Table 3.

Core themes, categories, and subcategories, n = number of quotations.

Core themes	Categories	Subcategories	n
Men's attitudes toward coping with depression: critical stance toward masculine norms	Trivialized symptoms of depression	Temporary condition, normal state of health, downplaying symptoms	10
	Individualized problem solving	Own problems, refused help-seeking	7
	Hid depression due to masculine norms	Avoiding feelings, appearing strong, never crying, breadwinner	7
	Avoided help-seeking to save career options	Secrecy, maintaining employability, safeguard career option	6
	Change in attitudes toward mental health problems	wake-up call, changed harmful attitudes, self-competence, noticing warning signs earlier	11
	Salutogenic perspective on depression and help-seeking	depression as an important life experience, Chance to reflect attitudes, positive coping strategies, being sensitive	10
Men's perception of societal views on depression: the stigma of being depressed and “unmanly”	Assessed as being incapable of coping with distress	Not taken seriously by others, incompetent	12
	Stigma toward help-seeking and having depression	Clinic-related stigma, can't hide it, rejecting inpatient services	12
	Stigma toward the inability to work	Failure to fulfill norms, shunned by workmates, discrimination, lazy	10
	Stigma of being unmanly	Weak, vulnerable, looser	8
	Growing acceptance	Societal acceptance, become more open	8
Family environment: between role expectations and social support	Loss of empathy in the family environment related to mental health problems	Cannot mention depressive symptoms, annoying	14
	Depression not taken seriously	Pseudo-problem, trivialize	9
	Lack of understanding related to failure to recover	“inability” to recover, must be healthy	6
	Suffering from paternal role expectations	never recognized, fatherhood and role expectations	8
(Mental) health service use: between obstacles and enablers	Open-minded and appreciative environment as a coping resource	Lack of interest, downplaying depression, relativize depression	11
	Partners' emotional support	Supportive, encouraging, friendly contact	21
	Service users' social support during and after inpatient services	Face-to-face exchange, similar illness-related background	14
	Group counseling for men to facilitate disclosure of weaknesses	Feeling accepted, no questions why, listening, sympathy, and empathy	15
	Familiarity of peer-led men-only groups	Same gender, same problems, address anxieties, open up to someone	11