Gender role conflict and help-seeking attitudes among males referred for alcohol abuse treatment: A comparison of self vs. mandatory referral

This study addressed the relationship between gender role conflict, help-seeking attitudes, and alcohol abuse among a group of 64 undergraduate males from a northeastern state university, who were seen for treatment at a substance abuse education and treatment program. This research is unique because the sample includes students who were voluntary as well as mandatory referrals for treatment. ^ Utilizing the Gender Role Conflict Scale (GRCS; O\u27Neil, Helms, Gable, and Wrightman\u27s (1986) in conjunction with the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale, (ASPPH; Fischer and Turner, 1970), this study examined the relationships among gender role conflict and help-seeking attitudes among two groups of men who were mandatory and voluntary referrals for alcohol abuse treatment. Two one-way analyses of variance were performed to examine differences between gender role conflict, help-seeking attitudes respectively among males who were self or mandatory referrals. Two discriminant function analysis were performed to assess, first, the relative importance of gender role conflict, help seeking attitudes, and the interaction of these two variables in predicting referral status (mandatory and voluntary), and second, to assess the relative importance of help seeking attitudes, and the subscales of the Gender Role Conflict Scale in predicting referral status. ^ The present study did not find significant differences among the groups with respect to attitudes toward help seeking, gender role conflict variables, or their interaction, individually, or interactively, suggesting that mandatory and self referrals are more alike than different concerning these variables. Post hoc analyses revealed that in terms of its research questions, the group of voluntary referrals differed from the mandatory group in terms of age and semester in college. The average semester in school for voluntary males was fifth semester, while the average semester for mandatory referrals was third semester. This difference was significant at the .01 level. The average age for voluntary males was 21.05 and the average age for mandatory males was 19.40. This difference was significant at the .01 level. Future research efforts are suggested in the area of alcohol abuse and gender role conflict among college-aged men.