Abstract
Background: To explore the differences in young adult male and female attitudes towards and motivations for suicide, beliefs about help-seeking behavior, and attitudes towards helping others to prevent suicide. Methods: In-depth interviews and focus groups with adolescent and young adult males and females (n = 50, ages 14–24) were conducted before and after a community-based play on suicide prevention. Two focus groups and 30 individual interviews (n = 50, 22 males, 28 females) were conducted before the intervention at one location, and 12 in-depth interviews (4 males, 8 females) were conducted with some of the same individuals after the play. The transcripts were coded by two independent coders for gender differences. Emergent categories were analyzed to identify differences in responses to issues surrounding suicide and depression. Results: Three key gender differences were found in communication styles around emotional vulnerabilities: (1) Females were more likely to talk about the importance of reaching out to others and giving counsel, while males were more likely to expect others in need to seek them out for help. (2) Females talked about psychological distress as something “everyone” experiences, while males tended to see their suffering as an individual phenomenon. (3) Females tended to advocate disclosure while males talked about the pressure not to talk about personal problems. Conclusions: Young males and females may need different coping strategies, and interventions, therefore, must be tailored to address the needs of each gender separately. Campaigns and programs specifically for men should address the barriers that men face with disclosure and help-seeking, and strategies should be sensitive to the expectations of heteronormative masculinity.
Highlights
The male suicide rate in the United States is nearly triple the death rate from suicide for females (CDC), and in other countries the disparity is similar, slightly less drastic [1,2]
While men die more often from suicide attempts, women make roughly three times the suicide attempts, and show higher rates of suicidal thinking, non-fatal suicide behavior, and depression [3]. This is commonly called the “gender paradox” in suicidality. Possible explanations for these differences include the fact that men use more lethal means when they do attempt suicide, such as firearms; higher rates of substance abuse among men; higher rates of help-seeking behavior among women; and differences in psychological contributors to suicide found among genders [4]
Over the course of three years, the Let’s Talk research team hosted and facilitated theater workshops that led up to each play, with five different groups of students who met bi-weekly for 12 weeks to share their personal experiences with suicide and/or major depression, and to collaboratively write a unique script based on their experiences
Summary
The male suicide rate in the United States is nearly triple the death rate from suicide for females (CDC), and in other countries the disparity is similar, slightly less drastic [1,2]. While men die more often from suicide attempts, women make roughly three times the suicide attempts, and show higher rates of suicidal thinking, non-fatal suicide behavior, and depression [3] This is commonly called the “gender paradox” in suicidality. The evidence suggests that psychosocial factors like unemployment, retirement and being single are linked to increased suicide risk for men, but not for women [5,6,7] This suggests that gendered expectations of behavior play a role in suicidality. Results: Three key gender differences were found in communication styles around emotional vulnerabilities: (1) Females were more likely to talk about the importance of reaching out to others and giving counsel, while males were more likely to expect others in need to seek them out for help.
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