Masculinities and College Men's Depression: Recursive Relationships
Copyright © eContent Management Pty Ltd. Health Sociology Review (2010) 19(4): 465–477. Masculinities and college men’s depression: Recursive relationships JOHN L OLIFFE School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada MARY T KELLY School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada JOY L JOHNSON School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada JOAN L BOTTORFF Faculty of Health and Social Development, University of British Columbia, Okanagan, BC, Canada ROSS E GRAY Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada JOHN S OGRODNICZUK Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada PAUL M GALDAS School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada ABSTRACT Depression is a signifi cant problem among college men. This qualitative study examines the interplay between masculinities and depression among Canadian-based college men who self-identifi ed or were formally diagnosed with depression. The resulting three themes – mind matters, stalled intimacy and lethargic discontent – reveal the recursive relationships between masculinities and depression whereby depression quashed men’s aspirations for embodying masculine ideals, with depression potentially trig- gered by self-doubt and concerns about harbouring a faulty masculinity. Key fi ndings include par- ticipants’ juxtaposing their private negative self-talk with attempts to pass as self-assured in public; anxieties about neediness and vulnerability negating their
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