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This article, which is the second part of two linked papers, aims at exploring Italian men's practices linked to the main risk factors for health, as well as the sociocultural circumstances which potentially can affect them. Drawing on secondary data analysis, it shows that men tend to adopt a range of behaviors which increase risks to their health more than women. This cannot be explained by men's natural biologically charged tendencies, considering that the gender gap in health-related behaviors is much higher in Italy than elsewhere in Europe. A direct and indirect connection between "familistic" norms and the health-related habits of men and women is hypothesized and recommendations for policy-makers are provided regarding the health of men and women in the current and prospective welfare scenario.
Keywords: health behaviours, gender, masculinity, Italy, familism
The present article is the second part of two papers. The first one (Adinolfi, 2013) questions the myths of men-centric medical research and of female disadvantage in health matters. It puts in evidence the lack of gender-specific scientific studies on men's health that go beyond physiology, as well as the consequent underestimation of specific health risks for men; besides, it shows how in Italy, despite the dominant rhetoric focused on women in terms of gender-linked health disadvantage, men seem to be largely disadvantaged in health regards. Such a gap appears to be higher in Italy than elsewhere in Europe, thus pointing to the significant role played by socio-cultural factors, besides biological ones.
This paper aims at contributing to fill the identified gap in knowledge by exploring male health-related practices as well as the socio-cultural circumstances that presumably affect them, considering that, in the care of their own health, men and women tend to use the styles that are typical of the respective social model of identity, leading to different health outcomes. In particular, among the socio-cultural factors, familism is taken into consideration, since it represents a key variable to understanding Italian culture. Therefore, the present article investigates why and how a familistic culture may influence men's and women's health- related behavioral dynamics and highlights the direct and indirect connections between familism and gender-linked health disadvantages. This is particularly useful in that it allows for identifying the needs for further basic and...