Effects of Conformity to Masculine Norms and Coping on Health Behaviors in Men With Multiple Sclerosis

The role of conformity to masculine gender norms in health behaviors in men with multiple sclerosis (MS) has not received attention. This cross-sectional study explores these issues and their relationship to coping and health behaviors.

Eighty-one men with MS completed the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory-46 and the Ways of Coping Questionnaire and provided demographic and clinical variables. These results were used to predict subscale scores of the Health Behavior Inventory-20 in multivariable regression models.

Models for the Preventive Self-care and Avoiding Anger and Stress subscales were successfully fit. For the former, respondents endorsing lower levels of masculine conformity related to Emotional Control and higher levels of Heterosexual Self-presentation predicted greater self-care, as did higher use of Positive Reappraisal as a coping strategy. For men reporting low levels of Positive Reappraisal as a coping strategy, increasing Heterosexual Self-presentation was associated with higher levels of self-care. For those with high levels of coping with Positive Reappraisals, increased Heterosexual Self-presentation was associated with modest declines in self-care. For the Avoiding Anger and Stress subscale score, men endorsing Violence or Heterosexual Self-presentation as important aspects of masculinity also reported less efforts in controlling stress and anger.

Masculinity adherence to traditional gender norms was a significant predictor of how men engaged in health behaviors and, in the case of Preventive Self-care, was found to interact with Positive Reappraisal as a coping strategy. Such information is novel and important to providers serving male patients with MS and can improve provider awareness/conceptualization of male patient needs.