Background: Suicide bereavement is one of the most traumatic life events. Although past research focused on females, men bereaved by suicide face unique challenges, including higher risks of mental and somatic health issues. They are also six times more likely to die by suicide compared to non-bereaved men. Despite these risks, men are less likely to seek formal support.
Aims: This study explores the help-seeking behaviour of men bereaved by suicide, providing insights to inform adequate and tailored support services.
Methods: The study was designed in collaboration with people with lived experience of suicide bereavement, and several members of the research team have lived experience of suicide. Eligible participants were: i) men/males, ii) located in Australia, iii) who had lost a close person (e.g., family member or friend) by suicide at least six months before participation. Interview data (June-July 2024) from 34 participants (age: M=49.44, SD=13.76), were subjected to inductive thematic analysis (ongoing at the time of submission).
Findings: First findings indicate the overwhelming, life-changing impact of suicide bereavement. Grief reactions included shock, guilt and anger, psychological trauma, relationship breakdowns, experiences of isolation, somatic reactions, exacerbating mental health problems, and suicidal behaviour. Some participants had also experienced positive outcomes such as continuing bonds, meaning-making, and personal/posttraumatic growth.
Participants had used various coping strategies. Participants generally expressed strong feelings of responsibility and action-oriented coping (e,g., becoming involved in fund-raising or advocacy). Self-reliance, stoicism, refraining from sharing experiences with others, and finding distractions, were key coping strategies, though some also used emotion-oriented coping strategies.
Regarding help-seeking, participants highly valued peer support and opportunities for connecting with other suicide-bereaved men. This was perceived as a safe space allowing them to share experiences as needed. Professional support, entailing specialised and personalized support, including psychoeducation, was perceived as complementary to peer support.
Perceived barriers to support included lack of knowledge of what is available, perceiving support as being unsuitable for them, and distrust, stigma, and prior negative experiences. Facilitators to accessing support included outreach, receiving information about what is available, and referral from a trusted person (GP, friends,…).
Conclusion: The findings indicate that postvention support for men should adopt a holistic view of suicide impact, and must acknowledge masculine identity and roles. Support should focus on outreach and referral, include peer support and professional support, and must be tailored along a continuum of action-oriented and emotion-oriented support. Further research is needed to examine its effectiveness.