| dc.description.abstract | Boys and men are diverse with respect to their race, ethnicity, culture, migration status,
age, socioeconomic status, ability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and religious
affiliation. Each of these social identities contributes uniquely and in intersecting ways to
shape how men experience and perform their masculinities, which in turn contribute to
relational, psychological, and behavioral health outcomes in both positive and negative
ways (e.g., Arellano-Morales, Liang, Ruiz, & Rios-Oropeza, 2015; Kiselica, Benton-Wright,
& Englar-Carlson, 2016). Although boys and men, as a group, tend to hold privilege and
power based on gender, they also demonstrate disproportionate rates of receiving harsh
discipline (e.g., suspension and expulsion), academic challenges (e.g., dropping out of
high school, particularly among African American and Latino boys), mental health issues
(e.g., completed suicide), physical health problems (e.g., cardiovascular problems), public
health concerns (e.g., violence, substance abuse, incarceration, and early mortality), and
a wide variety of other quality-of-life issues (e.g., relational problems, family well-being;
for comprehensive reviews, see Levant & Richmond, 2007; Moore & Stuart, 2005; O’Neil,
2015). Additionally, many men do not seek help when they need it, and many report distinctive barriers to receiving gender-sensitive psychological treatment (Mahalik, Good, Tager,
Levant, & Mackowiak, 2012).
The development of guidelines for psychological practice with boys and men may help
to attend to the barriers that lead to the aforementioned disparities. Indeed, the American
Psychological Association (APA) has developed guidelines for psychologists working with
specific populations such as gay/lesbian/bisexual clients (2012), racial and ethnic minority clients (2017a), older adults (2014), transgender and gender-non-conforming persons
(2015a), and girls and women (2007). The APA also has developed guidelines for psychological practice in health care delivery systems (2013a), forensic psychology (2013b), and
psychological evaluation in child protection matters (2013c). These guidelines serve to (a)
improve service delivery among populations, (b) stimulate public policy initiatives, and (c)
provide professional guidance based on advances in the field. Accordingly, the present document offers guidelines for psychological practice with boys and men. | en_US |
