Comparison of Progressive and Conservative Representations of Men’s Mental Health in Written News Media

Abstract

Men’s mental health has long been stigmatized in Western society. The media plays a substantial role in emphasizing the importance of mental health; however, a gender disparity exists as men are often less highlighted than women in regard to this subject. This study investigated whether a difference in men’s mental health portrayal exists between progressive and conservative news media in the United Kingdom. Using Factiva, eight news articles were analysed; these included: The Guardian, The Daily Mirror, The Daily Telegraph, and The Times, yielding a sample size of 32. Five criteria were established to score the articles on a Yes (1) or No (0) scale. An ANOVA and a t-test were used to determine the statistical significance of the results. The analyses showed significantly higher scores for progressive news media than conservative news media, whereby The Guardian had the highest percentage of articles that included criteria 1 through 4. The findings revealed a significant difference between how men’s mental health is portrayed in progressive versus conservative news media. Specifically, there was a better representation of men’s mental health in progressive news outlets. Since a limited number of papers were analysed, further research should be conducted to better understand the portrayal of men’s mental health in the media.