Research watch: men’s social inclusion and suicide prevention

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore recent research on reducing suicide, especially in men, who are often seen as excluding themselves from needing support, or they are excluded because people think they do not want it.

Design/methodology/approach – A search was carried out for recent papers on suicide prevention in men.

Findings – One study of 75 regions of Europe reported a link between higher value on giving social support and lower suicide rates, especially for men. Another study reported on the fall in a previously high suicide rate, especially in men, in Quebec province in Canada. A programme of suicide prevention may have contributed
to this reduction. Finally, a small interview study reported on how certain kinds of encounters with professionals can inspire hope to carry on after a suicide attempt.

Originality/value – The two papers looking at regions (across Europe and one province of Canada) suggest how social forces may contribute to reducing suicide, especially in men. The Canadian study suggests the possibility that suicide might be reduced partly by enabling help-seeking in men to be seen as a positive aspect of masculine identity, rather than seeing masculinity as excluding men from support. The small qualitative study illustrates vividly how individual encounters after a suicide attempt might promote hopefulness and are relevant to both sexes.