Male role and gender role conflict: Relations to help seeking in men.

Tested theory that adherence to the traditional male gender role and help-seeking attitudes and behaviors are related. Ss were 401 undergraduate men who completed measures of help-seeking attitudes and behaviors, attitudes toward the stereotypic male role, and gender role conflict factors (i.e., success/power/competition, restrictive emotionality, and restrictive affectionate behavior between men). Canonical analysis and regression indicated that traditional attitudes about the male role, concern about expressing emotions, and concern about expressing affection toward other men were each significantly related to negative attitudes toward seeking professional psychological assistance. Restrictive emotionality also significantly predicted decreased past help-seeking behavior and decreased likelihood of future help seeking. The implications of these results for theory, research, and counseling practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Male gender role conflict: Psychometric issues and relations to psychological distress.

Two distinct deficits in research on male gender role conflict are addressed: (a) lack of psychometric information and (b) lack of research involving clinical samples. First, using 1,043 men across 3 samples, the psychometric properties of the Gender Role Conflict Scale (GRCS) were examined through confirmatory factor analyses, internal consistency estimation, and construct validation. Next, using 130 male university counseling center clients across 2 samples, the relation between gender role conflict and psychological distress was examined. The GRCS demonstrated good internal consistency and was best modeled as 4 intercorrelated factors, as originally proposed by J. M. O'Neil, B. Helms, R. Gable, L. David, and L. Wrightsman (1986). Construct validity was supported through correlations with attitudes about masculinity, fear of intimacy, and social desirability in expected directions. However, reservations about the Conflicts Between Work and Family Relations subscale are noted. Male gender role conflict was significantly related to psychological distress, with the Restrictive Emotionality subscale being the best predictor of distress level. Implications for mental health practice and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Male client–male therapist: Issues in a therapeutic alliance.

Asserts that the confusion and pain resulting from the erosion of traditional male norms have led many men to seek assistance from mental health professionals. The gender-role strains and stressors experienced by men are reviewed, and the consequences of restrictive emotionality on males themselves and on fathering are discussed. It is argued that constraints of restrictive emotionality and homophobia limit many men's ability to benefit from the traditional therapeutic environment, and behavior therapy is recommended as a more suitable therapeutic model for men. Behavior therapy contains the major principles of new experiences, language, therapist feedback, and therapist interaction; responds to many of the male's developmental assets; and addresses the gender-cognitive schema. Issues for the male client and male therapist are addressed, and the needs among mental health professionals for greater awareness, discussion, and investigation focused on males in therapy are emphasized. (67 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of clinical experience and client emotion on therapists' responses.

In an Emotion by Therapist Experience design, actresses portraying angry vs sad clients interacted with "therapists" (graduate clinical psychology students) varying in prior therapy experience (high, medium, or low). Results indicate that therapists judged angry clients less favorably than sad clients. More experienced therapists showed greater tolerance of anger. Therapists intervened less with angry clients than with depressed clients, and angry clients received less supportiveness, less directiveness, and fewer requests for information. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Male gender role conflict, depression, and anxiety: Clarification and generalizability to women.

The purpose of this study was (a) to determine whether the relationship between male gender role conflict variables and mental health generalizes to women and (b) to investigate other aspects of social gender roles and mental health. An adaptation of the Gender Role Conflict Scale (I. M. O'Neil, B. J. Helms, R. K. Gable. L. David, & L. S. Wrightsman, 1986) and measures of depression and anxiety were administered to male and female college students. Men showed more restricted emotionality. more restricted affection, greater appropriate and inappropriate success, and more restricted affection, particularly for other men; there were no gender differences related to the conflict between work and family. However, for the most part these variables were related to depression and anxiety in similar ways in men and women. The major predictor of depression and anxiety for men and women was conflict between work and family. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counselor and therapist gender bias? More questions than answers.

