Movember-funded study reveals marital breakdown quadruples men’s suicide risk
Men whose relationships break down are at high risk for mental illness, including anxiety, depression, and suicidality, according to a new Movember-funded study.
Research carried out by the University of British Columbia and published in the journal of Social Science and Medicine – Qualitative Research in Health, has shown that marital separation quadruples the risk of male suicide, suggesting that distressed relationships as well as separation and divorce contribute to men’s mental health challenges.
" Most men experienced the onset or worsening of mental illness symptoms during a distressed relationship or following the breakdown of a relationship. "
“Most men experienced the onset or worsening of mental illness symptoms during a distressed relationship or following the breakdown of a relationship,” says the study’s lead author Dr John Oliffe, a Canada Research Chair in Men’s Health Promotion, UBC professor and lead of the Men's Health Research program.
“Stereotyped masculinity plays a role in how men react to a broken relationship,” explains Dr. Oliffe. “For example, men’s uncertainty for how to articulate and problem-solve in the relationship context resulted in many men isolating rather than reaching out for help. Most men in the study were battling with transitions in the partnership—like bereavement, parenting or infidelity and their primary goal was to avoid conflict.”
The research follows the publication of a recent University of Copenhagen study, which showed that men who live alone for more than seven years are at high risk of early death. The study of 4,800 people found that men had higher levels of inflammation in the body, which is linked to hardened arteries, heart attacks, strokes, and cancer.
Movember mental health adviser Dr Steve Robertson, emeritus professor of Men, Gender and Health at Leeds Beckett University, says: “The evidence shows that, following divorce/separation, and when living alone for long periods, men’s immune systems fare less well than that of women.
Dr Robertson adds: “A significant part of what is expected of men relates to being publicly, outwardly successful and separation and divorce can challenge this image – it can suggest failure, that you are not ‘good enough’ (financially, sexually or emotionally) to hold on to your partner. It erodes confidence when men are meant to exude confidence.
“Men often rely on their partner as their main, safe place for emotional expression and where they can safely open up a little. Men are taught not to share feelings of vulnerability or anxiety or lack of confidence etc. Intimate relationships are therefore often the only opportunity men must share moments of weakness, vulnerability, fear etc - they expose themselves in such relationships. This is often not done easily.”