Tough but not terrific: value destruction in men’s health

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of masculine identity in generating value destruction and diminished well-being in a preventative health service. Design/methodology/approach: This research used five focus groups with 39 Australian men aged between 50 and 74 years. Men’s participation in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program informed the sample frame. In total, 12 Jungian male archetypes were used to identify different masculine identities. Findings: Thematic analysis of the data revealed three themes of masculinity that explain why men destroy value by avoiding the use of a preventative health services including: rejection of the service reduces consumer disempowerment and emasculation, active rejection of resources creates positive agency and suppressing negative self-conscious emotions protects the self. Research limitations/implications: Limitations include the single context of bowel cancer screening. Future research could investigate value destruction in other preventative health contexts such as testicular cancer screening, sexual health screening and drug abuse. Practical implications: Practical implications include fostering consumer empowerment when accessing services, developing consumer resources to create positive agency and boosting positive self-conscious emotions by promoting positive social norms. Originality/value: This research is the first known study to explore how value is destroyed in men’s preventative health using the perspective of gender identity. This research also is the first to explore value destruction as an emotion regulation strategy.