Gary, Shepherd ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8178-1141 (2026) Community belonging and masculine identity: how place shapes men’s engagement with community mental health groups. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology.. (Submitted)

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Abstract

Masculine identity is often built around independence, stoicism and self-reliance, norms that make formal mental health services feel incompatible with how men see themselves. Community-based groups offer alternative identity positions, such as teammate, neighbour or contributor, which may explain engagement even when men avoid clinical support. Yet little is understood about which features generate belonging, trust and identity change, or how they hold up in a different social and geographical context. Drawing on social identity theory and relational understandings of place, this paper proposes six psychological and social constants, termed BELONG (Bonding, Embedded trust, Legitimacy, Ongoing routine, Natural activity, Giving back), hypothesised to explain how community groups foster belonging and identity change among men. These constants were developed by synthesising an international scoping review, practice-based learning from a community organisation, and analysis of four contrasting UK contexts. The paper argues that social and geographical conditions, such as population density, economic and cultural identity, and connectivity, shape whether the constants can operate, so the same six constants may need different expression across communities. The account is developed through men's mental health but bears on community belonging more broadly, with implications for how such settings are understood, designed and sustained.

Item Type:	Article
Status:	Submitted
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology > BF637 Counselling
School/Department:	School of Education, Language and Psychology
URI:	https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/15557

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