Theses and Dissertations

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6487-6963

Advisor

Nadorff, Michael R.

Committee Member

McKinney, Cliff

Committee Member

Stafford, Ty W.D.

Committee Member

Robertson, Mary Nelson

Date of Degree

8-13-2024

Original embargo terms

Immediate Worldwide Access

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Major

Applied Psychology (Clinical Psychology)

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Psychology

Abstract

Men experience high rates of negative health outcomes and often have difficulty identifying and seeking support for their issues. Traditional masculine socialization has been identified as a potential determinant of this effect, as masculine ideals often conflict with prosocial help-seeking behaviors. Men who experience this sort of socialization need better support for their mental health and are less likely to seek it out in a professional setting. Therefore, other models of support, like social support, should be investigated. Additionally, factors that impact the way that men perceive social support should be explored, one of which may be self-compassion. The current study examined the ways in which men who adhere to traditional masculine norms perceive social support and if that can be impacted by self-compassion, both by their own tendency to be compassionate to themselves and by a self-compassion induction. Hypotheses were tested that examined the associations among these constructs and any moderating effects that may be present. An online survey was conducted with a sample of 198 men from the US with self-report measures of traditional masculine ideology, gender role conflict, self-compassion, and perceived social support. Next, participants were randomly assigned to a self-compassion induction or control writing task, followed by a perceived social support vignette task in which they rated offered support on its perceived helpfulness. Hypotheses were generally supported—some aspects of masculine socialization were negatively associated with self-reported perceived social support. Self-reported self-compassion was not a significant moderator of this effect. However, the self-compassion induction moderated the association between perceived helpfulness in the vignette task and some aspects of masculine socialization—Men who were lower on this aspect of masculine socialization who received the self-compassion induction perceived the social support as less helpful than those who received the control. However, when this aspect was high, participants who received the induction perceived the support as more helpful. Furthermore, gender role conflict was positively associated with perceived helpfulness. These findings illustrate the complexity involved in understanding the role of masculine socialization in how men may engage with their environment and ultimately how they might improve their mental health outcomes.

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