Effects of Traditional Masculinity Norms on Hypertensive African American Men's Motivation for Medication Adherence
Abstract
Hypertensive Black men are disproportionately affected by heart disease, stroke, and chronic kidney disease. Improved medication adherence can help to reduce these outcomes in this group. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine how Black men's adherence to antifemininity, dominance, and toughness norms predicted their beliefs, attitudes, and motivation for taking antihypertensives. Participants (n = 89), 24-65 years old were recruited from a barbershop in North Carolina. The Male Role Norms Inventory-Short Form (MRNI-SF) was used to measure the independent variables: antifemininity, dominance, and toughness norms. The Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire-General/Beliefs about Medicines Specific, Drug Attitude Inventory-10, and Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-4 were used to measure the independent variables: beliefs, attitudes, and motivation, respectively. The health belief model was the theoretical base of the study. Multiple regression was used to analyze the data. Results showed that of the 3 independent variables (antifemininity, dominance, and toughness), dominance significantly predicted participants' responses to the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire-General (p = .042), Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire-Specific (p = .025), and the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-4 (p = .003). Neither antifemininity, dominance nor toughness masculine norms predicted responses to the Drug Attitude Inventory-10. Findings from the present study may be used to encourage public health practitioners to develop medication adherence interventions to reduce hypertension among Black males. Additionally, improved blood pressure would culminate in healthier and longer lives in this group.
