UWCScholar :: Browsing by Author "Mashaba, Mandisa"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1

The exploration of mental health portrayals in men’s narratives in the South African Men’s Health magazine
(University of the Western Cape, 2024) Mashaba, Mandisa
South Africa presents with the third highest suicide rate among all African nations, with men accounting for the largest of these fatalities. Despite this high morbidity among South African men, their mental health is often overlooked. Consequently, in this study, I explored how men’s mental health is portrayed in featured stories in the South African Men’s Health (SAMH) magazine. I located the study within social constructionist and utilised an explorative design from a qualitative approach. A sample of SAMH texts including: submitted letters as well as interviews from male readers, published from January 2014 until June 2023, constituted the final data sample. These were subjected to thematic decomposition analysis. Ethics clearance to conduct the study was obtained from the University of Western Cape’s (UWC) Humanities and Social Science Research and Ethics Committee (HSSREC). Thematic analysis of the data reveals that men struggle with an array of mental health issues including: -major depressive disorder, anxiety, bipolar disorder, atypical anorexia, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Stigma and shame emerged as notable obstacles often rooted in societal expectations as well as personal fears curbing help-seeking behaviours.