New research suggests that certain traditional expectations around masculinity, particularly emotional suppression and extreme self-reliance, may be linked to difficulties processing emotions and higher levels of anxiety and depression.
Understanding masculinity and mental health
Traditional ideas about masculinity are often discussed in relation to men’s mental health, but these expectations are not all associated with poorer outcomes. A new study published in Sex Roles suggests that the relationship is more complex, with some masculine norms appearing harmful, while others may have a neutral or even protective effect.
Researchers have previously found that men are less likely to seek professional psychological help and more likely to leave therapy early than women. The new study aimed to understand whether particular expectations around masculinity could help explain some of these differences.
How emotional processing may play a role
The researchers focused on two psychological factors: alexithymia and emotion regulation. Alexithymia refers to difficulty identifying and describing emotions, while emotion regulation involves the ability to understand and manage emotional responses.
The researchers suggest that expectations encouraging boys and men to hide vulnerability or remain entirely self-reliant may limit opportunities to develop these emotional skills. Over time, this could make it more difficult to recognise and process distress.
To investigate this, the team surveyed 740 men from the United States and the United Kingdom, aged between 22 and 80. Participants completed questionnaires measuring their adherence to ten traditional masculine norms, as well as their levels of alexithymia, emotion regulation difficulties, depression, anxiety and stress.
Not all masculine norms have the same impact
The findings showed that four masculine norms were particularly associated with higher levels of alexithymia: prioritising work, extreme self-reliance, the desire to win and strong emotional control.
Men who more strongly endorsed these expectations were more likely to report difficulty recognising and describing their emotions. These difficulties were then associated with poorer emotion regulation and, in turn, higher levels of anxiety and depression.
However, other masculine norms did not show the same relationship. Men who placed greater importance on pursuing status, for example, actually reported lower levels of alexithymia and fewer internalising symptoms. Norms around risk-taking and heterosexual self-presentation were not associated with poorer emotional processing.
The findings therefore suggest that masculinity should not be treated as a single, inherently harmful concept. Different expectations can have very different relationships with mental health.