Are Young Men Getting the Message? Age Differences in Suicide Prevention Literacy among Male Construction Workers

Abstract

Suicide is a leading cause of death among young men. Help-seeking is known to be poor among this group, and little is known about what interventions are most successful in improving suicide prevention literacy among young men. This research aims to examine: (1) age differences in beliefs related to suicide prevention literacy and attitudes to the workplace in addressing mental health among male construction workers; (2) age differences in response to a workplace suicide prevention program. Pre- and post-training survey data of 19,917 male respondents were obtained from a workplace training program database. Linear regression models and predictive margins were computed. Mean differences in baseline beliefs, and belief change were obtained for age groups, and by occupation. Young men demonstrated poorer baseline suicide prevention literacy but were more likely to consider that mental health is a workplace health and safety issue. There was also evidence that young men employed in manual occupations had poorer suicide prevention literacy than older men, and young men employed in professional/managerial roles. The youngest respondents demonstrated the greatest intervention-associated change (higher scores indicating more favourable belief change) to People considering suicide often send out warning signs (predicted mean belief change 0.47, 95% CI 0.43, 0.50 for those aged 15–24 years compared to 0.38, 95% CI 0.36, 0.41 for men aged 45 years and over), and to The construction industry must do something to reduce suicide rates (predicted mean belief change 0.17, 95% CI 0.15, 0.20 for those aged 15–24 years compared to 0.12, 95% CI 0.10, 0.14 among men aged 45 years and over). Results indicate that while suicide prevention literacy may be lower among young men, this group show amenability to changing beliefs. There were some indications that young men have a greater propensity to regard the workplace as having a role in reducing suicide rates and addressing mental health, highlighting opportunity for workplace interventions.

Evaluation of a Suicide Prevention Program for the Energy Sector

“…Similarly, trainers also collected the confidential pre-post surveys from participants, and this may have inadvertently influenced responses. Nevertheless, the study methods are consistent with previous, similar research evaluating GAT suicide prevention in the construction industry, e.g., [19] and highlight the likely efficiency of a such a brief well-received workplace intervention. Additionally, the item used to assess sources of help-seeking referred to multiple sources of distress in the question, and while derived from a validated help-seeking instrument [21], it was not possible to determine whether help-seeking increased for workers going through a difficult time, feeling upset, and/or thinking about suicide.…”

Help-Seeking Behavior and Psychological Distress by Age in a Nationally Representative Sample of Japanese Employees

“…Mental health literacy, defined as knowledge and understanding regarding symptoms and treatment of Help-Seeking and Psychological Distress in Japanese Workers mental health issues, was found to be one of the key factors for help-seeking behavior related to mental health issues such as depression. 20,21 The findings of the current study are consistent with previous studies suggesting that younger individuals have better mental health literacy than older persons. Moreover, poor mental health literacy may delay help-seeking.…”

Health Literacy in Male-Dominated Occupations

“…In the shorter term, the key implication of this analysis is that workplace interventions to improve health literacy are needed in male-dominated occupations and sectors. Intervening in workplace settings to improve men’s health literacy is gaining traction ( Larsen et al, 2015 ; Wong, 2012 ), and there are some promising workplace programs, particularly in relation to suicide prevention literacy in Australia ( King et al, 2018 , 2019 ). If workplaces, particularly those which are male dominated, become health literate, the health literacy of men who work in these occupations may improve, leading to an improvement in health outcomes.…”

“…While there is still much to learn about how gendered workplace expectations influence the health of men in male-dominated occupations, it is clear that workplaces offer a key setting for intervention. Further, there is evidence that workers are receptive to workplace interventions: Evaluations of a suicide prevention literacy program among construction workers indicated that men, particularly young men, believed that the workplace had a role in preventing suicide ( King et al, 2019 ).…”