John L Oliffe

• PhD, MEd, RN
• Chair at University of British Columbia

Background: Previous research has highlighted motivational factors as being important in depression. The current study sought to examine the role of explicit motives and pathological narcissism in men's experiences of depression symptoms. The study examined a two-factor Approach-Avoidance model where we hypothesized approach-oriented motives and av...

Men’s poor mental health outcomes and heightened risk for suicide have been linked to their maladaptive responses to life stressors. In this photovoice study of 21 New Zealand–based men who experienced depression, anxiety, and suicidality, participants’ home emerged as an important place and resource for dealing with their mental health challenges....

Over the past decade, there has been an increased emphasis on tailoring men’s health promotion programs. To optimize outcomes, participatory action research that involves and elicits feedback from end-users has been highlighted as important to creating gender-responsive interventions. In this scoping review, we examine (a) how participatory action...

The role of externalizing symptoms in men’s experiences of depression, including the link between externalizing symptoms and traditional masculinity ideologies (TMI), has emerged as a key consideration in men’s mental health. Within this context, men’s strategies to manage uncomfortable thoughts and emotions (e.g. restricted emotionality, alexithym...

Suicide is a leading cause of death in Canada, with men being three times more likely to die from suicide compared with the rest of the population. Among Canadian men, those who are Two-Spirit, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (2SGBTQ) are disproportionately impacted by suicidality. Drawing on this growing public health crisis, this current sc...

Public awareness about the connections between men’s alcohol use and poor health outcomes, including increased male suicide risk, has led to reduced consumption and increased use of nonalcoholic beverages—most prominently nonalcoholic beer (NAB). Marketed as a healthy substitution option (i.e., periodically switching to an NAB rather than abstainin...

The study objective was to investigate geographical variation of uncertainty stress and life stress among university students in China. Respondents comprised 11,954 students from 50 universities and 31 provinces in China's mainland. Respondents completed the extended version of Global Health Professional Student Survey (GHPSS) on Tobacco Control in...

Objectives Masculine norms of toughness and self-reliance can discourage help-seeking among elite athletes who are men. Effective ways to leverage masculine norms for help-seeking is a relatively unexplored area in athlete mental health. The study aimed to investigate how masculine health-related values measured by the Intentions Masculine Values S...

COVID-19 impacted many men’s intimate partner relationships, with distressed and disrupted partnerships consistently featured in commentaries with linkages to mental health challenges. The current study draws from interviews with 23 Canadian-based men, 19–50 years old, who experienced a break-up during COVID-19. Addressing the research question, “W...

Objective The aim of this study was to describe the strategies used by Canadian healthcare providers to assist men in strengthening their intimate partner relationships. Design Qualitative research study. Method Data were collected through semi-structured individual interviews. Using interpretive descriptive methods, secondary analysis inductivel...

Despite the methodological spread of virtual photovoice, alignments to and potential advances for the participatory action research (PAR) and knowledge dissemination (KD) components of in-person photovoice are poorly understood. Detailing the PAR and KD processes, practices, and products drawn from a virtual photovoice study examining men’s experie...

Tailored language and communication strategies underpin men's engagement with public health initiatives. The aim of this study was to explore men's preferences for language and communication in mental health promotion and provide recommendations for current and future programs. A sequential mixed-methods design was used including five focus groups...

Background High rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) and mental disorders are present in Mozambique where there is a significant treatment gap. We aimed to report Mozambican community stakeholder perspectives of implementing couple-based interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT-C) in preparation for a pilot trial in Nampula City. Methods We conducted...

Objectives The quality of intimate partner relationships strongly influences men’s mental health, yet little research attention has been given to these relationships from a strengths-based critical masculinities perspective. Addressing this knowledge gap, this photovoice study provides insights into young men’s experiences of, and perspectives abou...

Emotional intimacy is key to intimate partner relationship quality and satisfaction. For sexual minority men, queer and feminist theorists consistently link emotional intimacy to diverse sexual practices and partnership dynamics formulated within the relationship. This Photovoice study adds to those insights by drawing on individual photovoice inte...

Objective Suicide is one of the leading causes of death of men. This article reports on men’s experiences of using an e-mental health resource, HeadsUpGuys, which was designed to support men’s management and recovery from depression and suicidality. Design Survey methodology was used to report men’s experiences of using the website. Constructs of...

