Comparative Analysis on Male Depression

Male Depression: Coping and Help-Seeking Behaviours

Lee Cheadle

************** University

Psychology B

Dr. *************

20th September 2023

Male Depression: Coping and Help-Seeking Behaviours

Depression can affect men in all stages of their lives, including when it is felt that a man could be at their happiest, for example, when their child is born. This essay aims to investigate the coping methods and help-seeking behaviour that men turn to when they feel depressed at different stages in their lives by critically analysing three studies. This is an essential topic as male depression is often left untreated due to the traditional masculine norms accepted in society that pressure men into feeling that they need to ‘suck it up’ or that seeking help is a sign of weakness that threatens their masculinity. For this reason, it is essential to understand male depression and behaviour to learn how to guide better and support them in seeking help for their depression. The main variables that change across the review of these three studies are related to the men's circumstances. The first paper (Spendelow, 2015) focuses on men of no specific type or circumstance, while (Pederson et al., 2021) focuses on men who are experiencing postpartum depression, and Camperton et al. (2020) focuses on stay-at-home fathers with depression. This essay will first critically analyse these three studies and then conclude with a synthesis. The analysis found that despite the differences in circumstance between the three different groups of men, essential similarities allowed for understanding the nature of male coping and help-seeking behaviours.

This section reviews Splendelow's (2015) paper on male depression, aiming to understand how men cope with depressive symptoms and seek help (Spendelow, 2015). The study included 323 participants aged 19 to 75 from Sweden, Finland, the UK, Canada, and the US. Splendelow analysed papers investigating men's self-reported coping strategies during the depression, identifying five key categories: promoting traditional masculinity, promoting flexible masculinity, social concealment, seeking support, and seeking new perspectives. Promoting traditional masculinity involved suppressing emotions, focusing on work and exercise, with substance use as a risk factor (Spendelow, 2015). Promoting flexible masculinity took two forms: recognising masculinity's adaptability and strategically interpreting stereotypes, such as seeking help to protect loved ones (Spendelow, 2015). Social concealment included denying or distracting from symptoms, justifying it as aligning with masculinity. Seeking support relied on friends, family, and religious or moral beliefs. Seeking new perspectives involved lifestyle changes and cognitive shifts (Spendelow, 2015). Spendelow (2015) acknowledged limitations, notably generalisation due to a predominantly White North American sample. This study found five coping and help-seeking categories heavily influenced by traditional masculine norms. Some men strategically reshaped these norms to seek help without compromising their masculinity.

In 2021, Pederson et al. studied men experiencing postpartum depression to examine factors facilitating or hindering help-seeking behaviours. Eight participants, aged 29 to 38, were recruited mainly through paternity groups and social media forums. Research data were collected via interviews using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Similar to Spendelow's (2015) study, Pederson et al. (2021) identified five factors influencing help-seeking: recognition and perception of depressive behaviours, knowledge and beliefs about postpartum depression, taboo, stigma, and adherence to masculine norms, the role of fathers' partners, and screening and perinatal healthcare services. Despite being aware of mood and behaviour changes, participants often delayed seeking help (Pederson et al., 2021). Some believed postpartum depression was exclusive to women, discouraging help-seeking (Pederson et al., 2021). Participants felt compelled to conform to masculine norms, downplaying symptoms and avoiding support (Pederson et al., 2021). Another obstacle was the perception of being the 'secondary parent,' with society prioritising mothers' opinions and health (Pederson et al., 2021). A significant barrier was the lack of resources and experienced professionals for paternal postpartum depression (Pederson et al., 2021). Pederson et al. (2021) acknowledged that the participants' retrospective reporting, as their children were aged one to five, might introduce recall bias. Despite these challenges, this study revealed that postpartum depression had a profound impact on participants, with help-seeking hampered by symptom recognition, misconceptions, adherence to masculine norms, prioritising mothers, and limited support resources.

