Date of Award

5-2024

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Master of Social Work

Department

School of Social Work

First Reader/Committee Chair

Barragan, Armando

Abstract

Machismo is an ideology held within the Hispanic community that endorses the expression of men’s dominance and power as well as aspects of bravery, honor, dominance, and reserved emotions. Higher rates of belief in machismo are connected to higher post-traumatic distress, stress, and depression. The goal of the study is to determine to what extent Machismo has an impact on male Hispanic college students’ beliefs about mental illness and their willingness to seek help. The following is a quantitative study. This study utilized male college students enrolled in the Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work programs. Additional participants attending a two-year community college or a four-year university were recruited through social media platforms. A Qualtrics questionnaire was administered using scales to assess machismo, willingness to seek help, and beliefs towards mental illness. This population was chosen due to the stigma of mental health and mental health services among Hispanic males (n=23). The findings from this study provide social work practice with a better understanding of how to apply interventions and treatment for male Hispanic college students with mental illness. Results of the study indicate that Hispanic male college students who have higher identification with machismo have higher beliefs in negative stereotypes of mental illness but do not have a statistically significant relationship with a willingness to seek help.

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