Although the social determinants of health have guided equity work with the tailoring of men’s health promotion programs, the role of, and potential for, the commercial determinants of health in those interventions is rarely addressed and poorly understood. While four commercial products, tobacco, alcohol, ultra-processed food, and fossil fuels, ac...

Background Crisis telephone helplines are an integral part of community suicide prevention. Despite high male suicide rates, men’s experiences of these services are poorly understood. The current study explored men’s perspectives of their interactions with helpline counsellors to understand how their engagement on helplines can be enhanced. Method...

The use of tailored language, which involves a clinician’s ability to adapt communication styles and employ accessible terms and concepts, has long been touted as key to engaging men with mental health services. Metaphors are one communication device that can provide men with ways through which to meaningfully express themselves and communicate the...

Peer support has a long history of helping people navigate mental health challenges and is increasingly utilized within men’s mental health promotion initiatives. Despite considerable research conceptualizing and evaluating peer support in various contexts, little is known about the gendered dimensions of men’s peer support and mutual help for ment...

Men historically consume more meat than women, show fewer intentions to reduce meat consumption, and are underrepresented among vegans and vegetarians. Eating meat strongly aligns with normative masculinities, decisively affirming that “real men” eat meat and subordinating men who choose to be veg*n (vegan or vegetarian). The emergence of meat alte...

Gender-responsive healthcare is critical to advancing men’s health given that masculinities intersect with other social determinants to impact help-seeking, engagement with primary healthcare, and patient outcomes. A scoping review was undertaken with the aim to synthesize gender-responsive approaches used by healthcare providers (HCPs) to engage m...

There is growing awareness about issues of sexual consent, especially in autonomy-compromising or "non-ideal" contexts, including sex involving alcohol. Understanding the conditions needed for consensual sex to occur in this emergent milieu is critically important, especially for young men (ages 18-30 years) who normatively combine drinking alcohol...

Men’s illness vulnerabilities and resilience are two predominant and regularly linked constructs in the masculinities and men’s health literature. There has been a steady stream of men’s strength-based vulnerabilities in the form of illness testimonials amid critiques that such disclosures are mere props for bolstering patriarchal power. The curren...

Improved engagement of men in psychotherapy is an essential element in improving male health outcomes. This trial examined whether the Men in Mind intervention improved practitioners’ self-rated clinical competencies to engage and respond to male clients in therapy. A parallel, single-blind, wait-list randomized controlled trial was conducted with...

Background Engaging men in psychotherapy is essential in male suicide prevention efforts, yet to date, efforts to upskill mental health practitioners in delivering gender-sensitized therapy for men have been lacking. To address this, we developed Men in Mind, an e-learning training program designed to upskill mental health practitioners in engaging...

Suicide is a major public health concern and leading cause of death among men in Canada. This study reports the feasibility and acceptability of Buddy Up, a peer-based suicide prevention campaign for men. A mixed-methods approach was used to analyze respondent survey questionnaires (n = 48) and individual participant interviews (n = 19) collected f...

Homophobia and biphobia negatively impact the mental health of gay, bisexual, trans, Two-Spirit, and queer men and non-binary individuals (GBT2Q) and sexual and gender minority men, but little is known about the impact of gender-related oppression. The current study examines the impact of pressure to conform to masculine norms in Canada-based GBT2Q...

Background: Many older gay men experience diminished psychological well-being due to unique circumstances including discrimination, living with HIV, and aging through the pre-HAART period of HIV/AIDS. The purpose of this presentation is to describe and discuss the strategies older gay men employ to maintain and promote their psychological well-bein...

Anxiety disorders are one of the most commonly diagnosed mental illnesses amongst men. Despite this, research exploring men’s lived experiences of anxiety is sparse. The current photovoice study offers key insights to the understandings of nineteen New Zealand based men aged 24-62 who live with anxiety disorders. Using reflexive thematic analysis t...

This study uses the Delphi expert consensus method to work with lived-experience experts and establish research priorities to advance our understanding of male suicide risk and recovery. Items for the Delphi were generated via findings from two recent quantitative and qualitative systematic reviews on male suicide, a comprehensive gray literature s...

