Gender Role Conflict and Psychological Distress: the Role of Social Support

Recent theoretical work in the psychology of men suggests that the negative consequences associated with traditional male gender roles might be lessened for men who experience a sense of social support. However, little research exists exploring how men adaptively utilize social support. Using a sample of 396 male participants, this study explores whether social support mediates or moderates the relationship between gender role conflict and psychological distress. Results demonstrate that social support acts as a mediator only between Restricted Emotionality and psychological distress as well as Restricted Affectionate Behavior Between Men and psychological distress. Furthermore, social support moderated only Restricted Affectionate Behavior Between Men and psychological distress.

[1]  Ronald F. Levant.  The new psychology of men. , 1996 .

[2]  J. Rieser,et al.  A Century of Developmental Psychology , 1995 .

[3]  James M. O'Neil,et al.  Fifteen years of theory and research on men's gender role conflict: New paradigms for empirical research. , 1995 .

[4]  James L. Campbell,et al.  Gender role conflict and family environment as predictors of men's marital satisfaction , 1992 .

[5]  Phyllis A. Katz,et al.  Sex roles: A journal of research , 1975 .

[6]  R. Donatelle,et al.  The Impact of Gender Role Conflict on Multidimensional Social Support in Older Men , 2004 .

[7]  J. Mahalik,et al.  Men's Gender Role Conflict and Use of Psychological Defenses , 1998 .

[8]  K. E. Barron,et al.  Testing Moderator and Mediator Effects in Counseling Psychology Research. , 2004 .

[9]  R. Levant,et al.  Men and sex: New psychological perspectives. , 1997 .

[10]  N. Betz,et al.  Gender as a moderator of the relationships of stress and social support to physical health in college students , 1991 .

[11]  S. Wester,et al.  Sex Differences in Emotion , 2002 .

[12]  Steven D. Brown,et al.  Handbook of applied multivariate statistics and mathematical modeling , 2000 .

[13]  Christopher Blazina.  Analytic psychology and gender role conflict: The development of the fragile masculine self. , 2001 .

[14]  A. Vaux.  Assessment of social support. , 1992 .

[15]  Alan Vaux,et al.  The Social Support Process in Men: Overcoming Sex-Role Obstacles , 1987 .

[16]  D. Russell,et al.  Social support, stress, and depressive symptoms among the elderly: test of a process model. , 1991, Psychology and aging.

[17]  L. Fitzgerald,et al.  Overcoming the masculine mystique : preferences for alternative forms of assistance among men who avoid counseling , 1992 .

[18]  L. Fitzgerald,et al.  Male gender role conflict: Psychometric issues and relations to psychological distress. , 1995 .

[19]  D. Vogel,et al.  The Experiences in Close Relationship Scale (ECR)-Short Form: Reliability, Validity, and Factor Structure , 2007, Journal of personality assessment.

[20]  G. Brooks.  Counseling and Psychotherapy for Male Military Veterans. , 2005 .

[21]  J. O'neil,et al.  Summarizing 25 Years of Research on Men's Gender Role Conflict Using the Gender Role Conflict Scale , 2008 .

[22]  H. Veiel,et al.  The meaning and measurement of social support , 1992 .

[23]  P. P. Heppner,et al.  Gender role, gender-role conflict, and psychological well-being in men , 1991 .

[24]  Martin Heesacker,et al.  Gender-Based Emotional Stereotyping. , 1999 .

[25]  S. Maxwell,et al.  Issues in the Use and Application of Multiple Regression Analysis , 2000 .

[26]  James R. Mahalik.  Gender Role Conflict in Men as a Predictor of Self-Ratings of Behavior on the Interpersonal Circle , 2000 .

[27]  Laurie B. Mintz,et al.  Gender Role Conflict and Depression in College Men: Evidence for Compounded Risk , 1990 .

[28]  A. Cummings,et al.  Stress, Self-Efficacy, Social Support, and Coping Strategies in University Students , 2001 .

[29]  A. Horne,et al.  Men mentoring men in groups. , 1996 .

[30]  S. Owen,et al.  Predictors of adult men's gender-role conflict : race, class, unemployment, age, instrumentality-expressiveness, and personal strain , 1991 .

[31]  Lynda A. King,et al.  Resilience-recovery factors in post-traumatic stress disorder among female and male Vietnam veterans: hardiness, postwar social support, and additional stressful life events. , 1998, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[32]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[33]  Bu Huang,et al.  A longitudinal evaluation of a social support model of medication adherence among HIV-positive men and women on antiretroviral therapy. , 2006, Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association.

[34]  Andrew P. Smiler.  Thirty Years After the Discovery of Gender: Psychological Concepts and Measures of Masculinity , 2004 .

[35]  R. Levant,et al.  New psychotherapy for men. , 1998 .

[36]  Glenn E. Good,et al.  The new handbook of psychotherapy and counseling with men : a comprehensive guide to settings, problems, and treatment approaches , 2001 .

[37]  Laurie B. Mintz,et al.  Male role and gender role conflict: Relations to help seeking in men. , 1989 .

[38]  Christopher Blazina,et al.  The Relationship between Masculinity Ideology, Loneliness, and Separation-Individuation Difficulties , 2007 .

[39]  A New Psychotherapy for Traditional Men , 2000 .

[40]  L. Wrightsman,et al.  Gender-role conflict scale: College men's fear of femininity , 1986 .

[41]  S. Wester,et al.  Supporting the Thin Blue Line: Gender-Sensitive Therapy With Male Police Officers. , 2005 .

[42]  S. Wester,et al.  Working with the masculine mystique: Male gender role conflict, counseling self-efficacy, and the training of male psychologists. , 2002 .