Introduction
Humans experience the expectations that society has for their gender as soon as they enter the world. This ranges from the colors and toys that are acceptable for each gender to like, all the way to the type of behaviors and attitudes that are expected from someone depending on their gender. Unfortunately, these gender expectations can have negative consequences, one of them being that they partly contribute to the high suicide rate in men. How gender expectations of masculinity is connected to the high male suicide rate will be addressed through examining the research on the prevalence of the issue, how it is a wider social concern, theories and consequences surrounding it, and the nature of the problem in regards to future interventions. …show more content…
Addis and Mahalik (2003) discuss two theories that attempt to explain why gender differences in help seeking, a contributing factor to the higher male suicide rate, exist: feminist theory and social constructionist theory. Feminist theory suggests that men and women learn gendered attitudes, roles, and behaviors from cultural values, norms, and ideologies. In the case of gender differences in help seeking, the messages that men receive from society, such as self-reliance and emotional control, conflict with the characteristics associated with seeking help from a mental health professional, such as admitting a need for help or recognizing an emotional problem. In addition, men may benefit in some ways as a group by avoiding and discouraging help seeking because it maintains positions of dominance by hiding apparent weaknesses. As a result of these gender expectations and perceived benefits of dominance, men do not receive the mental health services they need in order to manage their mental health issues, which, in turn, increases their risk factor for suicide. …show more content…
Thus, according to Addid and Mahalik (2003), what men believe about masculinity was learned through their interactions with others and the social environment they grew up in. For example, a male athlete who does not let others know about pain regarding an injury is commended for his intensity and commitment. These labels reinforce stoicism as positive aspects of masculinity, while reinforcing that help-seeking is a sign of weakness. The case is the same in regards to mental health; as men interact with other males in their environment, their knowledge about what it means to be masculine is constructed, and this construction of masculinity typically looks down on help-seeking behaviors. This results in men being reluctant to get the mental health services they need for fear of not fitting to what their construction of masculine is (2003). Both feminist theory and social constructionist theory provide potential explanations as to why men seek out mental health services less than women, and this, in turn, helps explain the higher suicide rate in
Humans experience the expectations that society has for their gender as soon as they enter the world. This ranges from the colors and toys that are acceptable for each gender to like, all the way to the type of behaviors and attitudes that are expected from someone depending on their gender. Unfortunately, these gender expectations can have negative consequences, one of them being that they partly contribute to the high suicide rate in men. How gender expectations of masculinity is connected to the high male suicide rate will be addressed through examining the research on the prevalence of the issue, how it is a wider social concern, theories and consequences surrounding it, and the nature of the problem in regards to future interventions. …show more content…
Addis and Mahalik (2003) discuss two theories that attempt to explain why gender differences in help seeking, a contributing factor to the higher male suicide rate, exist: feminist theory and social constructionist theory. Feminist theory suggests that men and women learn gendered attitudes, roles, and behaviors from cultural values, norms, and ideologies. In the case of gender differences in help seeking, the messages that men receive from society, such as self-reliance and emotional control, conflict with the characteristics associated with seeking help from a mental health professional, such as admitting a need for help or recognizing an emotional problem. In addition, men may benefit in some ways as a group by avoiding and discouraging help seeking because it maintains positions of dominance by hiding apparent weaknesses. As a result of these gender expectations and perceived benefits of dominance, men do not receive the mental health services they need in order to manage their mental health issues, which, in turn, increases their risk factor for suicide. …show more content…
Thus, according to Addid and Mahalik (2003), what men believe about masculinity was learned through their interactions with others and the social environment they grew up in. For example, a male athlete who does not let others know about pain regarding an injury is commended for his intensity and commitment. These labels reinforce stoicism as positive aspects of masculinity, while reinforcing that help-seeking is a sign of weakness. The case is the same in regards to mental health; as men interact with other males in their environment, their knowledge about what it means to be masculine is constructed, and this construction of masculinity typically looks down on help-seeking behaviors. This results in men being reluctant to get the mental health services they need for fear of not fitting to what their construction of masculine is (2003). Both feminist theory and social constructionist theory provide potential explanations as to why men seek out mental health services less than women, and this, in turn, helps explain the higher suicide rate in