| Popis: |
The aim of this study was to explore male self-image, its impact on health beliefs and behaviour, and to identify any implications for health education practice. A review of the literature revealed the importance of understanding lay health beliefs and that the relationship between male embodiment and health had not been significantly addressed. Thirty informants aged 30-40 were interviewed in depth on three separate occasions over an eighteen month period. Using the grounded theory approach, interview transcripts were read, coded and analysed to reveal that informants' theorising about the body underpins their health beliefs. The thesis explores this lay theorising about the body and then moves on to define a core analytical concept being in shape, that is, the research moves from description to explanation following grounded theory. Significantly, the theoretical concept being in shape illuminates a basic tension between the promotion of personal responsibility for health and responsibility derived from the functional demands of everyday embodiment. Finally, several implications for health promotion are advanced. In particular, this research challenges an over-reliance on behavioural explanation which, in respect of men's health, has informed the assumption that much of men's ill-health is a product of stereotypical masculine role behaviours which are themselves perceived to be inherently unhealthy. |
