Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Bouverie St, Carlton, 3010, Australia.
Centre for Workplace Leadership, Department of Management and Marketing, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia.
BMC Psychiatry. 2020 May 12;20(1):228. doi: 10.1186/s12888-020-2475-y.
Adolescent boys and young men are at particular risk of suicide. Suicidal ideation is an important risk factor for suicide, but is poorly understood among adolescent males. Some masculine behaviors have been associated with deleterious effects on health, yet there has been little quantitative examination of associations between masculinity and suicide or suicidal ideation, particularly among boys/young men. This study aimed to examine associations between conformity to masculine norms and suicidal ideation in a sample of adolescents.
A prospective cohort design, this study drew on a sample of 829 Australian boys/young men from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health. Boys were 15-18 years at baseline, and 17-20 years at follow-up. Masculine norms (Wave 1), were measured using the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI-22). Suicidal ideation (Wave 2) was a single-item from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Logistic regression analysis was conducted, adjusting for available confounders including parental education, Indigenous Australian identity and area disadvantage.
In adjusted models, greater conformity to violent norms (OR = 1.23, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.03-1.47) and self-reliance norms (OR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.15-1.70) was associated with higher odds of reporting suicidal ideation. Greater conformity to norms regarding heterosexuality was associated with reduced odds of reporting suicidal ideation (OR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.68-0.91).
These results suggest that conforming to some masculine norms may be deleterious to the mental health of young males, placing them at greater risk of suicidal ideation. The results highlight the importance of presenting young males with alternative and multiple ways of being a male. Facilitating a relaxation of norms regarding self-reliance, and encouraging help-seeking, is vital. Furthermore, dismantling norms that rigidly enforce masculine norms, particularly in relation to heteronormativity, is likely to benefit the broad population of males, not only those who do not conform to heterosexual and other masculine norms.
青少年男孩和年轻男性自杀的风险特别高。自杀意念是自杀的一个重要危险因素，但在青少年男性中却知之甚少。一些男性化行为与健康的不良影响有关，但很少有定量研究表明男性气质与自杀或自杀意念之间的关系，特别是在男孩/年轻男性中。本研究旨在检查符合男性规范与青少年自杀意念之间的关系。
本研究采用前瞻性队列设计，从澳大利亚男性健康纵向研究中抽取了 829 名澳大利亚男孩/年轻男性作为样本。男孩在基线时为 15-18 岁，随访时为 17-20 岁。男性规范（第 1 波）使用男性规范一致量表（CMNI-22）进行测量。自杀意念（第 2 波）是青少年风险行为调查中的一个单一项目。进行了逻辑回归分析，调整了可用的混杂因素，包括父母教育、澳大利亚原住民身份和地区贫困。
在调整后的模型中，更多地符合暴力规范（比值比[OR] = 1.23，95%置信区间[CI]：1.03-1.47）和自力更生规范（OR = 1.40，95% CI：1.15-1.70）与报告自杀意念的几率更高相关。更多地符合异性恋规范与报告自杀意念的几率降低相关（OR = 0.80，95% CI：0.68-0.91）。
这些结果表明，符合某些男性规范可能对年轻男性的心理健康有害，使他们更有可能出现自杀意念。研究结果强调了向年轻男性提供替代和多种男性方式的重要性。促进对自力更生规范的放松，并鼓励寻求帮助至关重要。此外，打破严格执行男性规范的规范，特别是在异性恋规范方面，可能会使男性群体受益，而不仅仅是那些不符合异性恋和其他男性规范的男性。