Arts engagement is gaining recognition as a non-clinical approach to promote mental health and well-being. However, the perceived utility of the arts to promote mental health among men with low socioeconomic status (SES) and how to best engage them is underexplored. This study explores the lived experiences of men with low SES who engage with the a...

Shifts in gender roles, identities and relations since the 1980s are continuing to influence masculinities within intimate partner relationships. Forefront in men's contemporary heterosexual relationships have been calls for gender equality and gender equity as a means to promoting the mental health and well-being of partners and their families. Mo...

Background Alcohol consumption is common among young men and occurs in many contexts. The sexualized substance use literature has generated some insight into the role of alcohol alongside other substances in the context of sex, though there remain opportunities for targeted and context-sensitive studies to examine the sexual practices and outcomes...

Men are less likely than women to access or engage with a range of generic health programs across a diversity of settings. Designing health programs that mitigate barriers associated with normative ideals of masculinity has been widely viewed as a key factor in how health systems should respond, but strategies to engage men have often narrowly conc...

Photovoice offers creative participatory action methods for conveying community strengths and challenges with the goal of addressing health inequities. Accelerated by COVID-19 restrictions, photovoice has increasingly become virtual, and this shift has given rise to new considerations including navigating online recruitment and data collection, e-p...

The Psychic Pain Scale (PPS) measures a form of mental pain involving overwhelming negative affect and loss of self-control. Understanding psychic pain among men is needed to advance efforts for preventing male suicide. The present study examined the factor structure and psychosocial correlates of the PPS among 621 online help-seeking men. Confirma...

Background Treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in men is complicated by the endorsement of traditional masculinity ideologies (TMI) often leading to reluctance toward psychotherapy, therapy interfering processes, or premature termination. In addition, it has been shown that men with MDD have a significantly increased risk of being hypogona...

Objective: To review the literature on the experiences of boys and men exposed to childhood sexual abuse, and to assess the implications of this literature for trials of interventions and tailored services for this population. Method: We conducted a narrative review of papers pertaining to boys and men exposed to childhood sexual abuse. Implication...

Objective: To describe key considerations for working with men experiencing distressed and disrupted intimate partner relationships. Methods: Individual Zoom interviews were conducted with help-seeking men (n = 25) who had experienced an intimate partnership break-up, and health service providers (n = 30) working with men in the relationships sp...

BACKGROUND Engaging men in psychotherapy is essential in male suicide prevention efforts, yet to date efforts to upskill mental health practitioners in delivering gender-sensitised therapy for men have been lacking. To address this, we developed Men in Mind, an e-learning training program designed to upskill mental health practitioners in engaging...

Background: Although studies have reported a significant inverse association between meaning in life and psychological distress, little is known about this association, specifically among men, or its potential underlying mechanisms. Accordingly, this study investigated prospective pathways connecting meaning in life to men's psychological distress...

Anxiety is the most prevalent mental disorder experienced by young men, and when untreated, is predictive of co-morbid mental health challenges and suicide. Despite the rising prevalence, there is a conspicuous absence of qualitative research to distil and theorise young men's anxiety. Twenty-five young Australian men (15-25 years), who had been di...

Background: Endometriosis is a complex chronic disease characterized by pain, including painful sex, that can contribute to considerable sexual function, self-esteem, and relationship challenges. Digital storytelling is an arts-based, participatory methodology wherein individuals create and share their illness experiences in detailing their lived...

Men’s intimate partner relationship services have focused on correcting the behaviors of male perpetrators of intimate partner (IPV) and/or domestic violence (DV). There is a need to advance IPV and DV prevention efforts by better equipping men with relationship skills. This study explores service providers’ and stakeholders’ perspectives about the...

For over ten years, DUDES Clubs have provided a safe and engaging space for mainly Indigenous men to access healthy supportive relationships, low-barrier wellness services, and connect with Indigenous cultural practices and worldviews. There are over 35 active DUDES Clubs throughout British Columbia and partner DUDES Clubs in other Canadian provinc...

Suicidal ideation among men during COVID-19: Examining the roles of loneliness, thwarted belongingness, and personality impairment. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. Suicidal ideation (SI) is a known precursor to suicide among men. While loneliness and thwarted belongingness (TB) have been identified as key factors influencing SI, no study has re...

