Positive strategies men regularly use to prevent and manage depression: a national survey of Australian men

Abstract

BackgroundMen are at greater risk than women of dying by suicide. One in eight will experience depression – a leading contributor to suicide – in their lifetime and men often delay seeking treatment. Previous research has focused on men’s use of unhelpful coping strategies, with little emphasis on men’s productive responses. The present study examines the positive strategies men use to prevent and manage depression.MethodA national online survey investigated Australian men’s use of positive strategies, including 26 strategies specifically nominated by men in a previous qualitative study. Data were collected regarding frequency of use or openness to using untried strategies, depression risk, depression symptoms, demographic factors, and other strategies suggested by men. Multivariate regression analyses explored relationships between regular use of strategies and other variables.ResultsIn total, 465 men aged between 18 and 74 years participated. The mean number of strategies used was 16.8 (SD 4.1) for preventing depression and 15.1 (SD 5.1) for management. The top five prevention strategies used regularly were eating healthily (54.2 %), keeping busy (50.1 %), exercising (44.9 %), humour (41.1 %) and helping others (35.7 %). The top five strategies used for management were taking time out (35.7 %), rewarding myself (35.1 %), keeping busy (35.1 %), exercising (33.3 %) and spending time with a pet (32.7 %). With untried strategies, a majority (58 %) were open to maintaining a relationship with a mentor, and nearly half were open to using meditation, mindfulness or gratitude exercises, seeing a health professional, or setting goals. In multivariate analyses, lower depression risk as measured by the Male Depression Risk Scale was associated with regular use of self-care, achievement-based and cognitive strategies, while lower scores on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was associated with regular use of cognitive strategies.ConclusionsThe results demonstrate that the men in the study currently use, and are open to using, a broad range of practical, social, emotional, cognitive and problem-solving strategies to maintain their mental health. This is significant for men in the community who may not be in contact with professional health services and would benefit from health messages promoting positive strategies as effective tools in the prevention and management of depression.

Preliminary Evaluation of a Brief Web and Mobile Phone Intervention for Men With Depression: Men’s Positive Coping Strategies and Associated Depression, Resilience, and Work and Social Functioning

“…For this study, access to the existing 12 myCompass modules was restricted to ensure users’ engagement with the new module (Man Central) only (see Figure 1 ). Man Central was developed for men with depression, based on the results from two previous phases of research exploring men’s use of and preferred positive strategies to prevent and manage symptoms of depression, including suicidal ideation [ 36 , 37 ].…”

Impact of male‐only lifestyle interventions on men's mental health: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Given the increasing rates of mental health issues in men, the lack of published studies examining the role of behaviour change programs to treat men with current mental health conditions (eg, depression or anxiety) is an important limitation to address in future research. Indeed, observational research suggests that men with mental health concerns often report using lifestyle behaviour change as a way of managing their condition . For example, in a recent study of men with depression, Proudfoot and colleagues reported that exercise and eating healthy were two of the top five prevention strategies men used regularly to deal with their symptoms .…”

“…Indeed, observational research suggests that men with mental health concerns often report using lifestyle behaviour change as a way of managing their condition . For example, in a recent study of men with depression, Proudfoot and colleagues reported that exercise and eating healthy were two of the top five prevention strategies men used regularly to deal with their symptoms . Further, behaviour change programs may be particularly appealing for men who align to traditional forms of masculinity, as studies suggest they are less likely to seek help for psychological concerns because of socialized negative beliefs associated with traditional mental health treatments .…”

“…Although it was difficult to identify which gender‐tailored strategies were regularly attributed to success, across studies, there was a diverse range of approaches utilized. Promisingly, evidence is growing that gender‐tailored lifestyle interventions containing positive mental health strategies can engage and assist men, especially for those who may otherwise avoid help seeking . When additional data become available, it would be of interest for future reviews to examine whether gender‐targeted interventions for males with existing mental health concerns are more likely to improve men's mental health than gender‐neutral interventions.…”

“…As such, men are consistently less likely than women to seek professional mental health support, regardless of age, ethnicity, and social backgrounds . This indicates an increasing need for mental health promotion strategies that are effective in both engaging and assisting men …”