The Harry’s Masculinity Report: UK 2017 & USA 2018

Abstract. In recent years, psychologists have applied some of the ideas from positive psychology to the study of masculinity in order to find out what factors contribute to men’s mental health. This line of research acts as a counterbalance to research that began in the 1990s which focused mainly on problems related to masculinity. In 2017, Harry’s conducted a study of 2000 men in the British Isles, and in 2018 Harry’s extended this study to 5000 men in the US. The present study was an online survey analyzed using multiple linear regression. The findings of the US sample support those of the UK sample, finding that men typically value honesty and reliability more than fitness and being athletic. The main predictors of mental positivity (measured using the Positive Mindset Index) were job satisfaction, valuing one’s health, income, being aged over 50, and being married. There were some interesting regional differences, for example, friendship was a relatively strong predictor of mental positivity in men in the West. Overall, these findings suggest that men in the US today not only aspire to admirable personal values such as honesty, but also value their relationships and … read more