Background Men account for three-quarters of all suicide deaths in many Western nations including Australia. Whilst extensive research has examined risk factors for suicidal ideation and behaviour in men, protective factors remain underexplored, particularly social support, resilience and coping behaviours. Such factors are important to examine par...

Suicide has been identified by the World Health Organisation (2014) as a global health problem disproportionately impacting males. Various psychosocial and neurobiological explanations have been advanced to account for the high rates of suicide in men including unwillingness to engage in mental health help-seeking, lack of gender-sensitive mental h...

Aim: Social support and resilient coping can aid mental health. The aim of this study was to examine age effects of social support on men's resilient coping for psychological distress. Methods: The sample consisted of 434 help-seeking Canadian men who completed standardized measures. Regression analyses tested a moderated moderation model, contr...

Background Ecological models have emphasized that mental stress both is an individual phenomenon and an environmental outcome. However, many mental stress studies focused primarily on individual variables. Few studies have examined the geographical disparities in mental stress, with no comparable studies implemented on this issue with regard to dif...

Lesbian, bisexual, trans, queer, and other sexual and gender minority (SGM) women are at high risk of suicide. Stigma, discrimination, and exclusion are known risk factors. Contrasting longstanding trends of risk-focused research, this study examines the experiences of SGM women who have attempted suicide focusing on their embodied strengths and re...

To better understand the needs of fathers who experience health inequities, we individually interviewed fathers, mothers, and service providers about their perspectives of supports for men in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, one of the most disadvantaged groups in Canada. Using a gender lens, thematic analysis of transcribed interviews with three coh...

Masculinities and culture are intertwined and have significant implications for men’s mental health. This study aimed to explore influences of Australian masculinities and culture on men’s mental health. Five focus groups were conducted with men ( N = 43) living in New South Wales, Australia. Three overarching themes were identified; (1) A history...

Effective communication is key to the quality of men’s intimate partner relationships. The current study examines men’s pathways and patterns for communication with intimate partners. Based on interviews with 47 Canadian and Australian participants (26–70-years-old; M = 40.87, SD = 10.59) who had experienced a relationship breakdown[s], three theme...

The relationship between physical activity and fatherhood in communities in which people experience marginalisation is not well understood in qualitative research. This is particularly the case in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) of Vancouver, Canada, where there are few services to meet the unique needs of fathers. To address these gaps, we developed...

Background: Treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in men is complicated by the endorsement of traditional masculinity ideologies (TMI) often leading to reluctance towards psychotherapy, therapy interfering processes, or premature termination. In addition, it has been shown that men with MDD have a significantly increased risk of being hypogo...

The COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, uncertainties and management inconsistencies have been implicated in men’s rising distress levels, which in turn have somewhat normed the uptake of telemental healthcare services (i.e., phone and/or video-conference-based therapy). Given past evidence of poor engagement with telemental health among men, this mixe...

Regional Australian masculinities are typified by ‘traditional’ values (e.g., stoicism, self-reliance) known to restrict social connectedness. Thus, these masculinities have been implicated in worsening men’s mental health. What remains unclear, however, is how men living in inner-regional communities (i.e., townships on the fringes of major cities...

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on men's lives. Investigating specific constructs and pathways related to men's mental health outcomes may help to more fully understand the short and long-term impact of the pandemic and illuminate opportunities to better promote men's mental health. In this study, we assessed the med...

For men, significant risks associated with partner-initiated break-ups include domestic violence, mental health challenges and difficultly with life transition. This narrative analysis study shares three storylines drawn from interviews with 25 men who experienced a partner-initiated break-up. Ill equipped to stay or to initiate leaving narratives...

The therapeutic relationship has emerged as one of the most important components of successful treatment outcomes, regardless of the specific form of therapy. Research has now turned its attention to better understanding how the therapeutic relationship contributes to patient improvement. Extant literature contends that a strong therapeutic relatio...

Men’s emotions in intimate partner relationships have received little research attention. The current interpretive descriptive study included 30 Canadian‐based men to address the research question: What are the connections between masculinities and men’s emotions in and after intimate partner relationships? Three inductively derived themes included...

