Psychosocial factors that distinguish between men and women who have suicidal thoughts and attempt suicide: findings from a national probability sample of adults

Abstract

Background Previous research has highlighted the importance of understanding which psychosocial factors distinguish between those with suicide thoughts compared to those who attempt suicide. This study aims to investigate these distinguishing factors further within an ideation-to-action framework and to explore sex differences in suicide risk. Methods Participants (n = 7546, aged 16+) were from the cross-sectional Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS; 2014) of England. Face-to-face and self-completion questionnaires assessed lifetime suicidal ideation, lifetime suicide attempts, demographic characteristics, life experiences, social support, health and mental illness. Multinomial logistic regression examined factors differentiating between those with suicidal ideation only and suicide attempt histories (with or without suicidal ideation) in men and women. Results Overall men were less likely to report suicidal thoughts and attempts, compared to females. More factors differentiated between suicidal thoughts and attempts in women compared to in men; these included hospital admission for mental illness, below degree level qualifications, being single and childhood adversity. In men, factors which significantly differentiated between suicidal thoughts and attempts included self-report of professional diagnosis of mental illness and childhood adversity. Higher levels of social support were associated with being in the suicidal thoughts group v. in the attempts group in men. Conclusion This study identified some key differences between men and women in factors associated with suicide attempts compared to suicidal thoughts. The findings support the use of the ideation-to-action framework to investigate sex differences in suicidal behaviour. Future research should examine the extent to which these factors are associated with suicide risk over time.

Intimate partner violence, suicidality, and self-harm: a probability sample survey of the general population in England

“…We did descriptive analyses on the whole sample as well as gender-stratified (given the epidemiology of suicidality 19 and IPV differs between men and women 20 ). We examined the extent to which associations between each IPV indicator and past-year self-harm and suicidality could be explained by other factors.…”

“Appreciate the Little Things”: A Qualitative Survey of Men’s Coping Strategies and Mental Health Impacts During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Across the breadth of self-initiated coping strategies surveyed, those most often mentioned were efforts to adapt socially through transitioning to digital communication, alongside staying occupied with or without screens, exercising, and connecting with nature or otherwise leaving the house. Noteworthy mental health stressors and coping findings are contextualized in line with existing understanding around masculinity (Seidler et al, 2016), mental health (Richardson et al, 2022) and the burgeoning COVID-19 literature (Greenglass et al, 2021;Livingston et al, 2021;Ogrodniczuk et al, 2021) below.…”

“…While we cannot unequivocally infer the extent to which social isolation occurred alongside job loss, for example, alleviating feelings of isolation is nevertheless crucial in protecting men’s mental health. Evidence from recent survey research suggests that only social support was protective against the transition from suicidal thoughts to suicide attempts in men ( Richardson et al, 2022 ).…”

“…Pandemic-era research has also observed the prioritization of social support as a prominent coping strategy in response to psychological and existential distress (Chew et al, 2020), as well as in the context of situational stressors, such as unemployment, where those experiencing job losses engage others socially to cope (Ogueji et al, 2021). This is noteworthy in light of evidence of the protective role of social support in reducing risk of suicide in men (Richardson et al, 2022). Such flexibility in prioritizing social connection has been echoed in previous research (e.g., Pandya & Lodha, 2021) but was overtly present in the current findings, potentially pointing to the universality of the COVID-19 context as a normalizing, leveling experience for men to openly seek connection and abandon feelings of fear of judgment, embarrassment or emasculating weakness often linked with seeking social support (Wester et al, 2007).…”

Patterns of adverse childhood experiences and depressive symptom trajectories in young adults: A longitudinal study of college students in China

“…For example, Wan et al illustrated non-suicidal self-injury, suicidal ideation and suicide attemptwere significantly associated with increased ACEs in community adolescent populations ( 16 ). Emerging research also demonstrates ACEs during childhood contributes to health consequences in later adulthood ( 18 – 20 ). Among college students, studies have demonstrated that ACEs is associated with risk behaviors, and mental health ( 21 , 22 ).…”