The impact of gender roles and beli̇efs about mentalillness on men's atti̇tudes toward psychologi̇cal helpseeki̇ng

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of attitudes toward male gender roles on individuals' attitudes toward seeking psychological help and to test the mediating role of beliefs about mental illness in this relationship. The study was conducted with 424 male participants aged between 18 and 79. Data were collected using the Demographic Information Form, the Beliefs About Mental Illness Scale, the Attitudes Toward Male Gender Roles Scale, and the Attitudes Toward Professional Psychological Help-Seeking – Short Form. Mediation analysis revealed that attitudes toward male gender roles had a significant total (β = -0.14, p =.001) and direct (β = -0.12, p =β.013) negative effect on help-seeking attitudes. However, the indirect effect through beliefs about mental illness was not statistically significant. Independent samples t-tests showed that individuals who had received psychological support reported lower levels of traditional male gender role attitudes (β = -0.42, p <.001), lower levels of beliefs about mental illness (β= -0.56, p <.001), and more positive help-seeking attitudes (β = 0.54, p <.001), compared to those who had not received support. The findings suggest that attitudes toward psychological help-seeking are primarily shaped by beliefs about gender roles, while beliefs about mental illness influence this relationship not through mediation but contextually. These results were discussed in light of existing literature and contribute theoretically and practically to research on men's gender role attitudes and help-seeking behavior.