The Marlboro Men Don’t Cry: Understanding the Gendered Perceptions of People Seeking Mental Health Care

Abstract

Men are reluctant to seek help for depression. This is an important public health concern, and it has been largely attributed to the stigma attached to men who seek help. The present studies aim to understand the nature of such stigma. Specifically, are men who seek help for mental distress perceived to be less masculine and/or more feminine? Our findings suggest that symptomology, the diagnostic label, and targets’ reaction to the symptoms jointly shape the gendered perceptions of help-seeking. In four experiments (N = 1118), participants read descriptions of targets with varying psychological or physical symptoms and provided masculinity and femininity ratings of the targets. People seeking help for internalizing symptoms (e.g., depressed moods) are perceived to be less masculine and more feminine than those seeking help for physical symptoms, yet the reverse pattern was found for people seeking help for externalizing symptoms (e.g., angry outbursts). In addition, the knowledge of a depression diagnosis decreased masculinity ratings and increased femininity ratings of male targets with physical symptoms (but not those with psychological symptoms), suggesting the power of labeling in shaping perceptions. Importantly, seeking help affects how men are perceived above and beyond symptomology: Men who downplay physical symptoms are perceived to be more masculine; whereas those who seek help for psychological symptoms are perceived to be more feminine. The association between help-seeking and masculinity ideologies shapes person perception, particularly because help-seeking violates norms of masculinity.