Why More Men Than Women Die By Suicide

In the United States, men are 3.5 times more likely to commit suicide than women, the BBC reports.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), their data shows that “40% of countries have more than 15 suicide deaths per 100,000 men; only 1.5% show a rate that high for women.”

Psychologist Jill Harkavy-Friedman, vice president of research at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, says that it’s a trend she’s seen for quite some time. “As long as we’ve been recording it,” she reports.

Although women may report depression more often than men, and also might attempt suicide more often as well (1.2 times more often), male suicide tends to be more violent. That leaves less of a chance for intervention before it’s too late.

Access to firearms could also be a contributor to the unbalanced data when it comes to suicide and gender- six in 10 gun owners are men and guns makeup more than 50% of suicides.

Often men are told “boys don’t cry” or that expressing emotion makes them weak. However, a lack of communication when it comes to one’s mental health could also be a contributing factor for more men taking their own life than women.