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.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uiowa.edu/oai:ir.uiowa.edu:etd-8447 |
| Date | 01 August 2019 |
| Creators | Gallenberg, Adam M |
| Contributors | Liu, William Ming |
| Publisher | University of Iowa |
| Source Sets | University of Iowa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | Copyright © 2019 Adam M. Gallenberg |
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