Masculinity research suggests help-seeking attitudes towards mental health concerns conflict with socialized masculine norms such as emotional control and self-reliance (Addis & Mahalik, 2003; Heath, Brenner, Vogel, Lannin, & Strass, 2017). As psychologists continue to find ways to reach out to men, exercise intervention may be the catalyst for men to seek out psychological services. More specifically, boxing training has been shown to increase the sense of self-confidence and character development (Shultz, Stoner, Lambrick, & Lane, 2014; Sokol, 2004). In this study, 24 men engaged in a six-session boxing training program to examine the impact high-intensity exercise has on psychological help-seeking attitudes and psychological distress. Participants reported lower psychological distress, an increase in health behaviors, and high levels of exercise self-efficacy throughout the intervention. Additionally, participants who reported greater adherence to traditional masculine norms endorsed greater psychological distress compared to participants reporting lower adherence to masculine norms. Help-seeking attitudes towards psychological services did not change throughout the boxing program, suggesting men may gain the psychological benefits they seek directly from action-oriented activities.
Dissertation
Boxing, masculinity, and help-seeking: how a boxing-based exercise program impacts the relationship between masculine norm adherence and help-seeking
University of Iowa
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
Summer 2019
DOI: 10.17077/etd.901w-xb8x
Abstract
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Boxing, masculinity, and help-seeking: how a boxing-based exercise program impacts the relationship between masculine norm adherence and help-seeking
- Creators
- Adam M Gallenberg - University of Iowa
- Contributors
- William Ming Liu (Advisor)Megan Foley-Nicpon (Committee Member)Saba R. Ali (Committee Member)Charles Bermingham (Committee Member)Mitchell Kelly (Committee Member)Michael E. Wright (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Psychological and Quantitative Foundations
- Date degree season
- Summer 2019
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- DOI
- 10.17077/etd.901w-xb8x
- Number of pages
- vi, 40 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2019 Adam M. Gallenberg
- Language
- English
- Date submitted
- 11/07/2019
- Description illustrations
- illustrations
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 35-40).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
Prior research has demonstrated that men are generally resistant to psychological help seeking, and research addressing barriers to help-seeking attitudes have mixed results. Research has also shown resistance to psychological services conflicts with social norms of masculinity. Furthermore, no studies to date have examined the effect of boxing training on psychological distress or help-seeking attitudes in men. This study set out to engage men in an intervention that would be perceived as non-threatening to their masculinity and determine if boxing exercise participation would increase positive attitudes towards psychological services.
In this study, 24 adult men engaged in a boxing-based exercise program that consisted of one-on-one training for 6 sessions. Participants responded to a survey measuring adherence to socialized masculine norms prior to the exercise program. Participants also responded to surveys that questioned their experiences with help-seeking attitudes, psychological distress, exercise self-efficacy, and health behaviors before, throughout, and after the exercise program. The boxing training program positively impacted reported experiences of healthy behaviors, exercise self-efficacy, and psychological distress. Additionally, men who reported higher endorsement of masculinity also reported higher levels of psychological distress prior to the exercise program. Results showed similar endorsement of psychological distress throughout and after the exercise program, suggesting boxing training is a healthy help-seeking behavior rather than a catalyst to increase help-seeking attitudes. This study highlights the importance of aligning mental health interventions for men to masculine congruent activities.
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Quantitative Foundations
- Record Identifier
- 9983776843702771
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