There is a disturbing disparity between suicide rates in men and women. Britain and America are the only countries in the world which have diverging trends in male and female suicides. Between 1971 and 1996 the suicide rate for women in the UK almost halved, while in the same period the rate for men almost doubled.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century men appear to be more vulnerable to death by suicide than ever before; suicides by men make up 75 per cent of all suicides in the UK. Suicide rates for men are higher than for women across all age groups. In the 25-44 age range men are almost four times more likely than women to kill themselves, while men aged 45 and over are more than twice as likely to commit suicide as women in the same age range.

What is causing this divergence in male and female suicide rates? There is no easy answer, it is probably a combination of factors: there is a tradition of men being reluctant to talk about problems or express their feelings. Men are less likely than women to go to their GP with psychological problems; they are more likely to present with physical problems which may not be recognised as a manifestation of mental distress.

Men have suffered more severely than women in the shrinkage of traditional manufacturing jobs. Unemployed men are two to three times more at risk of suicide than the general population, and although no direct link has been shown between unemployment and young male suicide, there may be an indirect link from the effects of unemployment, such as poverty.

Young men are doing less well than young women at school and in further education. The breakdown of traditional gender roles and the concept of the "new man" has left many men feeling uncertain what is expected of them, particularly in terms of significant relationships. The increase in the proportion of unmarried young men may be another factor. Research suggests that marriage is a protective factor against suicide in men, and that half of the increase in young male suicide might be due to the smaller proportions of young men that are married. [6] In recent years there has been an increase in drugs misuse amongst young men and this is likely to have contributed towards the rise in suicide rates in young men.

Men still predominate in "high risk" professions such as vets, doctors, dentists, pharmacists and farmers, all of whom have easy access to poisons, and farmers in particular often have access to firearms. The methods of suicide adopted by men may explain part of the divergence. Men are more likely than women to adopt violent methods of death, for example, hanging, shooting or jumping, all methods of suicide where there is less possibility of recovery than overdose which is the preferred method of women.

Men are at a higher risk of suicide if they are single, recently separated, divorced or widowed. It has also been noted that men in unskilled employment are twice as likely to kill themselves compared with other men in the general population. [7]

The precipitating life events for women who attempt suicide tend to be losses or crises in significant social or family relationships.

As with men, suicide is more common among women who are single, recently separated, divorced or widowed; however, women are more likely than men to have stronger social supports, to feel that their relationships are deterrents to committing suicide, and to seek psychiatric and other medical intervention. [8]

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