Paul Sharp

Online recruitment and data collection in qualitative research grew significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing a host of benefits including cost and time savings for researchers and participants. However, significant risks and limitations exist when recruiting and interviewing participants online. ‘Imposter participants’ have emerged, seemingly incentivized by study honoraria. These imposter participants invoke significant administrative burdens and call into question data integrity and researcher commitment to equitable and inclusive sampling. This article features insights drawn from experiences of conducting online recruitment for a Canadian photovoice study of men’s mental health and peer support in three themes: (1) Gone Phishing: Detecting and Deterring Imposters, (2) Screening for Subterfuge: Balancing Integrity and Inclusivity, and (3) Fraud Fatigue: Researcher Strain and Drain. The first theme, Gone Phishing: Detecting and Deterring Imposters, outlines processes for identifying imposter participants, including technological tools and human strategies. Screening for Subterfuge: Balancing Integrity and Inclusivity chronicles ethical implications and researcher adaptions for ensuring that authentic eligible participants are not inadvertently excluded. The third theme, Fraud Fatigue: Researcher Strain and Drain, details the workload and distress that researchers can face in dealing with imposter participants, while thoughtfully considering avenues for reducing these potential harms. Findings across these themes underscore the potential for imposter participants to increase project costs and compromise data integrity for online qualitative research. Implicating the need for strategies, recommendations are made for supporting researchers and upgrading university systems to improve security and risk management guidelines for managing imposter participants, especially in the wake of artificial intelligence–generated scams.

Individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds frequently experience complex health barriers arising from migration related factors and cultural differences within their new communities. Men with South Asian backgrounds in Australia represent a group particularly affected by these intersecting factors in addition to gender-related influences. In response, HAT TRICK™ Cricket, a culturally adapted health promotion intervention aimed at improving physical activity, healthy eating, and mental fitness, was designed for men with South Asian backgrounds in Western Sydney, Australia. To explore participants’ perspectives and experiences of the programme and its perceived outcomes on their health and well-being, semi-structured interviews (N = 13) were conducted approximately 2 weeks following programme completion. Three themes were inductively derived using thematic analysis: ‘Pursuing personal growth and mastery on and off the pitch’ which emerged through opportunities for experiential learning, culturally meaningful engagement, and skill development that collectively enhanced participants’ confidence, sense of competence, and motivation to improve; ‘Finding commonality and social connection’ in which participants perceived the programme to foster meaningful interactions, facilitate the formation of new friendships, and strengthen existing relationships in a supportive environment that encouraged open and honest conversations extending beyond sport; and third, ‘Translating knowledge into everyday action’ which indicated that participants actively applied some of the skills and knowledge gained from the programme to improve their daily physical activity, nutrition, and mental health practices. These findings support the feasibility and value of culturally tailored sport-based health promotion programmes and can inform future initiatives for CALD communities.

While men’s mental health help-seeking has received increased clinical and research attention, little information exists regarding men’s perspectives and experiences of peer support and mutual help for mental health challenges. Drawing on qualitative photovoice interviews with 65 men living in Canada ( M = 37; SD = 15.5 years), thematic analyses were conducted to explore the gendered barriers to men’s mental health peer support. Two inductively derived themes were identified. Dual paradoxes fuelling men’s silence revealed a complex interplay of tensions and alignments with traditional masculine norms, often leading to concealment and therefore inaction. Men struggled to reach out to male peers, despite their willingness to help others and broader societal encouragement to seek help. Relational masculine norms driving misaligned support revealed risks and vulnerabilities for men seeking peer support, with concerns about asking for too much or over-disclosing when opportunities arose. Men’s requests for support were often implicit or vaguely defined, which contributed to their unmet support needs, despite well-intentioned efforts from peers. When men did receive support, it was often conditional and contextually bound within acceptable masculine milieus. Findings highlight how men’s intentions and actions toward mental health peer support can be constrained by perceived normative masculine identities and relations. To reify the potential of men’s peer support, gendered barriers must be thoughtfully considered and addressed to promote men’s mental health and informal help-seeking.

Young adulthood is a unique period when most men's romantic relationships are in nascent stages. The current study aimed to explore the impact of romantic relationship challenges on young men's mental health in a national sample of undergraduate Canadian-based university students. A reference group from the 2022 National College Health Assessment was analyzed (N = 2,036), comprising young men (18-24 years) who were enrolled in full-time undergraduate studies in Canada. Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used to examine differences in psychological distress, loneliness, suicide risk, and positive mental health based on relationship distress. Overall, 816 respondents (40.1%) reported experiencing a romantic relationship challenge in the last 12 months. Young men who experienced a distressed relationship reported higher levels of psychological distress (partial η² = .043), loneliness (partial η² = .050), and suicidal behavior (partial η² = .034), and lower levels of positive mental health (partial η² = .011). The findings reflect significant mental health concerns for young men who experience relationship challenges, underscoring the need to provide tailored services to young men in navigating their romantic relationships, including a relationship breakdown.

Over the past decade, there has been an increased emphasis on tailoring men’s health promotion programs. To optimize outcomes, participatory action research that involves and elicits feedback from end-users has been highlighted as important to creating gender-responsive interventions. In this scoping review, we examine (a) how participatory action research has been used to design health promotion interventions for men and (b) what constitutes a gender-responsive intervention design. Following a comprehensive search, 53 articles were included in the review, reporting on 35 men’s health promotion programs. Our findings suggest that participatory action methods harness varying degrees of end-user involvement, with a large majority limited to post-intervention evaluations rather than co-design and consumer collaboration. In addition, there are inconsistencies for applying gender-responsive approaches within programs, particularly regarding how interventions are targeted, tailored, and promoted to men. We conclude that participatory action research methods translate to varying degrees of gender responsiveness in men’s health promotion programs. That said, involving end-users at various stages of intervention design, implementation, and evaluation may increase the likelihood that programs are more attuned to masculinities and better engage participants in promoting healthy behavior change. Efforts to advance gender-responsive designs can benefit from inductively deriving and incorporating men’s masculine values.

