Study cites growing suicide rate in men
Men feel more opportunities available to them are increasing expectations and creating problems such as alcoholism, according to the study, entitled Young Men’s Outlook on Life and Living in the Mid West
Approximately 60% of the men surveyed agreed that “the lot of the average man is getting worse” and that nowadays we must “live for today and let tomorrow take care of itself”.
Social change and a sense of alienation and purposelessness were seen as important factors in suicidal thoughts, which became more powerful when the discrepancy between expectations and the means to achieve them grew.
“In Irish society, home ownership is something that is valued and is associated with independence and passage into adulthood. However, the means to achieve home ownership are not available to the majority of young people attempting to make the transition from adolescence to adulthood,” the study said.
Some of the respondents said “the pace of the country is picking up” and there is pressure to settle down, to buy a house and to keep up with other people. However many said they simply could not afford independent living and remained at home with their parents, creating a sense of frustration.
Voluntary housing agency Focus Ireland said 67% of its clients were male and 71% of those were in the 18-40 age group, the category with the highest suicide rate. With spiralling house prices contributing to more homelessness, Focus Ireland said it had a big impact on people’s mental and physical health.
“Because of their homeless situation they can be very vulnerable so there is the added risk this could drive them over the edge. There’s no doubt that some people who are homeless have tried or at least thought about suicide due to the pressures they are under,” said Roughan MacNamara, the agency’s communications manager. There are 48,000 people on local authority waiting lists and 6,000 homeless.
The study, carried out by the Mid Western Health Board, the National Suicide Review Group and the National Suicide Research Foundation, also found that child access difficulties among single fathers were a likely factor in some suicides.
The authors of the survey have called for early introduction of effective anger management and problem solving therapy for young men as a means of tackling suicide. They have also called for marketing of male orientated health services.