Examined inconsistent evidence for counselor and therapist gender bias in empirical investigations and literature reviews. Three sets of possible explanations for inconsistent findings are proposed and illustrated with examples: conceptual and definitional problems with the concept of gender bias; methodological shortcomings in key studies in this area; and the influence of researchers' beliefs and values on interpretation of research findings. We suggest that any conclusions about counselor and therapist gender bias are premature, that existing research must be reevaluated in light of the limitations that have been identified, and that future research that avoids these pitfalls must be conducted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Male gender role conflict and willingness to seek counseling: Testing a mediation model on college-aged men.

Men who experience negative consequences of their socialized gender roles--that is, have greater gender role conflict--report less positive attitudes and willingness to seeking counseling. Using structural equation modeling with data from 575 undergraduate men, the authors examined 3 mediators (self-stigma associated with seeking counseling, tendency to disclose distressing information, and attitudes toward seeking counseling) regarding the link between gender role conflict and willingness to seek counseling for psychological and interpersonal concerns. Results indicated that this link was partially mediated by these 3 factors. Men experiencing greater gender role conflict were more likely to self-stigmatize and less likely to self-disclose. High self-stigma and less disclosure then led to less positive attitudes and subsequently to less willingness to seek counseling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Male gender role conflict: Psychometric issues and relations to psychological distress:" Correction.

Reports an error in the original article by G. E. Good et al (Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1995 [Jan], Vol 42 [1], 3-10). On page 6, the numbers on line 2 for the Tucker-Lewis fit index should be .827 (Sample 2) and .830 (Sample 3). (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1995-15746-001.) Two distinct deficits in research on male gender role conflict are addressed: (a) lack of psychometric information and (b) lack of research involving clinical samples. First, using 1,043 men across 3 samples, the psychometric properties of the Gender Role Conflict Scale (GRCS) were examined through confirmatory analyses, internal consistency estimation, and construct validation. Next, using 130 male university counseling center clients across 2 samples, the relation between gender role conflict and psychological distress was examined. The GRCS demonstrated good internal consistency and was best modeled as 4 intercorrelated factors, as originally proposed by J. M. O'Neil, B. Helms, R. Gable, L. David, and L. Wrightsman (1986). Construct validity was supported through correlations with attitudes about masculinity, fear of intimacy, and social desirability in expected directions. However, male gender role conflict was significantly related to psychological… (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Men's gender role conflict and use of psychological defenses.

The authors hypothesized that men would report using psychological defenses to the degree they self-reported masculine gender role conflict. One hundred fifteen men completed the Gender Role Conflict Scale, the Defense Style Questionnaire, and the Defense Mechanism Inventory. Canonical correlations indicated that men experiencing greater rigidity about being successful, powerful, and competitive; expressing emotions; and expressing affection to other men used more immature psychological defenses and some degree of neurotic defenses. More specifically, these men tended to use defenses of turning against object and projection and tended not to use principalization and reversal. The discussion focuses on the effects of male gender role strain, implications for treatment, limitations, and future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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

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. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of therapist attire and gender.

61 undergraduates viewed slides of 3 female and 3 male models, identified as therapists wearing informal, casual, or formal clothing. Ss rated each slide on 4 skill-centered items and 4 relationship items. More formal attire was rated as unequivocally associated with the skill-centered items of expertise, knowledge, credibility, and organization, and as significantly associated with the relationship items of trustworthiness, sympathy, attractiveness, and friendliness. Gender was significant for 3 of the 8 traits, with female therapists rated higher on expertise, sympathy, and trustworthiness. Findings suggest that more professional and formal clothing and female gender mobilize positive 1st impressions about therapists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mediation in therapist–client sex: A model.

Presents a case study of a mediation intervention to deal with psychological damage resulting from therapist–patient sexual interaction. The case involved a female patient who had been sexually intimate with her therapist (a minister) and was angered that her presenting problem (sexually abusive incest) was unresolved and exacerbated by therapy. The session was successful in that both participants dealt with unresolved feelings and were able to resume their lives. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The magnitude of client and therapist working alliance ratings.