Camperton et al. (2020) studied stay-at-home fathers, focusing on their depression and help-seeking behaviours. The study aimed to comprehend how these fathers experience depression and seek help for it. Twelve participants from the United States, aged 30 to 51, consisting of nine Caucasians, two Hispanics, and one African American, were interviewed, with data analysed by three researchers. The study revealed that many participants attempted to distract themselves from their symptoms by engaging in activities like playing video games. Some sought social connections online through social media platforms as a coping strategy. One participant mentioned talking to women on dating platforms when unable to contact their partner during the day (Camperton et al., 2020). Participants also reported using substances like alcohol and cannabis to alleviate their symptoms. Their primary motivation to seek help was to protect their family from the impacts of their depression. However, they faced barriers such as negative thoughts about treatment, past negative treatment experiences, a desire to solve issues independently, and financial constraints (Camperton et al., 2020). When participants did seek help, three-fourths engaged in professional therapy, while others sought support online through platforms like Facebook, which they found helpful (Camperton et al., 2020). One limitation of the study was the overrepresentation of wealthy, educated, heterosexual Caucasian men, potentially limiting the generalisability of the findings to stay-at-home fathers of different races, sexual orientations, educational backgrounds, and income levels (Camperton et al., 2020). This study showed that stay-at-home fathers coped with depression through distracting activities and were motivated to seek help to protect their families, mainly turning to professional assistance.

This review analyses three papers discussing male depression in various contexts: men in the broader community, men with postpartum depression, and stay-at-home fathers with depression. All aim to understand coping and help-seeking behaviours among depressed men and the influencing factors. Spendelow (2015) utilised 323 participants aged 19-75 from various countries, while Pederson et al. (2021) had eight men aged 29-38, and Camperton et al. (2020) included 12 participants aged 30-51. Pederson et al. (2021) and Camperton et al. (2020) employed interviews for data collection and analysis, whereas Spendelow (2015) analysed existing global studies. These studies revealed that traditional masculine norms heavily impacted male coping and help-seeking behaviours, leading many to ignore or distract themselves from depression. However, a typical pattern emerged across the three studies: men reframed seeking help as a masculine act, protecting their families from depressive symptoms. Two studies acknowledged generalisation issues due to participant similarities in race, sexuality, education, and income levels (Spendelow, 2015) (Camperton et al., 2020). Pederson et al. (2021) noted potential recall bias, as participants reported on past depression experiences. These papers explored coping and help-seeking behaviours in depressed men across different life situations, revealing differences and commonalities in how participants approached their depression.

This essay aimed to explore the behaviours of men with depression concerning coping methods and seeking help for depression through an analysis of three studies that investigated these behaviours from men in different circumstances: men without their own families, men with postpartum depression and stay-at-home fathers with depression. Each of the studies found that many of the participants chose to distract themselves or downplay the severity of their depression symptoms at first for various reasons, but were all in some way or another related to the traditional masculine norms of not seeking help and dealing with their symptoms silently. Many of the men who eventually did seek help did so to protect their loved ones from the impacts of their symptoms and found professional therapy or support to be effective. While many differences were identified between these three groups, the similarities were fundamental in understanding these behaviours and how to support further men dealing with depression. These findings implicate that reshaping what it means to seek help and what it means to be masculine could be highly effective in supporting men, regardless of circumstance, in seeking help for their depression.

References

Caperton, W., Butler, M., Kaiser, D., Connelly, J., & Knox, S. (2020). Stay-at-home fathers, depression, and help-seeking: A consensual qualitative research study. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 21(2), 235–250. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000223

Pedersen, S. C., Maindal, H. T., & Ryom, K. (2021). “I wanted to be there as a father, but I couldn’t”: A qualitative study of fathers’ experiences of postpartum depression and their help-seeking behavior. American Journal of Men’s Health, 15(3), 155798832110243. https://doi.org/10.1177/15579883211024375 Spendelow, J. S. (2015). Men’s self-reported coping strategies for depression: A systematic review of qualitative studies. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 16(4), 439–447. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038626