Men’s self-reported coping strategies for depression: A systematic review of qualitative studies.

Abstract

Key focal points of existing research on men's depression have included the role of masculinity and the nature of gender-specific coping styles. Existing quantitative studies may be limited in their ability to detect the full range of coping strategies deployed by men in response to this problem. The analysis of findings from qualitative studies may represent a useful way in which to obtain a more comprehensive representation of men's responses. To address this, a systematic review of qualitative studies examining the nature of men's coping and depression was undertaken. Electronic database and hand searching for published studies between 2000 and 2014 produced a total of 14 studies for synthesis from an initial pool of 1,446. A total of 323 participants with an age range of 19 -75 years comprised the final sample, with studies taken from Canada, the US, U.K., Sweden and Finland. Reported coping strategies were grouped under 5 metathematic categories with "promote traditional masculinity," "promote flexible masculinity," and "social concealment and minimization" representing the most substantive coping domains. Findings suggest that an expanded view of men's coping strategies is appropriate within the context of depression. Review limitations, implications, and future research are discussed.

Conflict in Men’s Experiences With Antidepressants

“…Both this review and other research indicates that men continue to hide their depression in public suggesting there may be a difference between the legitimacy they allow their distress in private and what they consider to be socially acceptable (Spendelow, 2015;Whittle et al, 2015). This suggests that dominant masculinity remains an important point of reference for the way in which men negotiate their experience of depression-even when they cannot, or do not wish to, aspire to this idealized representation of who they should be as men (Galasinski, 2008).…”

“…A recent systematic review of 14 qualitative studies looking at the way that men cope with depression noted that, while men are still constrained by traditional values that prevent them from acknowledging distress or seeking help, there are indications that that they can engage more flexibly with constructions of masculinity to better align them to their needs and experiences (Spendelow, 2015). Both this review and other research indicates that men continue to hide their depression in public suggesting there may be a difference between the legitimacy they allow their distress in private and what they consider to be socially acceptable (Spendelow, 2015;Whittle et al, 2015).…”

Engaging Australian men in masculinity and suicide – A concept test of social media materials and a website

“…However, most previous studies on male health promotion focuses on specific intervention settings and were delivered in face‐to‐face settings . Most research on mental health communication with men addresses depression and other mental health problems but does not explicitly look at suicide . Research evidence stems from a variety of western cultures, dominated by studies from the UK and the US and few are multilevel interventions including online media.…”

“…This study adds to current knowledge on communicating and engaging with men about mental health and suicide. Over recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the challenges of engaging men in mental health promotion . Research has shown that men are generally open and willing to talk about mental health issues but they may not feel comfortable doing so in conventional therapeutic settings .…”

“…42,52 Most research on mental health communication with men addresses depression and other mental health problems but does not explicitly look at suicide. 42,53 Research evidence stems from a variety of western cultures, dominated by studies from the UK and the US 52,54,55 and few are multilevel interventions including online media. With online health interventions of the rise, 56,57 our study is an important addition in this area.…”