Men who believe that have power over women are most likely to have poorer mental health. A study published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology shows that men who conform the normal masculine norms are less likely going to seek help for psychological issues. Indiana University researchers made a meta-analysis that combines data from many previously published studies. They analyzed 80 studies with 19.453 participants. The studies were focused on the relationship between traditional male gender norms and mental health.
The traditional gender norms are actually socially constructed ideas that tell women and men how to behave. The meta-analysis used scales that rely on 11 masculine norms. Those 11 dimensions of masculine norms are: emotional control, winning, dominance, risk-taking, violence, self-reliance, primacy of work, pursuit of playboy behavior, disdain for homosexuals, power over women and pursuit of status. The goal of the meta-analysis was to measure which of these dimensions were associated with negative or positive mental health and psychological help seeking. Believe it or not but 9 dimensions were associated with poorer mental health. Researchers found that pursuit of playboy behavior, self-reliance and power over women were the main dimensions that are associated with poor mental health.
On the other hand, Australian researchers that were not involved with the study have cautioned that the study adopts a very simplified and outdated approach to the matter. They claim that the study fails to address the complexities of masculinity; cultural, diverse sexual orientation and ethnic background.
“It’s an idea and view of examining men and men’s lives that I think is problematic for a lot of reasons,” said Dr Jo River, a researcher in men’s health and suicide prevention from the University of Sydney.
“The key thing is that men’s attitudes towards ideals of masculinity don’t tell us about the power relationships among men and masculinities, and how this impacts on the mental health outcomes for some men, in particular how men from diverse backgrounds are impacted by those men who choose to embody these dominant ideals of masculinity.”
Professor Raewyn Connell from the University of Sydney explains that it’s very unwise to draw conclusion from the research.
“The statistical technique of meta-analysis has value for some purposes, but always adds further difficulties of interpretation. To think this report could tell us anything clear and substantial about men in general is a major stretch,” said Professor Connell.
“The scales of masculinity, supposed to be precise measures of conformity to masculine norms, are based on a very simplified, indeed outdated, concept of role norms.”