ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a brief overview of the basic elements of health behavioral science and offers a synopsis of how the discipline is conducted and represented in the field of men’s health, albeit through a social determinants of health lens. It provides some insight into the idiosyncratic nature of the field, specifically regarding the following: the disparity in gender health outcomes, prominent male health behaviors and the use of behavioral health theory in men’s health, and, finally, future directions for the field of male health behavioral sciences. The chapter describes the foundations of male health behavioral sciences, core concepts in the field, and the knowledge necessary to assist in designing future programming in the field as it pertains to social determinants and male health behaviors. However, interjecting the notions of social determinants of health and the unique perspectives of the male health behavior decision-making process complicates our understanding a bit.
