Vickery Alex
Centre for Research in Health and Social Care, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
Front Sociol. 2021 Nov 26;6:724843. doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2021.724843. eCollection 2021.
There is a widely accepted dominant narrative surrounding men's mental health help-seeking, that men are less likely to pursue formal mental health support on account of hegemonic masculine ideals that limit emotional expression and vulnerability. Across the literature, little attention has been given to the varied ways in which men can and will seek out help when experiencing mental health troubles. This paper reports findings from a qualitative study of men's experiences of distress, specifically focused on their help-seeking and everyday coping and management of distress. Between 2016 and 2017, 38 individual interviews were carried out in South Wales, United Kingdom, with men of a range of ages (21-74 years of age) and social backgrounds. Analysis identifies nuanced help-seeking practices and pathways, emphasizing ways in which men can and will engage with mental health support. Some men struggled with articulating personal issues in mental health terms, and some portrayed ambivalence to help-seeking, yet at the same time reconstructed help-seeking to positively align with masculine values. The paper further highlights the significant influence of familial and friendship networks in the help-seeking process as well as the value of therapy for men experiencing mental health difficulties, challenging the idea that masculinity inhibits the disclosure of emotional problems. Awareness of the diversity of ways in which men can actively engage with their mental health is needed so that mental health support interventions and practitioners can best reach out to men experiencing distress and provide gender-sensitive support suitable to a range of different men.
关于男性寻求心理健康帮助，存在一种广泛被接受的主流叙事，即由于霸权男性理想限制了情感表达和脆弱性，男性不太可能寻求正式的心理健康支持。在整个文献中，很少有人关注男性在经历心理健康问题时能够且将会寻求帮助的各种方式。本文报告了一项关于男性痛苦经历的定性研究结果，特别关注他们寻求帮助以及日常应对和管理痛苦的方式。2016年至2017年期间，在英国南威尔士对一系列年龄（21 - 74岁）和社会背景的男性进行了38次个人访谈。分析确定了细微的寻求帮助行为和途径，强调了男性能够且将会参与心理健康支持的方式。一些男性难以用心理健康术语阐述个人问题，一些人对寻求帮助表现出矛盾态度，但同时又将寻求帮助重新构建为与男性价值观积极契合。本文进一步强调了家庭和友谊网络在寻求帮助过程中的重大影响，以及心理治疗对有心理健康困难的男性的价值，挑战了男性气质会抑制情感问题披露的观点。需要认识到男性能够积极关注自身心理健康的方式具有多样性，以便心理健康支持干预措施和从业者能够更好地接触到处于痛苦中的男性，并提供适合不同男性的性别敏感支持。
