HOW DO HELP-SEEKING BEHAVIOURS AND GENDER NORMS CONNECT TO DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE DEPRESSION STATISTICS?
Gender norms are deeply ingrained in us and are something that we learn as we grow up. If someone does not adhere to typical gender norms stigmas can arise. From early childhood, many males are taught that 'boys don't cry' (Latalova, Kamaradova, & Prasko, 2014). According to Latalova, Kamaradova & Prasko's (2014) article, there are two main variants of stigmas related to mental illness. Public stigma relates to the negative perceptions held by others that a mentally ill person is undesirable. These perceptions lead to stigmatizing attitudes, prejudices, and actions by patients’ families and members of their community, sometimes including health care professionals. Self-stigma arises when an individual internalizes these prejudices and attitudes resulting in the development of lower self-esteem and negative thoughts towards themselves (Latalova, Kamaradova, & Prasko, 2014). Conformity to dominant masculine gender norms can lead to self-stigmatization in depressed men because they feel as if they should be able to cope with their illness without receiving professional help. Considering self and public stigmas in relation to dominant masculine culture provides critical insight into the large influence that dominant masculine norms have on help-seeking behaviours in western society males. Posted below is a video in which Canadians are asked what they know about men's mental health. This video helps to create a meaningful discussion surrounding men's mental health.
Now we can see that self-stigmas related to dominant masculine norms has a large influence on males and help-seeking behaviours. Now what exactly are help-seeking behaviours? To begin answering such a question requires an understanding of treatment gaps in mental health services. In the case of depression, more than 50% of individuals with diagnosable depression never seek treatment and even if they do seek treatment, the initial contact with the health care system is often delayed (Doblyte, & Jiménez-Mejías, 2016). In Doblyte and Jiménez-Mejías (2016) study on help-seeking behaviour in depression, help-seeking can be seen as an interruption or threat to ones integral identity, as recognizing symptoms as abnormal and interfering with everyday life can lead to an individual trying to guard their central roles as long as possible. One of the most prominent findings from this study was that the concept of ‘manly men do not seek help’ was perceived, as a major barrier to male is help seeking. A common report from this study was that: “[These] men felt social pressure to conform to masculine norms and to hide their negative emotions and depressive symptoms”. For men, the pressure to conform to dominant masculine norms combined with stigmas related to depression creates a challenge for male identity. Males risk losing their masculinity and face stigmas associated with depression if they choose to seek help and this can increase fears to seek treatment. Expressing emotions and asking help are socially constructed as a feminine behaviour, which challenges traditional masculine norms in which it is expected to appear strong, self-reliant and independent (Pattyn, Verhaeghe, & Bracke, 2015). It has been identified that symptoms of male depression differ from women, with potential symptoms that can include, anger and aggression, poor impulse control, alcohol and drug abuse, and restlessness (Lester, Gunn, & Quinnett, 2014, p. 25).
Taking all of this into consideration, we can begin to understand why and how there is such a discrepancy between male and female depression statistics. In summary, males tend to express reluctance in seeking treatment for their depressive symptoms, which can explain why there are such lower rates of male depression; males do not seek help in the first place thus resulting in underrepresentation in official statistics related to depression rates.