OBJECTIVE: To conduct an intersectional analysis of relations between gender and age in the health behaviors of middle-aged men, informed by cross-national comparison between Finland and the United States. METHODS: Thematic and discourse analysis of data from interviews conducted among professional and working-class, middle-aged men in the U.S. and Finland. RESULTS: Respondents report that middle age inspires them to regard many bodily changes as more than transitory; and they assume a sense of responsibility that can lead to greater self-care. Men reported using such strategies as discipline, routine, and monitoring in their attempts to forestall aging. CONCLUSIONS: The men face contradictions: While they may adopt ideologies of masculinity and control and accept responsibility for influencing their health, their bodies may also present them with age-based limitations to their abilities to do so. How men respond to these changes varies by context, including their aging and these nations' different systems of health care. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.
OBJECTIVE: To conduct an intersectional analysis of relations between gender and age in the health behaviors of middle-aged men, informed by cross-national comparison between Finland and the United States. METHODS: Thematic and discourse analysis of data from interviews conducted among professional and working-class, middle-aged men in the U.S. and Finland. RESULTS: Respondents report that middle age inspires them to regard many bodily changes as more than transitory; and they assume a sense of responsibility that can lead to greater self-care. Men reported using such strategies as discipline, routine, and monitoring in their attempts to forestall aging. CONCLUSIONS: The men face contradictions: While they may adopt ideologies of masculinity and control and accept responsibility for influencing their health, their bodies may also present them with age-based limitations to their abilities to do so. How men respond to these changes varies by context, including their aging and these nations' different systems of health care. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.
Authors: Cindy M Gray; Kate Hunt; Nanette Mutrie; Annie S Anderson; Jim Leishman; Lindsay Dalgarno; Sally Wyke Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2013-03-16 Impact factor: 3.295