Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Black adults in the United States seek mental healthcare at a lesser rate than White adults, attributed in part to the stigma of seeking psychological help. Black men in need of mental health care face a double barrier associated with the intersection of their race and gender, as men report more negative attitudes toward help-seeking than do women. To understand help-seeking attitudes among Black men, this study examined the direct effects of traditional masculinity, traditional/Black masculinity, and Black masculinity on public stigma of help-seeking as well as the indirect effects on self-stigma of help-seeking and psychological help-seeking attitudes among a sample of Black men in the United States (N = 160). Results demonstrated that Black masculinity and traditional/Black masculinity predicted greater public stigma, which predicted greater self-stigma and in turn less positive psychological help-seeking attitudes. This study also found an unexpected negative relationship between traditional masculinity and public stigma and an indirect positive effect on psychological help-seeking attitudes. Results support tailored stigma-reduction interventions for the Black community.

Keywords

Black men Black masculinity self-stigma public stigma psychological help-seeking attitudes

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

American Psychological Association . (n.d.). Culture. In APA dictionary of psychology. American Psychological Association. https://dictionary.apa.org/culture

Bowleg

English

del Rio-Gonzalez

A. M.

Burkholder

G. J.

Teti

Tschann

J. M.

(2016). Measuring the pros and cons of what it means to be a Black man: Development and validation of the Black Men’s Experiences Scale (BMES). Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 17(2), 177–188. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000026

Bowleg

Teti

Malebranche

D. J.

Tschann

J. M.

(2013). It’s an uphill battle everyday”: Intersectionality, low-income Black heterosexual men, and implications for HIV prevention research and interventions. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 14(1), 25–34. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028392

Brenner

R. E.

Cornish

M. A.

Heath

P. J.

Lannin

D. G.

Losby

M. M.

(2020). Seeking help despite the stigma: Experiential avoidance as a moderated mediator. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 67(1), 132–140. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000365

Burkett

C. A.

(2017). Obstructed use: Reconceptualizing the mental health (help-seeking) experiences of Black Americans. Journal of Black Psychology, 43(8), 813–835. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798417691381

Cadaret

M. C.

Speight

S. L.

(2018). An exploratory study of attitudes toward psychological help seeking among African American men. Journal of Black Psychology, 44(4), 347–370. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798418774655

Campbell

R. D.

Mowbray

(2016). The stigma of depression: Black American experiences. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 25(4), 253–269. https://doi.org/10.1080/15313204.2016.1187101

Cheng

H.-L.

Kwan

K.-L. K.

Sevig

(2013). Racial and ethnic minority college students’ stigma associated with seeking psychological help: Examining psychocultural correlates. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60(1), 98–111. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031169

Cohen

(1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Erlbaum.

10.

Data USA. (n.d.). Mental health counselors. https://datausa.io/profile/soc/mental-health-counselors#demographics

11.

Elhai

J. D.

Schweinle

Anderson

S. M.

(2008). Reliability and validity of the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Short Form. Psychiatry Research, 159(3), 320–329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2007.04.020

12.

Fischer

E. H.

Farina

(1995). Attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help: A shortened form and considerations for research. Journal of College Student Development, 36(4), 368–373.

13.

Franklin

C. W.

(1987). Surviving the institutional decimation of Black males: Causes, consequences, and intervention. In Brod

(Ed.), The making of masculinities: The new men’s studies (1st ed., pp. 160–176). Allen and Unwin.

14.

Franklin

A. J.

Chen

N′cho

H. S.

Capawana

M. R.

Hoogasian

R. O.

(2015). Consensual qualitative research analysis of a therapeutic support group session for African American men. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 16(3), 264–273. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037936

15.

Gary

F. A.

(2005). Stigma: Barrier to mental health care among ethnic minorities. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 26(10), 979–999. https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840500280638

16.

Gayman

M. D.

Kail

B. L.

Spring

A. R.

Greenidge

G. R.

(2018). Risk and protective factors for depressive symptoms among African American men: An application of the stress process model. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 73(2), 219–229. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbx076

17.

Gerdes

Z. T.

Alto

K. M.

Jadaszewski

D’Auria

Levant

R. F.

(2017). A content analysis of research on masculinity ideologies using all forms of the male role norms inventory (MRNI). Psychology of Men and Masculinity. Advance online publication https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000134

18.

Gerdes

Z. T.

Levant

R. F.

(2018). Complex relationships among masculine norms and health/well-being outcomes: Correlation patterns of the conformity to masculine norms inventory subscales. American Journal of Men’s Health, 12(2), 229–240. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988317745910

19.

Goddard

Haggins

K. L.

Nobles

W. W.

Rhett-Mariscal

Williams-Flournoy

(2014). Refining the definition of an African American community-defined practice [Supplemental report]. California Institute for Behavior Health Solutions. https://work.cibhs.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/african_american_community-defined_practice_paper_0.pdf?1469132279

20.

Hammer

J. H.

Vogel

D. L.

Heimerdinger-Edwards

S. R.

(2013). Men’s help seeking: Examination of differences across community size, education, and income. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 14(1), 65–75. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026813

21.

Hammond

W. P.

(2012). Taking it like a man: Masculine role norms as moderators of the racial discrimination–depressive symptoms association among African American men. American Journal of Public Health, 102(S2), S232–S241. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2011.300485

22.

Hammond

W. P.

Mattis

J. S.

(2005). Being a man about it: Manhood meaning among African American men. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 6(2), 114–126. https://doi.org/10.1037/1524-9220.6.2.114.

23.

Holden

K. B.

Xanthos

(2009). Disadvantages in mental health care among African Americans. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 20(2 Suppl), 17–23. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.0.0155

24.

