Men with macho outlook face a greater risk of mental health problems

The 78 studies evaluated 19,453 men's conformity with 11 behavioral norms associated with traditional notions of masculinity: the desire to win, risk-taking, the need for emotional control, violence, dominance, playboy-like promiscuity, self-reliance, primacy of work, power over women, disdain for homosexuality and the pursuit of status.

According to the researchers' findings, a high level of conformity with all of these norms was positively correlated with negative mental and physical health outcomes. However, this phenomenon was even more pronounced with regard to the three norms of self-reliance, the pursuit of playboy behavior and power over women.

As the study's lead author, Joel Wong, explains, the latter of these two norms are the ones “most closely associated with sexist attitudes."

With regard to their mental health, men who conform strongly with masculine norms are reluctant to talk about negative emotions or mental distress and less likely to seek professional help when faced with symptoms of depression. According to the latest findings, this was particularly the case with Latino-Americans in the various study samples.

At the same time, the new study remarks that men's physical health may also be put at risk by a misplaced sense of male pride that leads them to hide or downplay symptoms of illness.

It is worth noting that men with a high conformity to masculine norms prefer to confide in female doctors, even though they may view them as inferior to their male colleagues.