Big boys don’t cry: depression and men†

Men are a numerical minority group receiving a diagnosis of, and treatment for, depression. However, community surveys of men and of their mental health issues (e.g. suicide and alcoholism) have led some to suggest that many more men have depression than are currently seen in healthcare services. This article explores current approaches to men and depression, which draw on theories of sex differences, gender roles and hegemonic masculinity. The sex differences approach has the potential to provide diagnostic tools for (male) depression; gender role theory could be used to redesign health services so that they target individuals who have a masculine, problem-focused coping style; and hegemonic masculinity highlights how gender is enacted through depression and that men’s depression may be visible in abusive, aggressive and violent practices. Depression in men is receiving growing recognition, and recent policy changes in the UK may mean that health services are obliged to incorporate services that meet the needs of men with depression. Peter Branney is a researcher with interests in qualitative and psychoanalytic social psychology who completed his doctoral thesis before taking up his first post as research fellow at the Centre for Men’s Health, Leeds Metropolitan University (Centre for Men’s Health, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds LS1 3HE, UK. Email: [email protected]). Alan White is Professor in Men’s Health, and Director of the Centre for Men’s Health, Leeds Metropolitan University. A nurse by background, Alan is the Chair of the Men’s Health Forum in England and Wales, and one of the founders of the European Men’s Health Forum.