World Mental Health Day
Are the Boys Alright?
World Mental Health Day
Are the Boys Alright?
Based on an interview with Orlando Ceide, leader of the Projet Gars program at La Maison d’Haïti
While we’re celebrating World Mental Health Day on October 10, ask yourself: how are our boys doing?
A recent study on young people’s mental health conducted by the Université de Sherbrooke found that only 21% of boys (compared to 52% of girls and 73% of other gender identities) displayed moderate or severe signs of anxiety and depression.
But this doesn’t mean that boys are doing better than people of other genders. As they are often taught not to show their emotions, boys may mask their psychological distress.
Here’s a breakdown of the situation from Orlando Ceide, leader of Projet Gars, part of the Coordination Jeunesse initiative led by La Maison d’Haïti, a community organization dedicated to welcoming and integrating newcomers to Canada.
Are boys really doing better than other young people?
When we look at the statistics, it appears that boys consistently have better mental health than people of other genders.
According to a study by the Université de Sherbrooke, 37% of young people in high school and 52% of young people attending CEGEP or university report having moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety or depression, and girls are three times more likely than boys to report having such symptoms in high school.
However, this gap nearly disappears when we look at boys and girls in CEPEG who said they had thought about harming themselves in the past two weeks (23% of boys and 25% of girls). Moreover, according to a 2020 study by INSPQ, boys between the ages of 15 and 19 are more likely to commit suicide (7/100,000 for boys vs. 5/100,000 for girls), but girls are four times more likely to be hospitalized for attempted suicide and three times more likely to go to the emergency room in the event of attempted suicide. In addition, Statistics Canada has found that, nationwide, men have a suicide rate around three times higher than that of women (18 men vs. 5 women per 100,000 people).*
How can we explain this phenomenon?
First, we’ve seen that boys are less likely to ask for help and they tend to show different signs of distress than girls, which could lead to their depression going unnoticed. Rather than expressing their distress through sadness, boys are more inclined to engage in aggressive, hotheaded, or risky behaviours such as falling into addiction or doing dangerous things for the thrill of it. They also have a tendency to avoid situations that make them uncomfortable by throwing themselves into a sport, for example.
Because these behaviours don’t align with the stereotypical presentation of psychological distress, struggling boys are less likely to be identified by health services, especially during adolescence when impulsive behaviours are naturally more prevalent.
Why do boys seem to be less concerned about their mental health than other population groups?
Despite the progress that has been made in redefining masculinity, mental health still seems to be a taboo topic among men. As certain ideas linked to toxic masculinity persist, young boys often find it difficult to show their emotions.
For example, many people still think that a “real man” is supposed to be strong, in control of his emotions, able to solve his own problems without the help of others, and doesn’t talk much about himself. Not conforming to these gender stereotypes can often mean facing rejection from peers.
Orlando Ceide says that there is likely a correlation between boys’ refusal to seek help and the way they are socialized.
According to Pierre L’Heureux from Université Laval, the explanation lies in a phenomenon known as triple dissociation. Boys learn from a very young age to:
👉 Not make a fuss about injuries or physical pain: “A boy doesn’t cry if he gets hurt.”
👉 Neglect and downplay their psychological difficulties: “A real boy doesn’t complain, he takes his problems on the chin.”
👉 Not be too sensitive or get too close to others. This restriction has long been linked to homophobic prejudices where people quickly became wary of men who seemed to be too close to other men. Fortunately, this last point is less of a reality in today’s society thanks to changing norms.
All this means that some boys gradually become desensitized to their emotional and physical sensations and are less capable than girls of understanding their personal challenges and knowing how to react accordingly.
As such, it appears that boys are less open to asking for help at school (43.7% for boys vs. 63% for girls and 50% for other gender identities) and are less willing to participate in stress-management workshops (30.5% for boys vs. 53.1% for girls and 34.2% for other genders).**
Given these facts, we can understand why it’s difficult for a large proportion of boys to ask for help or speak to a professional when they’re facing difficulties. This also explains the discrepancy between the statistics for boys’ mental health and suicide rates, which are higher than that of girls.
Of course, these are general observations, and large differences can be found among boys depending on their culture, family environment, and personal experiences.
What can we do to make boys more aware of mental health?
According to Orlando Ceide, boys’ education can play an important role in their mental health. With this in mind, La Maison d’Haïti launched Projet Gars, an intervention, education, and awareness program adapted to the real needs and sociocultural reality of young boys.
This program, which has been around for more than five years and is based in the Saint-Michel neighbourhood of Montreal, aims to create a safe space for boys between the ages of 10 and 17 and provide them with guidance throughout their adolescence while redefining masculinity in an intercultural context. Using a public education approach, the program equips young people with the tools they need to combat the negative effects of phenomena such as hypersexualization and toxic masculinity.
Through a collection of fun activities, the Projet Gars program seeks to encourage boys to develop healthy relationships with themselves and others, all while fostering active listening, creativity, and discussions on subjects such as positive masculinity, emotions, friendship, feminism, self-acceptance, inclusion, diversity, and body image.
At home, it’s also possible for parents to act around their boys in a way that encourages them to express their emotions.
Don’t hesitate to set a good example by expressing your own feelings in front of them and showing them that it’s ok to ask for help (from a friend, your partner, your family, your doctor, etc.) when you experience emotional difficulties, especially if you’re a man.
In day-to-day life, remember to ask your children how their day went, and to express and name their emotions. (“Yes, I understand, that must be frustrating.”) Also, don’t forget to celebrate their successes and highlight the emotional skills they used to achieve them. (“You’ve been brave.” “You’ve been persistent, patient, understanding, etc.”)
By chatting with them, you’ll also be able to help them look at situations from a different perspective, especially when talking about difficulties with relationships. (“Yes, Raphael didn’t want to talk to you this morning, but maybe he’d slept badly or he’d argued with his parents.”)
Generally speaking, try to take their worries and concerns seriously and validate their feelings by offering your boys support when they need it. Teaching them how to manage stress and anxiety can be very useful in adolescence, when young people can be under a lot of pressure.
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