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Research on men’s help seeking yields strategies for en- ior? Third, how well do existing approaches provide a
hancing men’s use of mental and physical health resources. foundation for developing interventions that facilitate adap-
Analysis of the assumptions underlying existing theory and tive help seeking from mental and physical health care
research also provides a context for evaluating the psy- providers? Because the majority of previous work has
chology of men and masculinity as an evolving area of focused on help sought from health professionals, we limit
social scientific inquiry. The authors identify several theo- our analysis to this type of help seeking, although we
retical and methodological obstacles that limit understand- recognize that people seek help in a variety of less formal
ing of the variable ways that men do or do not seek help ways. In addition, because help seeking is often an impor-
from mental and physical health care professionals. A tant step toward resolving numerous problems in living, it
contextual framework is developed by exploring how the is a crucial link in the chain of effective health care service
socialization and social construction of masculinities delivery. The study of men’s help seeking thus has direct
transact with social psychological processes common to a implications for bettering men’s and women’s lives, reduc-
variety of potential help-seeking contexts. This approach ing national health care costs, and developing effective
begins to integrate the psychology of men and masculinity interventions informed by a psychology of gender.1 It also
with theory and methodology from other disciplines exemplifies some of the critical theoretical and method-
and suggests innovative ways to facilitate adaptive help ological issues facing the psychology of men and mascu-
seeking. linity more generally.
To provide a context for addressing these issues, we
begin by briefly reviewing the literature on sex differences
M en are often characterized as unwilling to ask in seeking help for a variety of problems in living. We then
for help when they experience problems in consider theory and research on the relationships between
living. Popular stereotypes portray men reluc- masculine gender-role socialization and help seeking. We
tantly asking for directions when they are lost, having evaluate the ability of both bodies of work (a) to contribute
difficulty sharing vulnerable feelings with friends and fam- to the development of coherent theoretical frameworks that
ily, and avoiding seeking needed help from professionals. specify the psychosocial processes governing men’s help
A large body of empirical research supports the popular seeking, and (b) to provide a useful theoretical and empir-
belief that men are reluctant to seek help from health ical foundation for developing interventions that facilitate
professionals. Men are less likely than women to seek help adaptive help seeking. We draw particular attention to the
for problems as diverse as depression, substance abuse, ways help seeking and masculinity are conceptualized in
physical disabilities, and stressful life events (Husaini,
Moore, & Cain, 1994; McKay, Rutherford, Cacciola, & Michael E. Addis, Department of Psychology, Clark University; James R.
Kabasakalian-McKay, 1996; Padesky & Hammen, 1981; Mahalik, Department of Counseling Psychology, Boston College.
Thom, 1986; Weissman & Klerman, 1977). The empirical Preparation of this article was supported by Grant R29 MH57778
research and the pervasiveness of popular beliefs about from the National Institute of Mental Health. We thank Abigail Mansfield,
men’s help seeking raise important questions for psychol- Joseph Pleck, and Michael Bamberg for their helpful comments on a
previous version of this article.
ogists and other social scientists. Why do many men have Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Mi-
difficulty asking for help? How are masculinity norms, chael E. Addis, Department of Psychology, Clark University, 950 Main
stereotypes, and ideologies related to help-seeking behav- Street, Worcester, MA 01610-1477. E-mail: maddis@clarku.edu
ior? How can psychologists and other health care profes-
sionals integrate an understanding of social norms and 1
We recognize that by taking the position that men’s professional
ideologies about masculinity into an analysis of men’s use help seeking should be increased, we are supporting the position that men
are harmed by their inability or unwillingness to seek help. It is equally
of health services? possible that men may benefit by refusing to seek help, and we consider
We consider the utility of existing work on men’s help this at various points in the article. When we describe ways to increase
seeking from three perspectives. First, to what extent is the men’s use of mental and physical health services, we are thinking of
study of men’s help seeking grounded in theoretical frame- increasing adaptive forms of help seeking. Adaptive help seeking is
works that can account for the variable ways in which men behavior that is likely to enhance the lives of men and those who are close
to them who may otherwise be negatively affected by the failure to seek
do or do not seek help from health care professionals? professional help. Adaptive help seeking is, for example, recognizing that
Second, do existing theories lead to empirically testable depression may precede anger and violence and deciding to seek help for
predictions about the determinants of help-seeking behav- the former so it does not progress to the latter.