A Narrative Review of Men’s Mental Health: The Role of Stigma and Gender-Differentiated Socialization

Research on men’s mental health points out gender differences in help-seeking and access to care. Traditional masculine norms (i.e., emotional repression, self-reliance, “being strong”) and gender bias might conceal distress, delay treatment, and help to explain higher burdens of addiction, violence, and suicide alongside lower recorded affective/anxiety diagnoses. An exploratory narrative review was conducted. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched for 2015–2025 studies using MeSH and terms on men’s mental health, masculinities, and stigma. Eleven studies identified attitudinal barriers (i.e., self-stigma, shame, symptom minimization, mistrust, etc.) and structural barriers (i.e., limited tailored services, navigation difficulties, costs, bureaucracy, etc.) that delay identification of psychological distress symptoms, weaken therapeutic alliance, and increase dropout, especially when therapy is perceived as impersonal or ineffective. Intersectional factors (i.e., class, age, ethnicity) further contribute to access and they need to be included in the field of men’s mental health. Gender-sensitive approaches and alternative masculinity role models have the potential to enhance engagement and legitimize emotional experience. To sum up, hegemonic masculinity-related gender norms, acquired through gender-differentiated socialization, are associated with adverse mental health outcomes among men. A lack of gender-sensitive awareness campaigns to reduce stigma around men’s mental health may hinder prevention, delaying early identification and timely intervention. Therefore, men’s mental health care should integrate gender and intersectionality transversally to improve prevention, access, diagnosis, treatment, adherence, and outcomes, supported by professional training and tailored therapeutic tools in clinical routine practice. These findings underscore the need to promote healthier, more egalitarian masculinities and to deconstruct stigmas associated with help-seeking and mental health service.