Tyler C. Bradstreet

Moderated mediation of the relationships between masculinity ideology, outcome expectations, and energy drink use.

OBJECTIVE The consumption of energy drinks is a growing health-risk behavior for young men in the United States. The present study investigated the relationship between masculinity ideology, outcome expectations, energy drink use, and sleep disturbances. METHOD The authors recruited 467 adult males from universities and the Internet who provided data on their endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology, outcome expectations for use of energy drinks, use of energy drinks, and sleep disturbances. A theoretical model positing moderated mediation was tested using structural equation modeling and conditional process modeling. RESULTS The results supported the hypothesized model in which endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology was linked with increased outcome expectations for benefits of energy drinks, which in turn was linked with increased energy drink consumption, and which finally was linked with greater sleep disturbance symptoms. The relationship between masculinity ideology and energy drink outcome expectations was moderated by age (significant for younger men but not for older men), and the relationship between energy drink outcome expectations and energy drink use was moderated by race (significant for White men but not for racial minority men). CONCLUSION The present study adds to the literature on potential negative health implications of the endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology by offering a link between predictors of energy drink use (masculinity ideology, outcome expectations) and health outcomes of energy drink use (e.g., sleep disturbance).

Integrating self-concept into the relationship between drive for muscularity, and disordered eating and depression, among men.

Research on men’s health has increasingly recognized the importance of depression and eating disorders among men. The present study sought to extend extant work on self-concept and depression to men, incorporating muscularity-related attitudes and behaviors, and also incorporating risk for disordered eating. Two samples, one of 204 heterosexual college men and one of 197 gay and bisexual men sampled online, were recruited. Participants completed measures of drive for muscularity, self-concept, depression symptoms, and eating disorder symptoms. Data were analyzed using a structural equation model in which the relationships between drive for muscularity attitudes and behaviors, and depression and eating disorder symptoms, were mediated by physical self-concept, global physical self-concept, and self-esteem. The model was supported for the gay and bisexual men sample, but not for the college men sample. Implications for future research with men, and integration of body-related variables into therapy with men, are discussed.

Men’s Mental Health Help-Seeking Behaviors: An Intersectional Analysis:

Men seek mental health treatment less often than women. The present study sought to elucidate identities and individual difference characteristics that are associated with enhanced or decreased mental health help-seeking in a large national sample of U.S. men. Using data from 4,825 U.S. men aged 20 to 59 years, main effects of race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, income–poverty ratio, relationship status, depression symptoms, and body mass index were explored within the sample of men as well as intersections of these predictors with racial/ethnic group identity. While the results of main effects testing generally supported prior research (i.e., greater mental health care help-seeking among White men, nonheterosexual men, men not in relationships, older men, and more depressed men), when examined associations across racial/ethnic groups, the direction and strength of these associations showed notable variation—variation unaccounted for in prior research. These findings highlight the need for future theory building and research that accounts for this variation at the intersection of race/ethnicity and these specific predictors of help-seeking behavior among men.

Sexual orientation, bullying for being labeled gay or bisexual, and steroid use among US adolescent boys:

Use of anabolic-androgenic steroids is a public health concern for adolescent boys. This study examined bullying based on being labeled gay/bisexual and steroid use among US adolescent boys, including sexual orientation disparities. Data from 2660 boys from the 2015 Youth Behavior Risk Survey were used. Among heterosexual boys, steroid use was higher among those who reported being bullied due to being labeled gay or bisexual. No such relationship existed among non-heterosexual boys. The results speak to the need to address issues of masculinity in clinical work with boys and young men.

The Psychology of Men and Masculinities: Using Citation Network Analysis to Understand Research Domains, Collaborations, and Grant Competitiveness.

Citation network analysis is a powerful tool to understand a research area. Citation networks differ from traditional content analyses in that, instead of coding articles based on declared features, citation network analysis groups articles into clusters based on citations, representing how the field is constructed by its scholars and how areas of work coalesce or diverge. This approach allows for examination of emergent rather than declared topic areas and assessment of interrelatedness of content areas. Further, citation network analyses can be augmented through integration of other data, such as patterns of collaboration or grant funding. The present study undertook a citation network analysis of research published within Psychology of Men and Masculinity (PMM), augmented with a coauthorship network and an analysis of grant funding for research within PMM. The citation network analysis suggested dominant domains (e.g., gender role norms and body image) and smaller domains (e.g., fatherhood) of focus in PMM. Analysis of the network suggests areas for development of novel work, and analysis of individual clusters suggests how topic areas have shifted in emphasis over time. The coauthorship network indicates scholars who are prolific collaborators in PMM publications. Finally, integration of grant funding data was used to demonstrate which clusters of research have generated grant funding and can help to guide topic areas toward fundability. The present analysis offers an updated view of the state of research in PMM and may be useful to scholars in the field of men and masculinities in planning research, collaborations, and grant applications.

The Strong, Silent Type(ology): Examining Intersections of Alexithymia and the Drive for Muscularity

This study used latent profile analysis to explore the interrelations of drive for muscularity (DM) and alexithymia among 505 men. Four unique classes of men emerged: (1) low endorsement of DM and alexithymia, (2) moderate endorsement of alexithymia and DM, (3) moderate endorsement of alexithymia and high endorsement of attitudinal and behavioral DM, and (4) high endorsement of DM attitudes and alexithymia, and low endorsement of DM behaviors. We explored relations between class membership and avoidant attachment, social pressure to be muscular, help-seeking attitudes, and body appreciation, using Class 1 as the reference group. Alexithymia and attitudinal DM, in the absence of behavioral DM, appear to be a particularly unhealthful constellation of alexithymia and DM.

To be (healthy) or not to be: Moderated mediation of the relationships between masculine norms, future orientation, family income, and college men’s healthful behaviors.

Conformity to masculine norms has been found to be associated negatively with men’s engagement in healthful behaviors. However, some men still engage in healthful behaviors despite the potential violation of masculine norms. Future orientation, which is the ability to consider the potential distal outcomes of immediate behaviors, is associated positively with engagement in healthful behaviors and may mediate the relationship between masculine norms and healthful behaviors. Furthermore, family income may influence the relationship between future orientation and healthful behaviors, as enacting future orientation may require access to resources. The present study examined a moderated mediation model of associations among conformity to masculine norms, future orientation, family income, and engagement in healthful behaviors. Using a sample of 288 college men, results indicated that future orientation mediated the relationship between conformity to masculine norms and engagement in healthful behaviors, while family income moderated the aforementioned mediated relationship. These results can help to inform clinical work, research, and advocacy for men’s healthful behaviors.

“The Worst Experience of My Life”: The Internship Crisis and Its Impact on Students

OBJECTIVE The objective of the present study was to understand how internship applicants perceive themselves as being affected by the ongoing imbalance between the number of internship spots available and the number of applicants to internship. METHOD The present study undertook a qualitative, and supplemental quantitative, analysis of 1,076 internship applicant responses to an item included in the 2011 postmatch survey asking participants how the internship crisis has affected them. RESULTS Results indicated that the internship application process in general was viewed overwhelmingly negatively. Respondents described personal stress and system issues in their responses. Respondents described reciprocal stresses; applications spur on stresses, which are compounded by fears of not matching. Such fears cast negative light on training. Participants also described resiliencies that buffered against stresses and perceptions of discrimination or bias that add to stress. CONCLUSIONS The implications of these findings for supporting students, working to resolve the internship crisis, and adapting policy are discussed.