Australian+Men+and+their+Heightened+Risk+of+Suicide

Student Name: Roslyn Rippingale Student Number: N7495323 Tutor: Abby Diaz  The above drawing was completed by Roslyn Rippingale in 2010. The drawing shows two hands reaching towards the centre of the picture with very little detail, showing no more than the outline and shading in various degrees of black. Around the hands are black lines and shadings that come in to meet the hands and then work their way around the outer edges of the hands. The background of the picture is made up of fiery red tones which are a striking contrast to the dark black hands and lines therefore making them almost jump out of the picture.
 * Present Your Artefact **

Mental health is an ongoing issue within Australia and in 2007 the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) found that 45% of Australians between the ages of 18-85 had been diagnosed with a mental disorder. In acknowledgement of the above statistics the Australian Government has invested $2.2 billion dollars over the next five years, making metal health a national priority. In collaboration with mental health, suicide is also an ongoing and prevalent issue within Australia. Both the ABS and the World Health Organisation in 2006 stated that within Australia men are the highest risk category of committing suicide and the following literature review focuses on men in the Australian community that are at the greatest risk of committing suicide. The literature review also outlines possible reasons why these men are at risk.
 * Public Health Issue **

In accordance with the WHO in 2006 Australian men are at greater risk of committing suicide. The statistics from 1950 to 2006 show that through those years men were twice as likely to commit suicide then women and according to the ABS in 2010 men have a 3 times higher suicide rate per 100,000 than women highlighting that men are statically at a heightened risk of suicide. Men within the age group of 40-44 or 85 plus were found to have the highest suicide rate at 26 deaths per 100,000 whereas men within the age group 20-24 had a rate of 19 deaths per 100,000. In comparison women in this same age group had 5 deaths per 100,000 caused by suicide. In accordance with both the ABS and WHO statistics men within the age group of 20-54 and 85 plus are those that are at greatest risk of committing suicide. Andersen et al (2009) undertook a study where they observed which occupations within Queensland had the highest risk of suicide. The study found that men who worked within the agricultural, transport and construction sectors were at greatest risk of committing suicide. It is suggested that this may be due to the lack of communication and isolation amongst men working in these areas. These areas of occupations have a lot of masculine culture in which a stigma may be attached. This stereotype suggests that the man is weak if he is struggling with stress or emotion. Baume and Clinton (1997)
 * Literature review **

