Status loss due to COVID-19, traditional masculinity, and the prediction of suicidal ideation and recent suicide attempts

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is causing extensive job loss leading to a loss of social status in many men. Endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology may render some men particularly sensitive to status loss and thereby to an increased risk for suicidality.Methods: In this anonymous online survey conducted in German-speaking European countries, 490 men completed questionnaires regarding loss of social status due to the pandemic, suicidal ideation and past-month suicide attempt. Furthermore, prototypical and male-typical externalizing depression symptoms, self-identified masculine gender orientation, endorsement of traditional masculinity, and gender role conflict were measured.Results: Out of a total of 490 men, 14.7% of men reported experiencing a status loss due to the pandemic. These men were more than twice as likely to report suicidal ideation during the past two weeks, and more than four times as likely to have attempted suicide in the past month than men not reporting a status loss. Depression symptoms, self-identified masculine gender orientation, endorsement of traditional masculinity, but not gender role conflict were positively associated with status loss. Suicidal ideation and suicide attempt were associated with prototypical and male-typical externalizing depression symptoms, but not masculinity- related constructs.Conclusion: Status loss emerges as risk factor for suicide and is associated with depression symptoms, higher masculine gender orientation and endorsement of traditional masculinity. Men with high levels of traditional masculinity and status loss due to the pandemic are at increased risk for suicide.

Association between psychotherapy use, sexual orientation, and traditional masculinity among psychologically distressed men.

“…Positive associations between endorsement of TMI and higher externalizing depression, but not prototypical depression symptoms, were found only among heterosexual-identified men. Because stronger endorsement of TMI and high externalizing depression symptoms have been previously linked with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among men (Coleman et al, 2020;Rice et al, 2018;Walther, Grub, Tsar, et al, 2021), these findings bear great clinical relevance as to recognize heterosexual-identified men with strong TMI and high externalizing symptoms as a highrisk group for intervention strategies and treatment policies.…”

Gender Differences in Attachment Anxiety and Avoidance and Their Association with Psychotherapy Use—Examining Students from a German University

“…Men and women differ with regard to the prevalence of several mental disorders with women showing higher rates in depressive disorders, somatoform disorders, anxiety disorders, and eating disorders [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ], while men show higher rates in substance use disorders and especially in alcohol use disorders [ 7 , 8 ]. Furthermore, men show up to four-fold increased suicide rates and appear to be particularly vulnerable to commit suicide when facing economic or social losses [ 9 , 10 ]. This is in line with reports suggesting that overall men and women experience similar levels of psychological distress and mental disorders [ 11 ], yet men use psychotherapy about 30% less than women [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ].…”

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

“…Men's concern for passing COVID-19 to vulnerable others likely reflects normative protector traditions, where men are socialized to prioritize the welfare of others above their own (Courtenay, 2000). The finding that men were also commonly concerned about their own health regarding COVID-19 appears to contradict the narrative in past research that positions health risk behaviors as fundamental in demonstrating one's status as a "real" man (Levant & Wimer, 2014;Walther et al, 2021), where some men are identified as reticent to engage in preventive behaviors such as wearing masks and regular hand-washing (Mahalik et al, 2021), likely due to perceiving the pandemic as less serious relative to women (Gallasso et al, 2020). The message from the current data (i.e., that some men do see COVID as a realistic point of anxiety and are enacting measures to protect themselves and others), relative to the message from sex-differences research that tends to homogenize men as an unconcerned and careless group, reiterates the importance of withingender research to be able to understand which men are more or less likely to see COVID as a legitimate health risk and comply with protective public-health strategies.…”