Gender Role Conflict and Stigma Toward Help-Seeking Among College Football Players

This study explored gender role conflict (GRC), athletic identity, and stigma toward seeking professional psychological help among college football players. Using cluster analysis, three distinct patterns or clusters of responding to the four GRC subscales emerged. The cluster of football players that reported the highest levels of all four GRC subscales also reported significantly higher levels of athletic identity and stigma toward seeking professional psychological help. Other clusters reported lower levels of GRC, indicating a degree of heterogeneity in how football players report socialization stress related to their masculinity. The results are discussed within the context of masculinity, sport, and the socializing influence of football in American society. Despite societal stereotypes, college football players are a diverse group of men who define their masculinity differently.