Masculinidade hegemônica, maus-tratos na infância e adoecimento mental na vida adulta

Abstract

In Western culture, masculinity is often associated with the virile, strong, courageous, and aggressive man, leading to the idea that violence is an essential element for the development and maintenance of masculinity. This results in the naturalization of violence, which manifests itself in relationships between men, against women, and against children. Given this, this research aims to analyze the relationship between hegemonic masculinity and the experience of childhood maltreatment and mental illness in adulthood. Specifically, it seeks to (1) map the occurrence of childhood maltreatment in the sample studied, (2) assess the level of agreement with the conception of hegemonic masculinity among respondents, and (3) assess the levels of anxiety, depression, and stress in the sample. To achieve these objectives, a non-probabilistic (convenience) sample of 720 people was used, aged between 18 and 67 years (M=28.68; SD=10.73), predominantly women (58.3%), white (52.5%), heterosexual (57.9%), and single (51.7%). Participants answered an online questionnaire, disseminated through social networks, containing the following self-report instruments: Conceptions of Masculinity Scale (ECM), Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire – Brief Version, and a sociodemographic questionnaire. The research was conducted subject to approval by the Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Ceará – UFC (CAAE: 88642725.3.0000.5045), complying with the necessary ethical criteria. The data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS; version 20). Descriptive statistics, t-tests for independent samples, one-way ANOVA, two-way ANOVA, ANCOVA, and Pearson correlations were performed. Hegemonic masculinity did not correlate with child maltreatment, nor with levels of anxiety, depression, and stress. A high incidence of child maltreatment was observed, as well as indications that polyvictimization is associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression, and stress. Regarding the endorsement of hegemonic masculinity, gender, sexual orientation, and religion were found to be related to this variable, while education and income showed no association. Regarding mental illness, women presented higher levels of anxiety and stress compared to men, with no significant differences in relation to depression. Although this study has limitations, it is considered that its objectives were achieved and that the results obtained can contribute significantly to the understanding of the relationship between hegemonic masculinity, child maltreatment, and psychological distress.