The Gendered Barriers to Men's Mental Health Peer Support: A Photovoice Study

While men's mental health help-seeking has received increased clinical and research attention, little information exists regarding men's perspectives and experiences of peer support and mutual help for mental health challenges. Drawing on qualitative photovoice interviews with 65 men living in Canada (M = 37; SD = 15.5 years), thematic analyses were conducted to explore the gendered barriers to men's mental health peer support. Two inductively derived themes were identified. Dual paradoxes fuelling men's silence revealed a complex interplay of tensions and alignments with traditional masculine norms, often leading to concealment and therefore inaction. Men struggled to reach out to male peers, despite their willingness to help others and broader societal encouragement to seek help. Relational masculine norms driving misaligned support revealed risks and vulnerabilities for men seeking peer support, with concerns about asking for too much or over-disclosing when opportunities arose. Men's requests for support were often implicit or vaguely defined, which contributed to their unmet support needs, despite well-intentioned efforts from peers. When men did receive support, it was often conditional and contextually bound within acceptable masculine milieus. Findings highlight how men's intentions and actions toward mental health peer support can be constrained by perceived normative masculine identities and relations. To reify the potential of men's peer support, gendered barriers must be thoughtfully considered and addressed to promote men's mental health and informal help-seeking.