described a man who was experiencing symptoms of depression and was considering seeking help. The vignettes differed in the labels that were used to describe the help that was being considered. Participants then completed measures assessing the stigma (self and social) associated with the treatment, and their preexisting experience of gender-role conflict and attitudes toward psychological help seeking. In summary, perceived stigma did not depend on the type of label that was used; however, 59% of the variance in attitudes was predicted by self-stigma (uniquely explaining 11%), gender-role conflict (uniquely explaining 10%), and social stigma (uniquely explaining 5%). Specifically, higher levels of gender-role conflict, social stigma, and self-stigma were associated with more negative attitudes toward psychological help seeking. Based on the demographics of the sample, these findings primarily have implications for Caucasian college-educated young adult men. Further limitations with the study and recommendations for future research are discussed.
尽管有类似需求，但研究表明，平均而言，男性对寻求心理帮助的态度比女性更为消极。几位研究人员认为，通过努力更好地向男性推销心理服务，可以解决服务使用和态度方面的性别差距；然而，只有少数研究检验了这一假设。本研究考察了改变心理健康服务提供者的标签（心理学家或咨询师）、服务场所（心理健康诊所或咨询中心）以及治疗方式（关注问题或感受）是否会减少男性所感受到的耻辱感（社会耻辱感和自我耻辱感）。165名男性大学生参与者被要求阅读八个随机分配的小短文之一，这些短文描述了一名正在经历抑郁症状并考虑寻求帮助的男性。短文在描述所考虑的帮助时使用的标签有所不同。参与者随后完成了评估与治疗相关的耻辱感（自我耻辱感和社会耻辱感）的测量，以及他们先前的性别角色冲突经历和对寻求心理帮助的态度。总之，所感受到的耻辱感并不取决于所使用的标签类型；然而，态度差异的59%可由自我耻辱感（独特解释率为11%）、性别角色冲突（独特解释率为10%）和社会耻辱感（独特解释率为5%）预测。具体而言，较高水平的性别角色冲突、社会耻辱感和自我耻辱感与对寻求心理帮助的更消极态度相关。基于样本的人口统计学特征，这些发现主要适用于受过大学教育的白人青年男性。文中还讨论了该研究的进一步局限性以及对未来研究的建议。
