Working with the masculine mystique: Male gender role conflict, counseling self-efficacy, and the training of male psychologists.

Abstract

Psychologists must be prepared to serve increasingly diverse clients. However, research suggests that specific consequences of a traditional male socialization, collectively known as gender role conflict (GRC), interfere with trainees' developing appropriate therapeutic skills with certain populations. In an effort to address this, and to inform those involved in the training and supervision of male therapists, this article discusses (a) the theory of male GRC, (b) its relationship to the clinical performance of male psychologists, (c) links between that relationship and sense of self-efficacy as a therapist, and (d) specific suggestions for addressing GRC during the course of clinical training. STEPHEN R. WESTER received his PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Florida. He is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His professional interests focus on men's issues, specifically male gender role conflict as well as hypoemotional stereotypes of men and their impact on training and supervision. DAVID L. VOGEL received his PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Florida. He is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Iowa State University. His professional interests include gender stereotypes and issues of gender in counseling and training, as well as communication patterns in intimate relationships.

Age, Gender, and Ethnicity of Counsellor Trainees and Corresponding Counselling Self-Efficacy: Research Findings and Implications for Counsellor Educators

“…This supports the observation that male college students showed consistent self-efficacy in both traditionally female and male occupations (Betz and Hackett 1981), but contradicts the concerns over Gender Role Conflict (GRC) suggested by Wester and Vogel (2002). This may indicate that males who pursue counselling as a profession typically possess personality traits that match the counselling profession, and therefore, are not necessarily socialized into traditional male roles.…”

“…Besides the age factor, Wester and Vogel (2002) urge counsellor educators to consider the impact of gender role conflict (GRC) on counselling self-efficacy, particularly that of male counsellor trainees. They argue that males typically are socialized to be more concerned about independence and more restricted in emotional expression than females (p. 370).…”

African American Men, Gender Role Conflict, and Psychological Distress: The Role of Racial Identity

“…Indeed, it seems as if "there are many masculinit[ies], depending on a man's ethnicity" (Brooks & Good, 2001a, p. 16). Perhaps the time has come for those who work with male clients to acknowledge this and to develop an appropriately complex understanding of men (e.g., Kiselica, 1999;Wester & Vogel, 2002) by examining complicated questions about how variables such as gender role socialization and racial identity intersect with incompatible situational demands. We find the construct of male GRC uniquely suited to meet this challenge because, rather than pathologizing men or inappropriately blaming them for either their own problems or those of society, GRC theory defines the problems men experience as the result of incongruent situational-and socialization-related demands.…”

“…As an example, and cognizant of the fact that we demonstrated partial, as opposed to complete, mediation (Baron & Kenny, 1986), African American men who internalized a racist understanding of themselves as men of color suffered more from their attempts to navigate the male gender role than did men who internalize a racial identity based on an appreciation of their own African American heritage. This makes sense considering that some see GRC as representative of internalized negative and sexist beliefs (Levant & Pollack, 1995;Wester & Vogel, 2002), whereas Self-Hatred attitudes seem indicative of internalized racism (e.g., Nghe & Mahalik, 2001) and "negative views about Black people [that are] anti-Black and self-hating" (Cokley, 2002, p. 476). As first suggested by Wade (1996), both of these concepts refer to self-images based more on negative messages received from the external world.…”

Advising style perceptions and preferences of students and advisors.

“…Kaplan (1994) stated that women's psychological development helps make them caretakers. Males are often more action-or solution-focused (Wester & Vogel, 2002) than women. The ANOVA used to examine advising style delivered by gender was not significant.…”