Mental Darwinism

Langs, Robert; Raney, James O.; Smith, David J.

doi:10.4324/9780429481680-15

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Emotions help facilitate communication and social bonding, they are “meaning-making tools” that help us understand and explain our experiences and drive our behaviors (Barrett, 2017, p. 139). Our “emotional coping strategies have evolved over some six million years of hominid existence” (Langs, 1996, p. 110). The cultural suppression of aspects of men’s emotions potentially undermines millions of years of evolution and may deny some men access to fundamental parts of their humanity and a functioning relationship with a core coping/regulatory system.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Male suicide risk and recovery factors: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis of two decades of research.

Bennett,

Robb,

Zortea

et al. 2023

Psychological Bulletin

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Suicide is a gendered phenomenon, where male deaths outnumber those of women virtually everywhere in the world. Quantitative work has dominated suicide research producing important insights but only a limited understanding of why more men die by suicide. We conducted a qualitative metasynthesis and systematic review of 20 years of narratives both from men who are suicidal and from people who are bereaved by male suicide to identify putative risk and recovery factors. We identified 78 studies that encapsulated insights from over 1,695 people. Using Thomas and Harden's Thematic Synthesis Method, our analysis is built on 1,333 basic codes, 24 descriptive themes, and four analytical themes. We noted an association between cultural norms of masculinity and suicide risk in 96% of studies. Norms relating to male emotional suppression, failing to meet standards of male success, and the devaluing of men's interpersonal needs appeared to be associated with dysregulated psychological pain and suicide risk. Although masculinity is not pathological, we speculate that the interaction and accumulation of cultural harms to men's emotions, self, and interpersonal connections may potentially distinguish men who are suicidal from men who are not. Supporting men to understand and regulate emotions and suicidal pain, expanding possibilities for masculine identity, and building meaningful interpersonal connections were reported as helping support recovery from suicidal crises. Though our sample was predominantly White, cisgendered, and English speaking, and the underlying research designs prevent strong causal inferences, we discuss possible implications of these findings for male suicide intervention and suggestions for future research. Public Significance StatementThis systematic review synthesizes the worldwide English language qualitative research literature on suicide risk and recovery factors in men. Findings suggest a novel framework for understanding the key dynamics involved in suicide risk and recovery, based on the reciprocal relationship between masculine norms, emotions, self-concept, interpersonal connections, and psychological pain.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%