Young Men, Masculinities and Health, 2003-2004

<p>Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.</p>The aim of this study was to explore the influence of men's beliefs about masculinity on their social behaviour, particularly that related to their health. The study was influenced by recent research into masculinity and masculine identities, especially among young men. A second influence was the steady stream of health-related research showing high rates of alcohol consumption (especially 'binge drinking'), recreational drug use, smoking (although rates are falling among young men), unprotected sex and sexually transmitted infections, and motor vehicle accidents. Rather than making the assumption that masculinity is 'bad' for men's health, this study sought to interrogate the links between masculinity and health, and to see whether masculinity is a 'package deal' of behaviours, or whether men are able to forge their own identities and their own patterns of masculine (and non-masculine) behaviour. <br> <br> The research focus was on young men's lived experiences of growing up, socialising, and developing a masculine identity. To do this, a qualitative study was designed. The participants in the study were 18 - 21-year-old men living in inner London. This group was chosen because these men are old enough to drink, drive, etc. and would be somewhere between leaving school and their adult destinations. They would have achieved some degree of independence, but may still have been in the process of developing their identities.<br> <br> Thirty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with a group of men recruited to ensure diversity in class/socio-economic opportunity (unemployed young men from job centres and young men from universities were recruited for the study), and race/ethnicity (the sample was stratified to ensure sufficient numbers of white, black, and Asian young men were included). In addition, focus group discussions were also conducted.<br> <br><B>Main Topics</B>:<br>The focus of the interviews was respondents' individual experience of life and social behaviour. In addition, five focus group discussions were held, to examine issues such as masculinity and health, and to assess to what extent different participants endorsed different discourses of those issues.