Background: Older adults living with cancer can experience significant challenges in managing their cancer treatment[s], care, and health. Cancer self-management is much discussed in the research literature, but less is known about the perceptions and experiences of older adults', including their self-management capacities and challenges. This stu...

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a highly heterogeneous diagnosis wherein the nine MDD criterion signs and symptoms reflect 256 unique symptom combinations. Accordingly, MDD comprises a broad set of phenotypes observed across clinical practice, including primary care. With intensifying global efforts to prevent male suicide, attention has rapidly...

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing extensive job loss leading to a loss of social status in many men. Endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology may render some men particularly sensitive to status loss and thereby to an increased risk for suicidality. In this anonymous online survey conducted in German-speaking European countries, 490 men compl...

Around the world, males dominate suicide statistics. Masculinity – socially constructed gender ideals for boys and men – may be a key contributory factor underpinning the heightened risk of suicide in males. Conformity to “dominant” masculine norms like self-reliance is associated with reduced help-seeking in boys and men. If they do seek help, the...

Objectives: The objective of this study is to longitudinally examine the coping strategies used by older cancer survivors (≥60 years of age) during COVID-19. Methods: An interpretive descriptive approach was used to collect and analyse qualitative data collected via 1:1 telephone interviews at three timepoints: June/July 2020, January 2021, and Mar...

Deleterious effects of separation and divorce on men’s mental health are well-documented; however, little is known about their help-seeking when adjusting to these all-too-common life transitions. Employing interpretive descriptive methods, interviews with 47 men exploring their mental health help-seeking after a relationship break-up were analyzed...

Background Although the proportion of men seeking professional mental health care has risen over the past two decades, on average, men continue to attend fewer sessions of psychotherapy and are more likely to drop out of treatment prematurely compared to women. Men account for three-quarters of suicide deaths; furthermore, over half of the males wh...

The capacity for boys’ and young men’s mental health promotion to act via shifting masculine norms that are linked to poor mental health outcomes, highlights the need to improve the extent to which school-based programs can promote mental health through leveraging more positive embodiments of masculinity. To-date, the perspectives of parents and te...

The spectrum of adverse mental health trajectories caused by sexual abuse, broadly defined as exposure to rape and unwanted physical sexual contact, is well-known. Few studies have systematically appraised the epidemiology and impact of sexual abuse among boys and men. New meta-analytic insights (k = 44; n = 45 172) reported by Zarchev and colleagu...

Gay men living with HIV (GMHIV) are at relatively high risk for suicide. To inform tailored suicide prevention interventions, we conducted a photovoice study with 22 GMHIV with a history of suicidality. Our study findings revealed three discrete but connected themes characterizing suicidality among GMHIV: first, HIV stigma featured prominently in p...

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a suite of circumstances that will simultaneously affect mental health and mobilize coping strategies in response. Building on a lack of research specifically exploring men's mental health impacts during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study presents the results of a qualitative survey exploring men's self-reported a...

Encouraging men to open‐up about their feelings is a new cultural directive, yet little is known about how this works in practice, including to promote mental health. Ideals of hegemonic masculinity may be increasingly tolerating expressions of vulnerability in some areas of social life. However, the expression of vulnerability in paid work and/or...

Gay men living with HIV represent a particularly high risk group for suicide; however, little is known about suicidality, specifically, resiliencies in the context of suicidality among this particular group of men. The current study draws on photovoice and grounded theory methods to examine the processes that underpin survival for gay men living wi...

Background Prostate cancer (PCa) is often diagnosed early with prolonged survival, which makes sexual quality of life (QoL) an increasingly important treatment consideration, but existing QoL questionnaires have limited applicability for men who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) beyond penile erections and penetrative sex. Aim We aimed to create a validated...

Aim of the study The Fear of COVID-19 Scale is a widely used measurement tool for related anxieties, however previous studies validating the scale report varying fit indices, often below accepted cut-off points. This suggests re-specification of the scale may be required. The present study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the English...

In the light of the COVID-19 pandemic and claims that traditional masculinity may put some men at increased risk for infection, research reporting men’s health behaviors is critically important. Traditional masculine norms such as self-reliance and toughness are associated with a lower likelihood to vaccinate or follow safety restrictions. Furtherm...