Men’s Adjustment to Spinal Cord Injury: The Unique Contributions of Conformity to Masculine Gender Norms
Year: 2009
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Men constitute 82% of the approximately 250,000 people in the United States living with a spinal cord injury. Unfortunately, however, little is known about the impact of men's adherence to gender norms on their adjustment to such injuries. The present investigation examined the utility of masculine norms in explaining variance in depression beyond that accounted for by commonly identified predictors of men's adjustment following spinal cord injury. As hypothesized, results suggested that men's adherence to masculine norms accounted for unique variance in their depression scores beyond that contributed by social support, environmental barriers/access, and erectile functioning. Respondents who adhered to norms stressing the primacy of men's work demonstrated lower rates of depression, whereas those who conformed to norms for self-reliance demonstrated higher depression scores. The authors discuss future research directions and potential psychotherapeutic strategies for working with men with spinal cord injuries.
Source: American Journal of Men s Health
Institutions: Harvard University, VA Boston Healthcare System, Hartford Hospital
Language: English
Subfield: Gender Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2094009153