Guided by the dynamic model of masculinity and men’s psychopathology, the current study aimed to explore the mediating role of masculine discrepancy stress and each of the muscle dysmorphia dimensions (drive for size, appearance intolerance, and functional impairments) in the association between masculine gender role discrepancy and masculine depression. For the present study, 936 Israeli men completed a structured self-report questionnaire. Masculine discrepancy stress and some of the muscle dysmorphia dimensions were found to partially mediate the association between masculine gender role discrepancy and masculine depression. The findings demonstrate how the internalization of social gender expectations and men’s gender role discrepancy is reflected in the gap between perception of self and the typical man, which is eventually related to mental health outcomes. In turn, men attempt to mitigate the stress through what they perceive as masculine, reflecting muscle dysmorphia: drive for size, appearance intolerance, and functional impairments, which in turn predict masculine depression. Therefore, mental and physical health professionals are advised to be aware of these mechanisms, in order to recognize the negative mental health outcomes arising from traditional societal gender role expectations and provide specific solutions for them.

在男性气质和男性精神病理学动态模型的指导下，本研究旨在探讨男性差异压力和每个肌肉畸形维度（尺寸驱动、外观不耐受和功能障碍）在男性性别角色之间的中介作用。差异和男性抑郁症。在本研究中，936 名以色列男性完成了一份结构化的自我报告问卷。研究发现，男性差异压力和一些肌肉畸形维度在一定程度上介导了男性性别角色差异与男性抑郁之间的关联。研究结果表明，社会性别期望和男性性别角色差异的内化如何反映在自我认知与典型男性之间的差距上，这最终与心理健康结果相关。反过来，男性试图通过他们认为的男性气概来减轻压力，这反映了肌肉畸形：对体型的追求、外表不耐受和功能障碍，这反过来又预示着男性抑郁症。因此，建议身心健康专业人员了解这些机制，以便认识到传统社会性别角色期望所带来的负面心理健康结果，并为其提供具体的解决方案。