Page, Morrell, and Taylor (2002) found that the male farmer’s suicide rate was significantly higher than non- farming males with approximately one male farmer dying from suicide every four days. Judd et al (2005) observed several factors that may contribute to the increased risk of suicide amongst farmers in comparison to non-farmers. The study found that there were not higher rates of mental health problems within the farming community than within the non-farming community; however there was a significant finding of personality differences between farmers and non-farmers. These differences were assumed to act as a buffer for psychological distress but also raised questions as to the ability of farmer’s ability to react to uncontrollable events. The study found that there was a strong correlation between maleness and farming, suggesting that participants are exposed to a number of stressors where they are unable to express their feelings. Finally the study found that male farmers had significant barriers in seeking help for mental health concerns. In conjunction with the previous study Taylor etal, 2004) found that males that lived within rural areas had significantly higher suicide rates than males that lived within urban areas. This study also found that male youths living in rural areas had higher rates of suicide. Baume and Clinton (1997) believed that these increased risks could be due to factors such as isolation, changing financial and socio-economic hardship, the lack of employment opportunities, a stereotype of masculine culture, limited mental health facilities and the easier access to firearms. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Page, Morrell, and Taylor (2002) undertook a study which observed the relation between Socio-Economic Status (SES) and suicide rates from 1979 through to 2003. The study found that males living within a lower SES area in comparison to those living in a higher SES area had higher rates of suicide over time. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Within the lower SES areas males between the ages of 20-34 were those that had the highest statistical difference in suicide rates in comparison to suicide rates in higher SES areas. The study found that over time the rate of suicide increased across all SES areas. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It then decreased for middle and higher SES areas while continuing to increase for lower SES areas. It is believed that the decrease in suicide rates is in relation to the period when the National Suicide Prevention Strategy was released. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The study concluded that males within the lower SES areas are at a greater risk of committing suicide. This risk was increased for males within these socio-economic areas that were between the ages of 20-34. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">These studies all demonstrate that males within Australia are at a heightened risk of committing suicide and this is further supported by the statistics obtained from both the ABS 2006 and the WHO 2006. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When observing the limitations of the methodologies of these studies it can been seen that in Andersen et al (2009) study high risk factors of suicide such as mental health issues, marital status and socio-economic status were not taken into account when observing the statistics. The rates of suicide also had the possibility of being either over or under estimated due to the accuracy of the suicide identification. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Within Judd et al (2005) study the participants we self-selected and therefore may not have given a true representation of the rates of rural verses urban suicide rates. (Page, Morrell, & Taylor, 2002) used the method of reviewing the statistic from the ABS from 1979-2003. These statistics illustrated that the SES of people affects the rate of suicide.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Although each study has its limitations it does not detract from the significant statistics that suggest that males within Australia are within the heightened risk of committing suicide, therefore the focus for suicide prevention should be towards the social and cultural groups of males within lower SES areas, males within rural areas and males that work within the agricultural, transport and construction industries (Andersen et al, 2009) (Judd et al, 2005) (Taylor et al, 2004) (Page, Morrell, & Taylor, 2002). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">When relating these statistics to Durkhiem’s Suicide Theory one can then consider the idea that it is because these occupations, SES status and rural locations that men have lower social integration and less opportunity to express their feelings and therefore they are more likely to feel isolated and are at a higher risk of committing suicide (Bradatan, 2007). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Durkheim’s theory talks about society and how it can have either mechanical solidarity or organic solidarity (Bradatan, 2007). Durkheim believed that suicide should be seen as a socially produced act and that people that have both the behaviours and ideation of suicide are acting in response to their social culture and environment. (Silva, Huttly, Harpham, & Kenward, 2007) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Within an individualistic community people are dependent on organic solidarity where all people have different skills and are independent from others. Within these individualistic communities people can be so busy completing their own life that they don’t communicate their needs or feelings to others and in turn they are not being listened too. Therefore the person is more likely to feel low social integration putting them at a higher risk of suicide. Durkheim defined this type of suicide as Egoism. (Hassan, 1998) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">It can be seen through these studies that the culture makeup of Australian males that have a heightened suicide rate is evident through decades of change. Although the rates have fluctuated during time men have always been the predominant ones at risk of suicide (Page, Morrell, & Taylor, 2002). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This then presents the question of why this heightened suicide rate is present across a number of decades. One cannot overlook the lack of communication between males and the stigma of not being able to discuss stress and emotional concerns. This stigma needs to be address through the various avenues of education, communication and awareness campaigns. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Once males are able to openly discuss their stresses the less socially isolated they will feel (Silva, Huttly, Harpham, & Kenward, 2007). Research suggested that through the connection with an intervention internet site or through peer education people are able to receive assistance. They are able to communicate and therefore feel more connected and socially bonded within a community which in turn can prevent the act of suicide (Peters, De Koning, Dingemans, Becker, Linzen, & De Haan, 2009). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Although Australian males as a whole are those at a heightened risk of suicide it can be observed that not all males are affected equally by this public health issue (Andersen et al, 2009) (Judd et al, 2005) (Page, Morrell, & Taylor, 2002). Men within certain occupations, locations and SES are all at greater risk, therefore with these statistically significant findings the public health experts should be assigning additional resources, research and assistance in order to prevent these suicides and break the stigma.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Cultural and social analysis **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The picture of the hands reaching out can represent the males within Australia that suffer from mental health issues and suicide. Although their hands are out stretched symbolising the need of a helping hand they are nothing but dark shadows with little detail that do not stand out or speak out. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The details that are missing in the picture of the hands can represent the feelings that go un-noticed or overlooked. The stigma that is attached to the masculine culture stops the details (feelings) from being expressed by Australian males, they feel that they need to hide or keep their feelings in the dark. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">These out stretched un-detailed hands represent how many males within Australia need a helping hand and how many are overlooked due to their inability to speak out. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The lines coming in to meet the hands represent the help that doesn’t quite reach the hands connecting the help required. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Through this assessment piece I have learnt that a significant proportion of males within Australia that are at risk of committing suicide and how stigmatised and taboo the topic of mental health and suicide is in current male culture. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This assignment has illustrated the importance of focusing on the mental health of males within Australia and that the future direction of male mental health needs to involve discussion regarding breaking down the current barriers, taboos and stigmas therefore reducing the rate of social isolation and in turn reducing the rate of male suicide.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Analysis of the artefact and your own learning reflections **

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">References <span style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Andersen, K., Hawgood, J., Klieve, H., Kolves, K., & De Leo, D. (2009). //Suicide in selected// //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">occupations in Queensland: evidence from the State suicide register. //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Queensland : <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Royal Australian and New Zeland college of Psychiatrists. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Bradatan, C. (2007). About Some 19th-Century Theories of Suicide: Interpreting Suicide in <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">an East European Country. //International Journal of Comparative Sociology//, 48(5): <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">417-432. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Hassan, R. (1998). //One Hundred Years of Emile Durkhiem's Suicide: A Study in Sociology.// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">South Australia : Flinders University. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Judd, F., Jackson, H., Fraser, C., Murray, G., Robins, G., & Komiti, A. (2006). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Understanding Suicide in Australian Farmers. //Soc Psychiatr Epidemiol//, 41, 1-10. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Page, A., Morrell, A., & Taylor, R. (2002). Suicide Differentials in Australian Males and <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Females by Various Measures of Socio-economic Status, 1994-1998. //Australian &// //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">New Zealand Journal of Public Health //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, 26, 318-324. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Peters, B., De Koning, P., Dingemans, P., Becker, H., Linzen, D., & De Haan, L. (2009). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Subjective Effects of Cannabis Before the first psychoic episode. //Australian and New// //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Zeland Journal of Psychiatry //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, 43, 1155-1162. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Silva, D., Huttly, Harpham, & Kenward. (2007). Social Capital and Menatl Health. //Social// //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Science and Medicine //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, 64, 5-20. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Taylor, R., Page, A., Morrell, S., & Harrison, J. (2004). Socio-economic Differentials in <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Mental Disorders and Suicide Attempts in Australia. //British Journal of Psychiatry// , <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">185, 486-493.