Men's spirituality as a predictor of their willingness to seek help

LaKeisha C Hamilton, Tennessee State University

Abstract

This study examined masculine ideology, health-behaviors and spirituality as predictors of men's attitudes towards help-seeking. In addition, this investigation examined differences between African American males and males of other racial groups with respect to these variables. Participants completed the Male Role Norms Inventory-Revised (MRNI-R), Health Behavior Inventory-20 (HBI-20), Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWB) and Attitudes toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale (ATSPPH). The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics at the 0.01 level of significance. A significant relationship existed between help-seeking and ethnicity. There was also a significant relationship between help-seeking and spirituality. Males overall had high levels of spirituality, high levels of traditional masculine beliefs, and engaged in riskier health-behaviors. Moreover, a significant relationship was found between African American males with high levels of spirituality, traditional masculine ideology, riskier health-behaviors, and help-seeking. The researcher concluded that higher levels of spirituality were predictors of help-seeking of men in general, and especially in African American men. Further research is needed to understand why among this sample of African American men, high levels of spirituality were associated with leading less healthy lifestyles.

Subject Area

Behavioral psychology|Psychology|Spirituality|Health education

Recommended Citation

LaKeisha C Hamilton, "Men's spirituality as a predictor of their willingness to seek help" (2013). ETD Collection for Tennessee State University. Paper AAI1547714.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI1547714

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