Australian men's help-seeking pathways for anxiety
Globally, there has been a substantial increase in the number of men being diagnosed with anxiety disorders. Despite this, men's mental health research often focusses on uncovering why men don't, rather than why they do, seek help. Within this context, men's help-seeking pathways for...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2024-06-01
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| Series: | SSM - Mental Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666560324000185 |
| _version_ | 1797249087174606848 |
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| author | Krista Fisher Simon M. Rice Michael J. Wilson Ruben Benakovic John L. Oliffe Andreas Walther Paul Sharp Zac E. Seidler |
| author_facet | Krista Fisher Simon M. Rice Michael J. Wilson Ruben Benakovic John L. Oliffe Andreas Walther Paul Sharp Zac E. Seidler |
| author_sort | Krista Fisher |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Globally, there has been a substantial increase in the number of men being diagnosed with anxiety disorders. Despite this, men's mental health research often focusses on uncovering why men don't, rather than why they do, seek help. Within this context, men's help-seeking pathways for anxiety are poorly understood. This study mapped the help-seeking pathways of 419 Australian-based men for anxiety. Respondents 16 to 77 years-old (M = 40.92 years, SD = 15.36) reported multiple instances of help-seeking (n = 321, 77%) elaborating on their drivers for help-seeking via an open-text qualitative survey. Thematic analysis of men's responses was used to generate three themes, first detailing common tipping points of men's anxiety (namely relationship issues and work stress), and second, the reclusive causes and consequences of men's anxiety (burdensome symptoms and unmet expectations). These two themes converged into a third theme of help-seeking where defeatist (i.e., resigned abandonment self-management strategies) or defiant (proactive motivation in reaction to new events) motivations propelled men into either assisted or solitary help-seeking pathways. The current study findings afford important insights about the drivers that lead men to seek help for anxiety across the life course. Interventions targeting men's help-seeking for anxiety should accentuate the potential benefits of community-based mental health treatment within the context of men's social connectedness. Such interventions would also benefit from leveraging positive masculine ideals including strength, emotional-control and competition which can be both a barrier to, and driver for, help-seeking in the context of men's anxiety. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T20:24:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-892e7b3ebb1846418969729a4c8939d1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-5603 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T20:24:54Z |
| publishDate | 2024-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SSM - Mental Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-892e7b3ebb1846418969729a4c8939d12024-03-22T05:41:01ZengElsevierSSM - Mental Health2666-56032024-06-015100313Australian men's help-seeking pathways for anxietyKrista Fisher0Simon M. Rice1Michael J. Wilson2Ruben Benakovic3John L. Oliffe4Andreas Walther5Paul Sharp6Zac E. Seidler7Orygen, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Corresponding author. Orygen, Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.Orygen, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaOrygen, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaOrygen, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaUniversity of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Melbourne School of Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaClinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandUniversity of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaOrygen, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Movember, Melbourne, AustraliaGlobally, there has been a substantial increase in the number of men being diagnosed with anxiety disorders. Despite this, men's mental health research often focusses on uncovering why men don't, rather than why they do, seek help. Within this context, men's help-seeking pathways for anxiety are poorly understood. This study mapped the help-seeking pathways of 419 Australian-based men for anxiety. Respondents 16 to 77 years-old (M = 40.92 years, SD = 15.36) reported multiple instances of help-seeking (n = 321, 77%) elaborating on their drivers for help-seeking via an open-text qualitative survey. Thematic analysis of men's responses was used to generate three themes, first detailing common tipping points of men's anxiety (namely relationship issues and work stress), and second, the reclusive causes and consequences of men's anxiety (burdensome symptoms and unmet expectations). These two themes converged into a third theme of help-seeking where defeatist (i.e., resigned abandonment self-management strategies) or defiant (proactive motivation in reaction to new events) motivations propelled men into either assisted or solitary help-seeking pathways. The current study findings afford important insights about the drivers that lead men to seek help for anxiety across the life course. Interventions targeting men's help-seeking for anxiety should accentuate the potential benefits of community-based mental health treatment within the context of men's social connectedness. Such interventions would also benefit from leveraging positive masculine ideals including strength, emotional-control and competition which can be both a barrier to, and driver for, help-seeking in the context of men's anxiety.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666560324000185AnxietyMenMental healthMasculinityHelp-seeking |
| spellingShingle | Krista Fisher Simon M. Rice Michael J. Wilson Ruben Benakovic John L. Oliffe Andreas Walther Paul Sharp Zac E. Seidler Australian men's help-seeking pathways for anxiety SSM - Mental Health Anxiety Men Mental health Masculinity Help-seeking |
| title | Australian men's help-seeking pathways for anxiety |
| title_full | Australian men's help-seeking pathways for anxiety |
| title_fullStr | Australian men's help-seeking pathways for anxiety |
| title_full_unstemmed | Australian men's help-seeking pathways for anxiety |
| title_short | Australian men's help-seeking pathways for anxiety |
| title_sort | australian men s help seeking pathways for anxiety |
| topic | Anxiety Men Mental health Masculinity Help-seeking |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666560324000185 |
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