Traditional Masculinity and Psychological Distress among Married Men: Mediating Role of Experiential Avoidance

Abstract

This current study aimed to investigate the mediating role of experiential avoidance on the association between traditional masculinity and psychological distress among married men in Pakistan. The following hypotheses were formulated: the positive relationship between traditional masculinity, experiential avoidance, and psychological distress; the mediation effect of experiential avoidance on the relation between traditional masculinity and psychological distress; the greater level of all three variables in rural men compared to urban men. It is a correlational study with cross-sectional design. Purposive sampling with screening questions was used to recruit N = 250 married men aged from 20 to 55 years old in urban (n = 145) and rural (n = 105) settings. The tools included a demographic information form, the Gender Role Strain Scale for Men (Arshad & Shahed, 2021), the Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (Gámez et al., 2014), and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (Kessler et al., 2002). All the scales demonstrated adequate reliability (α = .86 to .90). Traditional masculinity, experiential avoidance, and psychological distress were found to be significantly and positively correlated (rs = .19 to .31, p < .01). Experiential Avoidance played a mediating role between Traditional Masculinity and Psychological Distress. Independent Sample T-test shows higher levels of Traditional Masculinity and Experiential Avoidance in rural participants as compared to urban participants. Therefore, the results of the study creates awareness among people and mental health professionals about the way our Traditional Masculinity beliefs are related to Experiential avoidance which ultimately leads to Psychological Distress among married men.