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Conformity to masculine norms and self-stigma of help-seeking are not unique barriers to formal help-seeking in men, but are also relevant for women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

N. Komlenac ,
F. Maresch ,
E. Lamp  and
M. Hochleitner
N. Komlenac*
Affiliation:
Medical University of Innsbruck, Gender Medicine Unit, Innsbruck, Austria
F. Maresch
Affiliation:
Medical University of Innsbruck, Gender Medicine Unit, Innsbruck, Austria
E. Lamp
Affiliation:
Medical University of Innsbruck, Gender Medicine Unit, Innsbruck, Austria
M. Hochleitner
Affiliation:
Medical University of Innsbruck, Gender Medicine Unit, Innsbruck, Austria
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Studies that explain men’s reduced willingness for formal help-seeking for depressive symptoms often did not analyze whether assumed unique barriers, namely, conformity to masculine norms (CMN), reduced self-compassion, and self-stigma are also linked to women’s help-seeking behavior.

Objectives

The current study analyzed whether CMN, self-compassion, and self-stigma for help-seeking are linked to women’s and men’s willingness to seek formal help for depressive symptoms.

Methods

German-speaking participants (N=481; 68.8% women, 31.2% men; Mage=35.6, SD=14.2) of an online-questionnaire study read a vignette about a character with depressive symptoms. Participants indicated how likely they would be to seek medical or psychological help if they were in the character’s situation. Furthermore, the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory, Self-Stigma of Seeking Help scale, and Self-Compassion Scale were used.

Results

Women and men were moderately willing to seek formal help for depressive symptoms. A manifest path model revealed that strong CMN and low self-compassion were linked to strong self-stigma in women and men. Strong self-stigma was associated with reduced help-seeking intentions. In men with low self-compassion CMN was directly linked to reduced willingness for help-seeking. In women and men with strong self-compassion no direct, but indirect links between CMN and reduced help-seeking intentions via self-stigma were found.

Conclusions

CMN and self-stigma of help-seeking were not unique barriers in men, but also were relevant for women’s formal help-seeking intentions. Even though increased self-compassion was associated with decreased self-stigma, interventions that aim to increase self-compassion may not help increase help-seeking behaviors.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

help-seekingdepressive symptomsconformity to masculine normsself-stigma
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S611 - S612
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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