Researchers studying the working alliance frequently comment that clients and therapists tend to rate the alliance highly. The authors conducted this study to determine the accuracy of these comments by examining of the magnitude of adult client and therapist working alliance ratings in 63 refereed articles published between 1990 and 2007. The authors wondered if clients and therapists generally tend to use just the higher points of rating scales for measures of working alliance. The 63 articles used 9 different measures of the working alliance and provided working alliance ratings by 6,441 clients and 6,359 therapists. Results indicate that clients tend to use only the top 20% of rating points and therapists tend to use only the top 30% of rating points on alliance measures. Implications of the findings include the possibility that clients and therapists do not differentiate among lower rating points on the scales, tend to rate the alliance according to a social desirability or dissonance-reducing response set, or provide ratings that accurately reflect the alliance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Masculine gender role conflict and negative feelings about being gay.

Professional psychologists who work with gay men have noted that traditional masculine ideals play a prominent role in the gay community whereby some endorse these traditional ideals and stigmatize effeminate behavior by other gay men. One hypothesis is that this behavior reflects negative feelings about being gay. This article examined this hypothesis by reporting the results of an online survey of 622 self-identified gay men. Participants completed the Gender Role Conflict Scale, Lesbian and Gay Identity Scale, the Social Desirability Scale, and questions related to the importance of masculinity. Results showed that most participants valued the public appearance of masculinity; and they ideally wished to be more masculine than they felt they were (Cohen’s d = 0.42). A multiple regression analysis showed that the degree to which they valued masculinity and were concerned with violating masculine ideals was positively related with negative feelings about being gay (Cohen’s f2 = .67). These findings highlight the importance of exploring the role that masculine ideals play in gay client’s lives given that negative feelings about oneself can adversely affect psychological well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal psychotherapy with men who experience gender role conflict.

Although research on men's gender role conflict reveals that it adversely affects men's psychological health and interpersonal relationships, psychotherapists typically underuse knowledge of masculine gender roles in psychological assessment and treatment. Interpersonal psychotherapy is proposed as a useful framework for working with men whose rigid enactment of traditional male gender roles leads to intrapersonal and interpersonal conflict (i.e., gender role conflict). Thus, this article integrates knowledge of male gender role conflict and interpersonal psychotherapy to examine issues that men who experience gender role conflict bring to their important interpersonal relationships and the therapeutic relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cross-sectional study of gender role conflict examining college-aged and middle-aged men.

This study examined gender role conflict in college-aged and middle-aged men. 88 college-aged men and 89 middle-aged men completed 5 measures that assess gender role conflict and psychological well-being. Multivariate analysis of variance results indicated that, compared with college-aged men, middle-aged men were less conflicted about success, power, and competition, but were more conflicted between work and family responsibilities. Canonical analysis indicated two significant roots between (a) gender role conflict and psychological well-being and (b) age group, gender role conflict, and psychological well-being. The discussion focuses on implications for counseling, limitations, and future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex bias in psychotherapy: An examination of the effects of client sex, pathology, and therapist sex on treatment planning.

Investigated the effects of therapist sex, client sex, and client pathology on treatment goals formulated by a pool of 32 male and 32 female practicing psychotherapists (psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychiatric social workers, and therapists from related disciplines). Each therapist recommended treatment goals for either 2 male or 2 female pseudoclients who differed in their presenting pathology, which was severe and clearly defined. Male therapists chose significantly more feminine treatment goals for all their clients, whereas female therapists chose significantly more masculine goals, regardless of client sex. Therapists responded to the client's pathology, rather than the client's sex, in formulating treatment goals. This suggested either that client sex is not important in determining treatment goals or that client sex may affect therapists' treatment goal choice only when pathology is vague or not severe. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)