Hunter

A. G.

Davis

J. E.

(1992). Constructing gender: An exploration of Afro-American men’s conceptualization of manhood. Gender & Society, 6(3), 464–479. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124392006003007

25.

Kline

R. B.

(2016). Principles and practices of structural equation modeling (4th ed.). Guilford Press.

26.

Lannin

D. G.

Vogel

D. L.

Brenner

R. E.

Tucker

J. R.

(2015). Predicting self-esteem and intentions to seek counseling: The internalized stigma model. Counseling Psychologist, 43(1), 64–93. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000014541550

27.

Levant

R. F.

Stefanov

D. G.

Rankin

T. J.

Halter

M. J.

Mellinger

Williams

C. M.

(2013). Moderated path analysis of the relationships between masculinity and men’s attitudes toward seeking psychological help. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60(3), 392–406. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033014

28.

Lindsey

M. A.

Marcell

A. V.

(2012). We’re going through a lot of struggles that people don’t even know about”: The need to understand African American males’ help-seeking for mental health on multiple levels. American Journal of Men’s Health, 6(5), 354–364. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988312441520

29.

Ludwikowski

W. M. A.

Vogel

Armstrong

P. I.

(2009). Attitudes toward career counseling: The role of public and self-stigma. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56(3), 408–416. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016180

30.

Meniru

M. O.

Schwartz

R. C.

(2018). The influence of Afrocentric spirituality on counselling stigma and help-seeking perceptions among Nigerian Americans. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 40(1), 26–38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-017-9309-8

31.

Mincey

Alfonso

Hackney

Luque

(2014a). Understanding masculinity in undergraduate African American men. American Journal of Men’s Health, 8(5), 387–398. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988313515900

32.

Mincey

Alfonso

Hackney

Luque

(2014b). Being a Black man: Development of the Masculinity Inventory Scale (MIS) for Black men. The Journal of Men’s Studies, 22(3), 167–179. https://doi.org/10.3149/jms.2203.167

33.

Pierre

M. R.

Woodland

M. H.

Mahalik

J. R.

(2001). The effects of racism, African self-consciousness and psychological functioning on Black masculinity: A historical and social adaptation framework. Journal of African American Men, 6(2), 19–39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-001-1006-2

34.

Ramaeker

Petrie

T. A.

(2019). Man up!”: Exploring intersections of sport participation, masculinity, psychological distress, and help-seeking attitudes and intentions. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 20(4), 515–527. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000198

35.

Saykeo

S. P.

Lawrence

(2018). Factors that affect help-seeking: Examining racial differences between Whites, Asians, and African Americans. Modern Psychological Studies, 24(1), 8. https://scholar.utc.edu/mps/vol24/iss1/8

36.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2019). Results from the 2018 national survey on drug use and health: Detailed tables (Table 8.17B). Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2018-nsduh-detailed-tables

37.

Tabachnick

B. G.

Fidell

L. S.

(2013). Using multivariate statistics (6th ed.). Pearson.

38.

Taylor

R. E.

Kuo

B. C. H.

(2019). Black American psychological help-seeking intention: An integrated literature review with recommendations for clinical practice. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 29(4), 325–337. https://doi.org/10.1037/int0000131

39.

Teti

Martin

A. E.

Ranade

Massie

Malebranche

D. J.

Tschann

J. M.

Bowleg

(2012). I’m a keep rising. I’m a keep going forward, regardless”: Exploring Black men’s resilience amid sociostructural challenges and stressors. Qualitative Health Research, 22(4), 524–533. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732311422051

40.

Vally

Cody

B. L.

Albloshi

M. A.

Alsheraifi

S. N. M.

(2018). Public stigma and attitudes toward psychological help-seeking in the United Arab Emirates: The mediational role of self-stigma. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 54(4), 571–579. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppc.12282

41.

Vogel

D. L.

Bitman

R. L.

Hammer

J. H.

Wade

N. G.

(2013). Is stigma internalized? The longitudinal impact of public stigma on self-stigma. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60(2), 311–316. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031889

42.

Vogel

D. L.

Heimerdinger-Edwards

S. R.

Hammer

J. H.

Hubbard

(2011). Boys don’t cry”: Examination of the links between endorsement of masculine norms, self-stigma, and help-seeking attitudes for men from diverse backgrounds. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58(3), 368–382. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023688

43.

Vogel

D. L.

Wade

N. G.

Ascheman

P. L.

(2009). Measuring perceptions of stigmatization by others for seeking psychological help: Reliability and validity of a new stigma scale with college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56(2), 301–308. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014903

44.

Vogel

D. L.

Wade

N. G.

Haake

(2006). Measuring the self-stigma associated with seeking psychological help. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(3), 325–337. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.53.3.325

45.

Vogel

D. L.

Wade

N. G.

Hackler

A. H.

(2007). Perceived public stigma and the willingness to seek counseling: The mediating roles of self-stigma and attitudes toward counseling. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54(1), 40–50. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.54.1.40

46.

Wade

J. C.

Rochlen

A. B.

(2013). Introduction: Masculinity, identity, and the health and well-being of African American men. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 14(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029612

47.

Wendt

Shafer

(2016). Gender and attitudes about mental health help seeking: Results from national data. Health & Social Work, 41(1), e20–e28. https://doi.org/10.1093/hsw/hlv089

48.

Wong

Y. J.

(2006). Strength-centered therapy: A social constructionist, virtues-based psychotherapy. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 43(2), 133–146. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-3204.43.2.133

49.

Wong

Y. J.

M.-H. R.

Wang

S.-Y.

Miller

I. S. K.

(2017). Meta-analyses of the relationship between conformity to masculine norms inventory and mental health-related outcomes. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 64(1), 80–93. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000176

Experiences of Black Men: Forms of Masculinity and Effects on Psychological Help-Seeking Variables

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References