Separated Men Face High Suicide Risk

Research finds it may be because of complex interaction between the individual and interpersonal impacts of a breakup

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Breakups hurt. Emotional and psychological distress are common when intimate relationships break down. For some people, this distress can be so overwhelming that it leads to suicidal thoughts and behaviours.

This problem seems especially the case for men. Intimate partner problems including breakups, separation and divorce feature in the paths to suicide for many. So improving the understanding of links between relationship breakdown and men's suicide risk has life-saving potential.

A recent research, reportedly the first large-scale review of the evidence to focus on understanding men's risk of suicide after a breakup, has found separated men were nearly five times more likely to die by suicide compared to married men.

The team of researchers brought together findings from 75 studies across 30 countries worldwide, involving more than 106 million men.

They focused on understanding why relationship breakdown can lead to suicide in men, and which men are most at risk. The idea, said researchers Michael Wilson (Research Fellow and PhD Candidate in Men's Mental Health, The University of Melbourne), Jacqui Macdonald (Associate Professor in Psychology, Deakin University) and Zac Seidler (Associate Professor, Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne), was that while studies might not be able to prevent breakups from happening, they can promote healthy adjustment to the stress of relationship breakdown to try and prevent suicide.