Restrictive Emotionality, BIS, BAS, and Psychological Help-Seeking Behavior

This study examined the relationships among gender role conflict, attitudes toward seeking psychotherapy, and behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral activation system (BAS) sensitivity. Specifically, the present research tested the hypothesis that BIS sensitivity partially mediates the effects of two aspects of gender role conflict, restrictive emotionality, and restrictive affectionate behavior between men on attitudes toward psychotherapy. To achieve this goal, 285 male college students completed measures of gender role conflict, attitudes toward psychotherapy, and BIS and BAS sensitivity. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesized model against several alternative models. Contrary to expectations, no support was found for the hypothesis that BIS partially mediates the effects of restrictive emotionality and restrictive affectionate behavior between men on attitudes toward psychotherapy. However, restrictive emotionality was found to predict both BIS and attitudes toward psychotherapy. Additionally, a dimension of BAS sensitivity, BAS Drive, was also found to uniquely predict attitudes toward psychotherapy. In contrast, neither BIS nor restrictive affectionate behavior between men was significantly associated with attitudes toward psychotherapy in the SEM models. Taken together, these findings suggest that restrictive emotionality and BAS Drive are the dimensions of gender role conflict and motivational disposition most strongly associated with attitudes toward psychotherapy. © 2011 American Psychological Association.

Duke Scholars

Author Nathan Andrew Kimbrel Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Behavioral Medicine & Neur ...