La Trobe

The Relationship Between Masculinity and Men’s COVID-19 Safety Precautions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Download (356.15 kB)
journal contribution
posted on 2024-08-14, 05:02 authored by Sarah Jones, Joel AndersonJoel Anderson
Studies have indicated that men are less likely to engage in COVID-19- safety precautions such as mask wearing and social distancing compared to women, and men’s adherence to masculine gender norms may contribute to this discrepancy. This systematic review sought to consolidate extant research exploring the relationship between men’s adherence to masculine norms and their attitudes and engagement with COVID-19 safety precautions. A systematic search was conducted across APA PsycInfo, MEDLINE, and SCOPUS to identify data from quantitative and qualitative studies, written in English, using samples including adolescent or adult males. Of the 4, 326 studies initially identified, 11 studies met the inclusion criteria (eight quantitative and three qualitative). A total number of 3, 134 male participants were included, the majority of which were from North America. The meta-analysis revealed a negative relationship between men’s adherence to masculine norms and wearing masks (r = −.52, n = 2, 783) and general or mixed measures of COVID-19 precautions (r = −.18, n = 612). There was insufficient evidence to metaanalyse other specific relationships; however, the thematic synthesis revealed a limited quantity of evidence that reported mixed findings about whether or not masculinity is related the specific precautions of hand washing, social distancing, restricted travel, vaccinations, and staying at home. As the majority of studies were U.S. based and the concept of masculinity can vary by culture, further research is required to determine the cross-cultural validity of these findings. The present review provides valuable insight for policy makers looking to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

History

Publication Date

2024-07-01

Journal

Psychology of Men & Masculinities

Volume

25

Issue

3

Pagination

12p. (p. 240-251)

Publisher

American Psychological Association

ISSN

1524-9220

Rights Statement

© 2024 The Author(s) This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). This license permits copying and redistributing the work in any medium or format, as well as adapting the material for any purpose, even commercially.

Usage metrics

    Journal Articles

    Licence

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC