Men's gender role conflict : psychological costs, consequences, and an agenda for change / James M. O'Neil.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 353-394) and index.

Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- An overview of gender role conflict and its history -- A call to expand the psychology of men -- My personal gender role journey with the gender role conflict research program -- The theoretical foundations of gender role conflict -- New contextual paradigms for gender role conflict theory, research, and practice -- Scale development and measurement in the gender role conflict research program -- A developmental model of masculinity : gender role transitions and men's psychosocial growth -- Empirical research on gender role conflict in boys and men -- Contextual aspects of diverse men's gender role conflict : multiculturalism, oppression, and social justice perspectives -- Summary of the gender role conflict research program -- Four contextual paradigms for gender role conflict research -- Practical applications for gender role conflict in therapy and preventative programs -- Therapeutic assessment of gender role conflict in counseling and psychotherapy -- Gender role journey therapy with men -- Using gender role journey therapy : the case study of Thomas -- A call to action : future directions in confronting gender role conflict -- Theoretical and empirical justification for psychoeducational programming for boys and men -- Prevention of gender role conflict using psychoeducation: three evaluated interventions -- Call to action revisited : contextual summary and more personal reflections.

Restrictive definitions of masculinity limit men's well-being and human potential, resulting in gender role conflict. Gender role conflict harms not only boys and men but also girls and women, transgendered people, and society at large. Extensive research relates men's gender role conflict to many problems, including sexism, violence, homophobia, depression, substance abuse, and relationship issues. This book represents a call to action for researchers and practitioners, graduate students, and other mental healthcare professionals to confront men's gender role conflict and reduce its harmful influence on individuals and society. James M. O'Neil is a pioneer in men's psychology who conceptualized gender role conflict and created the Gender Role Conflict Scale. In this book, he combines over 300 studies from renowned scholars in men's psychology with more than 30 years of his own clinical and research experience to promote activism and challenge the status quo. He describes multiple effects of men's gender role conflict, including success, power, and competition issues; restrictive emotionality; restrictive affectionate behavior between men; and conflicts between work and family relations. O'Neil also explains when gender role conflict can develop in a man's gender role journey, how to address it through preventive programs and therapy for boys and men, and what initiatives researchers and clinicians can pursue. -- from dust jacket.