title: Men's health and psychosocial issues affecting men.
abstract: Contemporary scholars are calling on men to rethink "the male deal." As Samuels describes it, "In the male deal, the little boy, at around the age of 3 or 4. strikes a bargain with the social world in which he lives. If he will turn away from soft things, feminine things, maternal things...then the world will reward his gender certainty by giving him all the goodies in its possession." But the "deal" can have damaging effects, as shown in the studies reviewed in this article. Clinicians can help men to rethink the restrictions of the "male deal" so that they may experience the freedom of a wider emotional repertoire and move toward greater joy and wholeness.
authors.affiliation: PhD Program in Nursing University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Nursing, 1200 Volunteer Blvd. Knoxville, TN 37996-4180, USA. sthomas@utk.edu
authors.forename: Sandra P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000786:Anger; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D005783:Gender Identity; D006117:Grief; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D006791:Hostility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008571:Men / Q000523:psychology*; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009017:Morbidity; D009026:Mortality; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000379:methods; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology