APO01 Gestionar el marco de gestión de TI

It is widely known that men have a shorter life expectancy than women do. According to the ABS (2000), in developed countries men can generally expect to die eight years earlier than women. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW, 1999) indicated that men have motor vehicle accidents at an overall rate that is 171 per cent higher than women. Men also use 40 per cent less health services than women. In recent years, suicide has emerged as a major public issue in Australia. For example in 1998, there were 2,683 registered suicides, 2,150 were males and 533 females, or 23.1 males and 5.6 females per 100,000 persons respectively (ABS, 2000). According to ABS

(2000), throughout the period 1921-1998, the male suicide death rate was higher than the female rate by nearly five to one. The gender difference between men and women may be due to a combination of biological and socio-behavioral factors.

3.1.1 Nature: Physiological differences

During adolescence, the male body size and proportion will dramatically alter. At this time, sexual characteristics develop, and reproductive maturity is achieved.

Generally, boys enter puberty at age 10-11, a little later than girls. The physical changes during adolescence are influenced by the endocrine system in which hypothalamus and pituitary gland plays a major role. The hypothalamus will release gonadotropins, which stimulates the anterior pituitary gland to release gonadotropins, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH). The gonadotropins stimulate the male and female gonads, which in turn secrete sex steroids, estrogens and progesterone from the ovaries, and testosterone from the testes (Edelman & Mandle, 1998). The sex steroids produced by the maturing gonads are primarily responsible for the biological changes of puberty. During adolescent time, both primary and secondary sex characteristics develop. Primary sex characteristics involve the organs necessary for reproduction, such as the enlargement of the testes, the penis grows larger and longer, and more hair appears at its base. Secondary sex characteristics are external features that differentiate males from females but are not essential for reproduction, for example pubic hair growth and lowering of the voice. The first noted during adolescence is the musculoskeletal system. The average boy grows at least 10 cm per year during this phase (Harrison & Dignan, 1999). Body proportion change also occurs during this phase, with parts such as the head, hand, feet, and other extremities preceding growth of the trunk.

Genetic diseases and abnormalities also affect men’s health. Examples of genetic diseases include achromatopsia, hemophilia A and B, Becker muscular dystrophic, Duchenne muscular dystrophic, Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, fragile X syndrome, and testicular feminization. As Harrison and Dignan (1999) have indicated, Achromatopsia, known as color blindness, affects eight per cent of all male births, and this is a cause of vehicle accidents in men. Hemophilia types A and B affect the efficiency of blood coagulation. According to the statistics, type A affects 1 in every 10,000 men and type B affects 1 in every 50,000 men (Harrison & Dignan, 1999). Hemophilia disease results in prolonged bleeding which causes severe bleeding, not only external trauma, but also internal hemorrhage. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is the most common type of muscular dystrophy and affects approximately 1 in 3000 male births. Becker muscular dystrophy affects approximately 1 in 20,000 males.

Apart from genetic diseases, the hormone changes can affect men’s health. At birth, boys and girls have the same level of male hormones. Nine or ten years later, the changing hormone levels make boys’ bodies different from girls. Most change occurs during puberty, which matures the sex organs, body shape, tissue distribution, and hair distribution. The male hormones also increase muscle mass, lengthen bones and create body odor. Testosterone hormones directly result in sexual interest and sexual drive. These hormones normally decline between late fifties and early sixties. For some people, the decline will occur in their late thirties. In the case of testosterone decline before the fifties, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can be used for treatment, but the results are regressive in men.

3.1.2 Nurture: Socialization

Gender socialization involves the gradual learning of societal values, beliefs and behaviors particular to each sex. In society, males are socialized to develop their

respective gender identities and conform to gender role expectations (Harrison & Dignan, 1999). Culture here signifies a complex set of ideologies and imperatives evolved

through the history of a particular population, and society may be understood as signaling the structures by which members of that population interact with one another, and the set of practices which enables them to do so (Commonwealth Department of Health,

Housing and Community Services, 1993). According to Harrison and Dignan (1999), social gender in individuals comprises two bodies, the social body and the physical body. They argued that the social body constrains how the physical is perceived and

experienced. For this reason physical strength, competitive and risk-taking behavior is associated with the male physical body. The social gender role as a cultural construction can be viewed as fulfilling the requirements of acting masculine. The requirements of gendered masculinity influence men’s attitudes and behaviors. According to Welch (1986), the typical male is concerned with notions of self-reliance; dominance,

competition, power, control, restrictive emotionality, and a strong need for achievement. According to Bain (1993), masculinity always represses its stress instead of expressing it appropriately. Contemporary societies believe that men must be objective, striving, tough, goal-oriented, unsentimental, and emotionally inexpressive (Welch, 1986). Men are not exposing their secret and inner selves in order to avoid showing weakness and vulnerability. The masculine role in contemporary social expectation is to be

Alcohol and cigarette use are behaviors that are often used to validate

masculinity. It is well documented that there are many effects from drinking alcohol and smoking cigarette, such as bronchitis, emphysema, bronchogenic carcinoma, and

coronary heart disease from smoking cigarette. Also an emphasis on the external male body rather than the internal body has resulted in poor nutritional habits particularly in adolescent and young adult men. Poor nutrition over a prolonged period of time can result in illnesses such as obesity and diabetes mellitus (Harrison & Dignan, 1999). Risk- taking behaviors are considered to be masculine pursuits. Sabo and Gordon (1995) stressed that men are often in danger of injury due to dangerous, combative, and competitive activities and sports, such as high-speed and reckless driving. Type A personality characteristics, such as goal focused activity, a need for professional success, competitiveness, an aggressive approach to work and to life in general, show some similitude to the stereotyped male gender role (Harrison & Dignan, 1999). Many studies have shown an associated between type A personality and increased stress and increased risk of heart disease (Kirkcaldy et al., 1999; Rosenman & Friedman, 1974). Professional health care avoidance is another risk behavior associated with masculinity. Many men may be aware that they are ill, but decide not to seek help in order to avoid being labeled sick. Sickness is often perceived as an expression of weakness. As a result, men may seek help too late or may play down symptoms causing underestimates of male health

problems. Many studies have reported that females are more concerned with matters of health than males (Bagwell & Bush, 1999; Martinelli, 1999).

In summary, it is clear from a review of the literature that males: (i) have a higher morbidity and mortality rate than females, and stress is one of the important

contingencies in morbidity; (ii) engage in fewer health-promotion activities than females; (iii) are less likely to seek medical care than females, and (iv) engage in high risk

behaviors to cope with stress. Men’s health problems result from both biological changes and the development and maintenance of a masculine image and identity.