Masculinity: A Protective and Risk Factor for Suicidality in UK Samples from the Community and Patients Admitted to Hospital for a Suicide Attempt

04/12/2025

Arch Suicide Res. 2025 Dec 4:1-20. doi: 10.1080/13811118.2025.2586778. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Men are more likely than women to die by suicide, while women are more likely to report suicidal ideation and make suicide attempts. To understand this, it is necessary to consider the ways in which men and women are exposed to divergent pressures in gendered social roles. We reviewed the literature to identify a set of seven pathways by which masculinity may impact upon suicidality (moderation of the relationship between masculinity and suicidality by adverse life events, mediation of the relationship between masculinity and suicidality by help-seeking, social support, maladaptive coping, impulsivity, and mental health, and a protective function of positive masculine psychological characteristics on suicidality), and tested these in two samples.

METHOD: In Study 1 we tested pathways in a sample of 195 participants in an online survey. In Study 2 we tested pathways in a sample of 48 participants admitted to hospital for a suicide attempt. In both studies we included both men and women, and tested moderation of relationships by sex.

RESULTS: Both studies demonstrated a protective role of “positive” masculine psychological characteristics in the development of suicidality. There was also support from both for an indirect effect of “negative” masculine psychological characteristics on suicidal ideation through impulsivity (those high in negative masculinity had higher suicidal ideation due to increased levels of impulsivity). In Study 1 only, the relationship between negative masculine psychological characteristics and suicidal ideation was mediated by help seeking and by maladaptive coping (amongst men only). In all other cases, results were consistent across men and women.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest both protective and risk functions of masculinity in the development of suicidality, and provide evidence for pathways from negative masculinity to suicidality through impulsivity and help-seeking, as well as protective functions of positive masculine psychological characteristics, providing potential targets for clinical intervention.

PMID:41342731 | DOI:10.1080/13811118.2025.2586778

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