New Zealand Rehabilitation Association, Inc.

Good, GE, Schopp, LH, Thomson, D, Hathaway, S, Sanford-Martens, T, Mazurek, MO, and Mintz, LB. Masculine roles and rehabilitation outcomes among men recovering from serious injuries. Psychology of Men & Masculinity. 2006; 7(3): 165-176.

Here’s an interesting question: Who do you think would do better in rehabilitation following a serious injury? A guy who conforms to traditional male roles – e.g. the strong, silent type who is not one to ask for help when he’s hurt, who believes that men should be in charge and who is uncomfortable at any suggestion of discussing emotions – OR a guy who does not conform to such roles – a ‘new-age snag’ or the 'metrosexual' perhaps?  While there has been some theorisation in the past about which type of masculinity is more conducive to successful rehabilitation outcomes, these authors claim that theirs is the first study to collect data on such issues.

The study involves 52 adult male participants (from the US) currently engaged in rehabilitation following brain injury or spinal cord injury.  These men were asked to complete a psychometrically-robust Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI) and a Gender Role Conflict Scale (GRCS).  Outcomes assessed included a scale which evaluated ‘Attitudes Towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help’, the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), the Craig Hospital Inventory of Environmental Factors and the Satisfaction with Life Scale.

Interestingly the results from this study indicated that for men involved in rehabilitation there are both advantages and disadvantages to a high-level of conformity with traditional masculine cultural norms.  In terms of the benefits, items on both the CMNI and GRCS, relating to traditional masculine beliefs regarding the pursuit of status, success, power and competition, were significantly correlated with changes in FIM scores from hospital admission to one year following discharge.  These results give some credence to the idea that men can find aspects of traditional masculine cultural identity aid recovery following a serious illness, perhaps through motivating these men to persist with intensive therapies despite hard work and the odds.

On the negative side however, the men in this study who held strong beliefs regarding having power over women were significantly less satisfied with their lives following injury and rehabilitation.  Presumable this was because their disabilities prevented them from being (perceived) as physically powerful as they had once been.  Furthermore, traditional masculine beliefs were also negatively associated with attitudes toward seeking psychological help.  In fact, the more men were inclined to endorse traditional masculine norms, the more resistant they were to the idea of seeking psychological help when needed.

As a ‘first of its kind’ study, this paper raises more questions than it answers, but it certainly gets you thinking.  Should we be developing strategies to confront negative attitudes towards seeking psychological assistance within a framework acceptable to the more ‘traditional’ male?  Should we develop rehabilitation strategies that build on those aspects of traditional masculinity that appear to assist men to maximise their involvement in therapy, and test those strategies?  There seems to be lots of room here for further research in this area.