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305925
An analysis of the role of masculinity, masculine capital, and spousal social control on men's health behaviors
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
: 5:15 PM - 5:30 PM
Julie Gast, PhD, MCHES
,
Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, Utah State University, Logan, UT
Melinda Arnell, BS
,
Department of Health, Physical Education,and Recreation, Utah State University, Logan, UT
Terry Peak, MSW, Ph.D.
,
Social Work Program, Utah State University, Logan, UT
Jason Leiker, PhD
,
Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology, Utah State University, Logan, UT
Previous research has noted that married men tend to be healthier than single men, also that wives may exert influence on men’s health behaviors, both positively and negatively through social control methods. However, little research has examined how men maintain masculine status when faced with spousal social control efforts. The purpose of this study was twofold: first, to gain a greater understanding of how wives exert social control over spousal health behaviors; second, to examine how men maintain masculinity, specifically masculine capital, when their wives desire health behavior changes. Umbersons’s 1987 model of social control was modified to analyze the focus group data; i.e. masculinity and masculine capital were added to the original constructs of family relationships, spousal social control, health behaviors, and physical health/mortality. To test this model a total of five focus groups were held with currently married men (N=44); their ages ranged from 21-82 and marital status from less than one year to 58 years. Thematic analysis revealed that marriage encouraged men to avoid risk-taking behaviors and become more responsible about their health behaviors. Further, men reported avoiding health care primarily to avoid the associated costs or sought health care to uphold their roles as financial providers for their families. Women used a variety of methods to change spousal health behaviors including both social control and social support tactics. Interestingly, male participants welcomed spousal input and social control methods overall and expressed the desire for more and not less of those tactics. Male participants stated that doing what their wives wanted did not reduce their sense of masculinity as they viewed having a happy home and wife to fit within masculinity ideals. Some male participants mentioned that they could exert masculine traits in other ways, such as hunting with friends. Additional results and implications will be discussed.
Learning Areas:
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Learning Objectives:
Define the components of Umberson's social control model as well as modifications made to the model to understand the role of masculinity and masculine capital in men's health behaviors.
Discuss how men perceive health care decision making in the context of masculinity and family relationships.
Identify how men maintain masculine capital when faced with social control and support efforts of their spousal on health behavior change.
Differentiate various strategies wives used to help influence their husbands health behavior.
Keyword(s): Health Promotion and Education, Men’s Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have conducted multiple studies in the areas of men's health and as such have published in peer reviewed journals and presented multiple times at APHA on this and other topics.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