Emotional intimacy – the perception of closeness that allows sharing of personal feelings, accompanied by expectations of understanding, affirmation, and caring (Sinclair and Dowdy 2005, 193) – is ...

Peer support has a long history of helping people navigate mental health challenges and is increasingly utilized within men’s mental health promotion initiatives. Despite considerable research conceptualizing and evaluating peer support in various contexts, little is known about the gendered dimensions of men’s peer support and mutual help for mental health. This article provides an empirically informed commentary on men’s peer support and informal help-seeking preferences to make recommendations for future directions for research and practice. Research examining men’s peer support is emergent and the available evidence suggests that there is potential to conceptually align with many men’s values and preferences for mental health help-seeking. Peer support offers a non-clinical, strength-based adjunct to professional support that may aid men in navigating a range of mental health challenges. Consideration must be given to the influence of gender socialization and men’s diverse experiences with developing and maintaining peer relationships. It should not be assumed that authentic and supportive relationships will naturally form when men congregate together. As a growing number of interventions and programs emerge targeted at boys and men, there are important opportunities to leverage these health promotion efforts to encourage and coach men to engage in mutual help. Opportunities for research and practice are discussed to better understand and harness the health-promoting potential of peer support for men’s mental health.

Men historically consume more meat than women, show fewer intentions to reduce meat consumption, and are underrepresented among vegans and vegetarians. Eating meat strongly aligns with normative masculinities, decisively affirming that “real men” eat meat and subordinating men who choose to be veg* n (vegan or vegetarian). The emergence of meat alternatives and increasing environmental concerns may contest these long-standing masculine norms and hierarchies. The current scoping review addresses the research question what are the connections between masculinities and men’s attitudes and behaviors toward meat consumption and veg*nism? Using keywords derived from two key concepts, “men” and “meat,” 39 articles were selected and analyzed to inductively derive three thematic findings; (a) Meat as Masculine, (b) Veg*n Men as Othered, and (c) Veg*nism as Contemporary Masculinity. Meat as Masculine included how men’s gendered identities, defenses, and physicalities were entwined with meat consumption. Veg*n Men as Othered explored the social and cultural challenges faced by men who adopt meatless diets, including perceptions of emasculation. Veg*nism as Contemporary Masculinity was claimed by men who eschewed meat in their diets and advocated for veg*nism as legitimate masculine capital through linkages to physical strength, rationality, self-determination, courage, and discipline. In light of the growing concern about the ecological impact of meat production and the adverse health outcomes associated with its excessive consumption, this review summarizes empirical connections between masculinities and the consumption of meat to consider directions for future men’s health promotion research, policy, and practice.

Work plays a central role in many men’s lives and can be a major contributor to mental health. The current study aim was to examine the prevalence and nature of Canadian men’s mental health challenges at work, including diverse indicators of mental health and workplace characteristics. Participants (N = 451) were men (M = 49.97 years; SD = 14.99) employed in British Columbia, Canada, who were recruited via a market research online panel. Questionnaires were used to collect men’s mental health data (e.g. depression, loneliness), work-related health (e.g. burnout, bullying), and workplace performance (e.g. presentism, absenteeism). Findings revealed high rates of hazardous drinking (36%), depression (22%), suicidal/self-injury ideation (18%), and anxiety (14%). Many participants reported that they frequently experienced occupational burnout, and 18% reported that personal problems significantly impaired their work. Of concern, approximately 53% indicated that they keep feelings to themselves and 45% reported that they would prefer not to talk about their problems. Important factors related to mental health symptoms were identified (e.g. age, distress concealment, male-dominated workplace). These findings highlight the need for policy makers and employers to take immediate action to address men’s mental health challenges by developing initiatives that promote men’s mental health in the workplace.

Suicide is a major public health concern and leading cause of death among men in Canada. This study reports the feasibility and acceptability of Buddy Up, a peer-based suicide prevention campaign for men. A mixed-methods approach was used to analyze respondent survey questionnaires ( n = 48) and individual participant interviews ( n = 19) collected from campaign users. Survey respondents reported that they enjoyed their involvement in the campaign (92%), were more confident to talk with men about mental health and suicide (95%), and would recommend Buddy Up to others (95%). Qualitative interviews were thematically analyzed to develop three inductively derived themes: (a) Engaging men with relatable masculine content and design: “Buddy Up really spoke to them in their language,” highlighting the importance of understanding and working with gendered practices and motivations to legitimize and motivate involvement in suicide prevention; (b) Leveraging campaign participation to initiate conversations and promote mental health: “It gives men language and license to start asking questions,” revealing ways in which participants utilized Buddy Up to negotiate and norm checking-in to promote men’s mental health; and (c) Driving new masculine cultures: “We start every meeting with a mental health moment,” identifying how participants fostered healthy milieus for disclosing mental health challenges with teamwork and preventive action under the banner of Buddy Up. The study findings support the feasibility of Buddy Up and highlight the acceptability of peer-based approaches to mental health promotion. The findings can also empirically guide future efforts for systematically building men’s peer-based suicide prevention programs.