The role of masculine personality characteristics and beliefs about sexuality in anxiety, guilt, and shame of men treated for prostate cancer
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Grigar, Gabrielle Elizabeth
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Grigar, Gabrielle Elizabeth. 2023. The role of masculine personality characteristics and beliefs about sexuality in anxiety, guilt, and shame of men treated for prostate cancer. Master's thesis, Harvard University Division of Continuing Education.Abstract
While studies have identified that prostate cancer treatment side effects impact men's sexual function and lead to mental health distress, research examining the beliefs that men hold about sexuality and their association with mental health outcomes appears to be lacking. In this study, I investigated whether the extent to which men self-identify with stereotypical masculine characteristics predicts higher levels of anxiety, guilt, and shame reported by men who have been treated for prostate cancer. In addition, I sought to explore the role of their beliefs about sexuality in these relationships. Participants were recruited from a major Canadian city and from social media in both Canada and the United States. They were comprised of 229 prostate cancer survivors (survivors) and 97 approximately age-matched men (controls) who answered an online survey. My analysis showed that men who had greater stereotypical beliefs about sexuality reported significantly higher levels of anxiety. This finding was observed among men in both the survivor and control groups. Furthermore, survivors who held greater stereotypical beliefs about sexuality reported higher levels of guilt and shame. In addition, stereotypical beliefs about sexuality moderated the relationship between traditionally stereotypical masculine personality characteristics and reported guilt among survivors. I concluded that the beliefs that men hold about sexuality significantly predict anxiety, guilt, and shame and moderate the relationship between levels of traditionally stereotypical masculine personality characteristics and guilt. As a result, assessing men's beliefs about sexuality as well as their personality characteristics may provide a clinical tool that can be used to screen for prostate cancer survivors who are at a high risk of experiencing anxiety, guilt, and shame. In addition, addressing men’s views about sexuality that are not grounded in reality represents an opportunity to reduce these emotions.Terms of Use
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https://nrs.harvard.edu/URN-3:HUL.INSTREPOS:37377240
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