Status loss due to COVID-19, traditional masculinity, and their association with recent suicide attempts and suicidal ideation

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing extensive job loss leading to a loss of social status in many men. Endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology may render some men particularly sensitive to status loss and thereby to an increased risk for suicidality. In this anonymous online survey conducted in German-speaking European countries, 490 men completed questionnaires regarding loss of social status due to the COVID-19 pandemic, past-month and lifetime suicide attempt and suicidal ideation. Furthermore, endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology and prototypical and male-typical externalizing depression symptoms were measured. Out of a total of 490 men, 14.7% of men reported experiencing status loss due to the pandemic. These men were more than four times as likely to have attempted suicide in the past month (OR = 4.48, 95% CI [1.72, 11.67]) and more than twice as likely to report suicidal ideation during the past 2 weeks (OR = 2.47, 95% CI [1.42, 4.28]), than men not reporting status loss. Status loss, but not endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology, was associated with suicide outcomes. However, when male-typical externalizing depression symptoms and prototypical depression symptoms were included in the models, they exhibited the only direct associations with suicide outcomes (e.g., for past-month suicide attempt: male-typical externalizing depression symptoms OR = 2.18, 95% CI [1.31, 3.62], prototypical depression symptoms OR = 2.41, 95% CI [1.13, 5.12]). A significant interaction between status loss and endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology further suggests an enhancing moderating effect of traditional masculinity on the relationship between status loss and past-month suicide attempts (OR = 3.27, 95% CI [1.16, 9.27]). Status loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic emerges as risk factor for suicide in men. Men who experience status loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic while concomitantly exhibiting strong endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology have an additional increased risk of suicide. Public Significance Statement Status loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among men with strong endorsement of traditional masculinity ideologies, may play a critical role in understanding the elevated suicide rates in the aftermath of the most acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Health care policy should specifically target men with experienced status loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic in suicide prevention programs and swiftly design mental health care campaigns tailored to the group of men with strong endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology.

Examining the Role of Traditional Masculinity and Depression in Men's Risk for Contracting COVID-19.

In the light of the COVID-19 pandemic and claims that traditional masculinity may put some men at increased risk for infection, research reporting men's health behaviors is critically important. Traditional masculine norms such as self-reliance and toughness are associated with a lower likelihood to vaccinate or follow safety restrictions. Furthermore, infection risk and traditional masculinity should be investigated in a differentiated manner including gender role orientation, underlying traditional masculine ideologies and male gender role conflict. In this pre-registered online survey conducted during March/April 2021 in German-speaking countries in Europe, 490 men completed questionnaires regarding contracting COVID-19 as confirmed by a validated test, fear of COVID-19 (FCV-19S), and experience of psychological burden due to COVID-19. In addition, depression symptomatology was assessed by using prototypical internalizing and male-typical externalizing depression symptoms. Furthermore, self-identified masculine gender orientation, endorsement of traditional masculinity ideologies, and gender role conflict were measured. A total of 6.9% of men (n = 34) reported having contracted COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. Group comparisons revealed that men who had contracted COVID-19 exhibited higher overall traditional masculine ideology and gender role conflict. Logistic regression controlling for confounders (age, income, education, and sexual orientation) indicated that only depression symptoms are independently associated with the risk of having contracted COVID-19. While prototypical depression symptoms were negatively associated with the risk of having contracted COVID-19, male-typical externalizing depression symptoms were positively associated with the risk of contracting COVID-19. For traditional masculinity, no robust association for an increased risk of contracting COVID-19 could be established, while higher male-typical externalizing depression symptoms were associated with an increased risk of contracting COVID-19.