Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Men are consistently less likely than women to seek professional mental health services despite experiencing significant rates of depression and psychological distress. Traditional masculine norms and depression-related stigma have been proposed as major contributors to this disparity. The present study examined the relationships among depression stigma, conformity to masculine norms, depression severity, perceived barriers to care, and attitudes toward seeking professional mental health treatment among adult men with current or past depression. Seventy participants completed measures of depression severity (PHQ-9), conformity to masculine norms (CMNI-30), depression stigma (DSS), attitudes toward help seeking (MHSAS), and perceived barriers to care (BMHS). Contrary to hypotheses, depression stigma and conformity to masculine norms were not significantly associated with attitudes toward seeking mental health care, and the proposed moderation model was not supported. Exploratory analyses revealed that masculine norms were significantly positively associated with depression severity and depression stigma and that both masculine norms and stigma were significantly positively associated with perceived barriers to care. Participants endorsed an average of 5.59 barriers to obtaining mental healthcare. These findings suggest that although stigma and masculine norms may not directly predict attitudes toward treatment, they remain associated with practical and psychological barriers to accessing care. The results highlight the need for interventions that improve mental health literacy, foster affirming and culturally responsive services, and reframe mental health seeking as a sign of strength to reduce barriers in men's mental health utilization.

Year manuscript completed

2026

Year degree awarded

2026

Degree Awarded

Master of Science

Department

Psychology

College/School

College of Humanities and Fine Arts

Thesis Advisor

Michael Bordieri

Committee Member

Ayorinde Ogunyiola

Committee Member

Sean Rife

Committee Member

Esther Malm

Document Type

Thesis

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