Citation

Luís C, Canavarro MC, Fonseca A. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019; 16(20): e16204002.

Affiliation

Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, 3000-115 Coimbra, Portugal. ana.fonseca77@gmail.com.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph16204002

PMID

31635045

Abstract

Women's partners may act as facilitators of professional help-seeking for mental health problems in the postpartum period. This study aimed to examine the sociodemographic and clinical correlates of men's intentions to recommend professional help-seeking to their partners if they display postpartum mood and anxiety disorders and to explore the relationship between gender-role conflict and the intention to recommend help-seeking. A cross-sectional study included 214 adult men in a heterosexual relationship with a partner within the reproductive age. Men presented a high intention to recommend professional help to their partners. All dimensions of gender-role conflict were directly associated with the intention to recommend professional help-seeking (p < 0.05). High levels of gender-role conflict (dimensions success, power and competition, and restricted emotionality) were found to lead to increased levels of stigma and lower levels of intention to seek professional help, which, in turn, translated into lower intention to recommend help-seeking. These results emphasize the importance of developing universal awareness-raising and education campaigns directed at men aiming to reduce levels of gender-role conflict and stigma, and normalize the use of mental health services, to increase men's intentions to recommend professional help-seeking to their partners.

Language: en

Keywords

experiential avoidance; gender-role conflict; intention to seek professional help; men’s intentions to recommend professional help-seeking; postpartum mood and anxiety disorders; stigma