The masculine concepts of control, strength, and responsibility to others were important to men with depression
Q How does depression influence men’s gender identities?
DESIGN
Qualitative secondary analysis.
SETTING
Interviews were conducted for use on a UK website that reports personal experiences of health and illness (www.dipex.org).
PARTICIPANTS
16 men ⩾18 years of age (range 30–75 y) who identified themselves as having depression and were well enough to participate in an interview. 5 men were homosexual, 3 were from ethnic minorities, and 5 had bipolar depression.
METHODS
Open ended, indepth interviews lasting 90–180 minutes were conducted by an experienced male researcher. Participants were encouraged to focus on issues about depression that were important to them and to discuss specific topics, such as the depression experience, social consequences, and strategies for help seeking and personal coping. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed in 2 phases. In the first phase, emerging themes were identified and coded using a modified grounded theory approach. In …
