“. . . If You’re Not Part of the Institution You Fall by the Wayside”: Service Providers’ Perspectives on Moving Young Men From Disconnection and Isolation to Connection and Belonging

Abstract

There have been increasing calls for more gender-specific service provision to support young men's (20-29 years) mental health and well-being. In Ireland, young men are the demographic group that are most likely to die by suicide but among the least likely to seek help. This study sought to investigate service providers' perspectives on the factors that support or inhibit young men from engaging in services targeted at supporting their mental/emotional well-being. Qualitative methodologies (focus groups, n = 9; interviews, n = 7) were used for this study. Disconnection from family and community was identified as a key indicator of "at-risk" groups of young men who, more typically, had experienced significant disruption in their lives. The discord between demands and expectations facing young men on one hand, and insufficient life-management and coping skills on the other, left many young men vulnerable and bereft. The desire to save face and preserve one's masculine identity was linked to young men's reluctance to seek help when feeling down. There was a strong consensus that there could be no shortcuts to [re]connecting with young men. While sport, technology, and social media were cited as appropriate media in which to engage young men, the essence of sustained connection revolved around creating safety, trust, rapport, and meaningful relationships. The findings from this study have informed the development of a Train the Trainer program ("Connecting with Young Men"), which is currently being delivered to service providers in Ireland and which may have implications for service provision elsewhere.

Externalizing depression symptoms among Canadian males with recent suicidal ideation: A focus on young men

“…In Australia, male suicide accounts for 24.4% of all deaths of young people aged 15 to 24 years (ABS, ). Similar trends are noted in other Western nations (Kõlves & De Leo, ; Linsley, Schapira, Schapira, et al, ; Rodway et al, ), where young males are also among the least likely demographic group to seek mental health help (Grace, Richardson, & Carroll, ). Given that the peak onset of mental illness occurs in adolescence and early adulthood, there is substantial risk to economically productive years in young men's lives, potentially setting a trajectory of lifelong mental health challenges (Gore, Bloem, Patton, et al, ).…”

Evaluation of a Gender-Sensitive Physical Activity Programme for Inactive Men in Ireland: Protocol Paper for a Pragmatic Controlled Trial

“…In recent years, a body of evidence has emerged that identifies effective gender sensitive strategies to engage men in public health interventions that include; a) the use of community settings [8] or sports clubs [10,11] as opposed to healthcare settings (Robertson et al, 2014), b) including family and friends [36], c) adopting strengths-based approaches that revolve around creating safety, trust, rapport, and meaningful relationships with men [35] d) using strong, positive messages that encourage men to engage with services without amplifying shame or blame, e) connecting positive masculine identities with being healthy and productive, f) reflecting the wishes of men to maintain control and to engage with services on their own terms and in their 'own way', g) sharing men's stories to show common challenges, to foster peer-support and to create a community of mutual help. [9,37,38] The use of PA has also been proved to be a useful 'hook' to engage many men in public health interventions. [11,12] These strategies have been integrated into the MoM progamme to maximise the engagement of, and consequently benefit to, the men who participated.…”

Negotiating Gender Norms to Support Men in Psychological Distress

“…The aim of this study was to investigate how masculine norms impact men’s help-seeking as well as care givers behaviors and willingness to support men in need of psychological help or perceived to be at risk of suicide. The literature to date has gravitated towards a now familiar binary argument—men are largely “the problem” when it comes to problems with their mental health (emotionally inept, resistant to seek help) and service providers do not know how to reach out to men ( Grace et al, 2016 ). The findings from this study underline the futility of this more simplistic and reductionist approach and provide the basis for (a) looking beyond at risk population groups for male suicide to more carefully examine the sociocultural contexts and environments of men’s lives that mediate such risk, and (b) embracing tensions and complexities in relation to how men ask for and accept help and how competent and confident potential help-givers might feel about supporting men in psychological distress.…”

“…One of the key factors that has been attributed to men’s higher suicide rates is the assumption that men do not ask for help or utilize the health-care system during times of psychological distress ( Grace, Richardson, & Carroll, 2016 ; White et al, 2011 ). A number of reasons and explanations have been put forward for this.…”