Men’s Depression and Health: The Moderating Role of Conformity to Masculine Norms
Men’s Depression and Health: The Moderating Role of Conformity to Masculine Norms
Project Summary
Depression is a biopsychosocial condition that often co-occurs with physical health issues (Mahalik, 2008; Sanna et al., 2013). Additionally, men’s constructions of their gender affect their health behaviors via specific scripts for health and lifestyle (Courtenay 200, 2001). The study examined whether men’s depression predicts their report of health behaviors, health beliefs mediate the relationship between men’s depression and health behaviors, and whether conformity to masculine norms moderates these relationships.
Approach
Online survey data collection, moderated-mediation analyses.
Key Findings
Results indicated that (a) depression predicted more perceived barriers to healthy behaviors and fewer health-promoting behaviors, (b) perceived barriers to engaging in heart-healthy behaviors predicted health behaviors and mediated the relationship between depression and health behaviors, (c) greater perceived benefits, emotional control, self-reliance, and power over women predicted health behaviors, and (d) conformity to emotional control masculine norms moderated the effect of perceived barriers to health behaviors.