title: Injury, Interiority, and Isolation in Men's Suicidality.
abstract: Men's high suicide rates have been linked to individual risk factors including history of being abused as a child, single marital status, and financial difficulties. While it has also been suggested that the normative influences of hegemonic masculinities are implicated in men's suicide, the gendered experiences of male suicidality are poorly understood. In the current photovoice study, 20 men who previously had suicidal thoughts, plans, and/or attempts were interviewed as a means to better understanding the connections between masculinities and their experiences of suicidality. The study findings revealed injury, interiority, and isolation as interconnected themes characterizing men's suicidality. Injury comprised an array of childhood and/or cumulative traumas that fueled men's ruminating thoughts inhibiting recovery and limiting hopes for improved life quality. In attempting to blunt these traumas, many men described self-injuring through the overuse of alcohol and other drugs. The interiority theme revealed how suicidal thoughts can fuel hopelessness amid summonsing remedies from within. The challenges to self-manage, especially when experiencing muddled thinking and negative thought were evident, and led some participants to summons exterior resources to counter suicidality. Isolation included separateness from others, and was linked to abandonment issues and not having a job and/or partner. Self-isolating also featured as a protection strategy to avoid troubling others and/or reducing exposure to additional noxious stimuli. The study findings suggest multiple intervention points and strategies, the majority of which are premised on promoting men's social connectedness. The destigmatizing value of photovoice methods is also discussed.
authors.affiliation: 1 University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: John L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Oliffe
authors.affiliation: 1 University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Genevieve
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Creighton
authors.affiliation: 2 Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK.
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.affiliation: 3 University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Broom
authors.affiliation: 1 University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Emily K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.affiliation: 1 University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: John S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Ogrodniczuk
authors.affiliation: 1 University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ferlatte
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000739:Anecdotes as Topic; D002170:Canada; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D057228:Masculinity; D054526:Men's Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D012934:Social Isolation; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: masculinity; men’s mental illness; men’s suicide; photovoice