How do beliefs about 'being a man' affect health behaviors?

This is one of the questions the research team on Masculinity and Health is exploring. Currently, we’re examining health promotion for men in an attempt to understand and promote factors that increase health-promotion behaviors. We’re testing whether a model of health promotion is equally appropriate for African American and White American men. We've found that models fits the data for both groups, but the paths among the variables are not the same for African American and Caucasian men. We're presenting this research at APA in August and will be submitting it for publication later this year. 

We’ve also found very intriguing relationships between our participants’ views of their masculinity and their relationships with dating or marital partners and colleagues at work. We'll be examining this in more depth this fall when we look at their relationships with male and female work colleagues.

Additionally, we are interested in heath promotion, specifically physical activity, for college students (men and women) who are at risk for developing poor health habits at this developmental stage. 

Other recent projects:

Lease, S. H., Montes, S. H., Badgett, L. R., Sawyer, R. J., Fleming, K. M., Hampton, A.   B., Ovrebo, E., ... Boyraz, G. (in press). A cross-cultural exploration of masculinity and relationships in men from Turkey, Norway, and the United States. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology.

Lease, S. H., Hampton, A. B., Fleming, K. M., Baggett, L. R., Montes, S. H., & Sawyer, R. J. (2010). Masculinity and interpersonal competencies: Contrasting White and African American men. Journal of Men and Masculinity, 11, 195-207.

Current team members:

Suzanne Lease

Christine Jehu

Archandria (Kandi) Owens

Monica Rustom

Alida Gage