Evaluation of male-specific psychoeducation for major depressive disorder compared to cognitive behavioral therapy psychoeducation: A randomized controlled investigation in mentally distressed men

Background: Research suggests that male-specific psychotherapy approaches for major depressive disorder (MDD) that consider traditional masculinity ideologies (TMI) may achieve improved treatment efficacy and reduced therapy dropout. However, studies examining male-specific psychotherapy for MDD or specific therapy aspects remain lacking. Methods: An anonymous online study on men's mental health examined 152 self-reporting mentally distressed cisgender men (M_age = 25.5 ± 9.1) from German-speaking countries of Europe. After completing baseline assessments (T1) of state self-esteem, state shame, positive/negative affect, depressive symptoms, and TMI, men were randomly assigned to read either a male-specific (MSP) or a cognitive behavioral therapy-oriented (CBT) psychoeducation text for MDD. Immediately afterwards, participants rated its usefulness and completed follow-up assessments (T2). Results: Men in the MSP condition showed a stronger decrease in shame and negative affect as compared to men in the CBT-psychoeducation condition. Furthermore, in the MSP condition, prototypical depression symptoms tended to increase as compared to the CBT-psychoeducation, whereas male-typical externalizing depression symptoms tended to decrease. Conclusion: MSP for MDD may help depressed men feel less ashamed about their MDD and experience less negative affect about their condition than CBT-psychoeducation. Furthermore, MSP for MDD may elicit a shift from male-typical externalizing depression symptoms to prototypical depression symptoms.