Sickness in Silence: A Quantitative Study of Media Exposure and Public Attitudes toward Men’s Mental Health in Pakistan

Abstract

Aim of the Study: The aim was to determine whether increased exposure to media content that represents the mental health of men is associated with more supportive attitudes among the population.

Methodology: Using the ground of “Cultivation Theory”, study adopted quantitative research design and using self-designed structured questionnaire, data was collected from (n= 300) respondents of 20 years and above. Data was collected using non-probability (purposive sampling). Statistical treatment was performed with the use of descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and linear regression, analyzed in SPSS.

Results: It showed that media exposure was moderately correlated with attitudes towards men having mental problems (r = 0.47, p< 0.001) with a statistically significant regression result (b = 0.47, p< 0.001) and 22.2 % of the variance in the attitude of people to men having mental problems is explained by media exposure.

Conclusion: The outcomes imply that more empathetic and less stigmatized attitudes of the population are achieved in the case of frequent encounters with media production targeting the emotional well-being of men. Those findings support the idea that media can restructure cultural discourses on masculinity and mental health in Pakistan