Suicide and self-harm thinking in males in early parenthood

Researchers undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis by reviewing literature regarding men in perinatal, post-natal and early parenting stages. The researchers aimed to identify the prevalence of suicidal thinking in males during early parenthood, and understand factors associated with suicidal and self-harm ideation in fathers during the same period.

What's the issue?

Life transitions can be challenging to navigate. Research has identified that the early parenting period is a time of increased risk of suicide or self-harm ideation for women, but similar studies on men during early parenthood are limited.1

Suicidal ideation refers to thoughts of suicide which can range in intensity, from fleeting thoughts through to well thought-out plans for killing oneself or having a complete preoccupation with self-destruction.2

The available research shows that approximately one in 10 fathers experience clinically significant depressive symptoms during early parenting stages.3 People experiencing depression are more likely to experience suicidal ideation.4 Suicide and self-harm ideation are identified as risk factors for suicide.5

Given the links between early parenting, depression, suicidal and self-harm ideation, and suicide risk, research in this area is important, particularly for men in early parenthood.

What was done?

Researchers undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis by reviewing five databases on literature regarding men in perinatal, post-natal and early parenting stages. The researchers aimed to identify the prevalence of suicidal thinking in males during early parenthood and understand factors associated with suicidal and self-harm ideation in fathers during the same period.

Researchers from Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States of America examined five databases for relevant published articles.

Studies were included in the review if:

  • they were an original peer-reviewed article; published between 1 January 2000 and 9 March 2023
  • research was centred on expectant fathers, or fathers with at least one child aged between 0 and 4 years, or
  • research reported on the prevalence of suicidal and/or self-harm ideation for men within the perinatal or early parenting period.

Qualitative studies were excluded. Articles that reported only on death by suicide or suicide attempts were also excluded as the researchers aimed to examine suicide and self-harm ideation. International studies were included.

Of the search results, 14 articles were included in the systematic review, and 13 were included in the meta-analysis. The studies came from eight countries, with most conducted in Australia (n = 5), Norway (n = 3) or China (n = 2). The remaining five studies were conducted in Singapore, Sweden, Germany and Brazil. Ten studies utilised community or population-based samples, and three studies used clinical samples including of fathers.

Data was extracted from the articles and mapped into a table against key characteristics such as study design and sample characteristics.

Researchers also conducted a meta-analysis to help to account for differences between studies.

What was found?

Findings from the systematic review showed that:

  • Approximately one in 25 fathers of young children may experience suicidal or self-harm ideation.
  • The rates of suicidal or self-harm ideation for fathers are less than the rates for mothers of young children.6
  • Factors such as financial strain, social isolation and relationship difficulties can contribute to this suicidal and self-harm ideation.
  • Men during early parenting stages are twice as likely to experience depression as men in the general population.

The meta-analysis was conducted with the 13 included studies, which assessed suicidal and/or self-harm ideation, with a combined sample size of 3,123. The overall prevalence of suicidal and self-harm combined was 4.2%, and 5.1% for suicidal ideation.

The researchers note that comparison between studies to determine prevalence of suicidal and self-harm ideation was difficult given the differences in research for clinical or population-based research samples. There was also difficulty in measuring suicidal ideation as there are no standardised and widely accepted measurement tools.

Why are the findings important?

Research in early parenthood often centres on the mother’s experiences, however both parents are exposed to the challenges and transitions of parenthood.

Given that suicide is a leading cause of death in men aged 25–44 years7, an age range that often coincides with new and early parenthood, and experiences of suicidal and self-harm ideation are risk factors for suicide, it is important to understand suicide or self-harm ideation in men during early parenthood to develop and implement prevention and support strategies.

Although this review captures data from clinical and population-based research studies, the true prevalence of suicide or self-harm ideation in men during early parenthood is unknown. The researchers suggest that many men may experience suicide or self-harm ideation in early parenthood however their experiences are not captured.

The review highlights an opportunity to further understand the prevalence of suicide or self-harm ideation in males during early parenthood.

Notes

1

Cameron EE, Sedov ID and Tomfohr-Madsen LM (2016) Prevalence of paternal depression in pregnancy and the postpartum: An updated meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders 206: 189–203.

2

Headspace, (2009) MythBuster: Suicidal Ideation, suicidal-ideation-mythbusterv2.pdf (headspace.org.au)

3

Cameron EE, Sedov ID and Tomfohr-Madsen LM (2016) Prevalence of paternal depression in pregnancy and the postpartum: An updated meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders 206: 189–203.

4

Franklin JC, Ribeiro JD, Fox KR, et al. (2017) Risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors: A meta-analysis of 50 years of research. Psychological Bulletin 143: 187–232.

5

Burke TA, Hamilton JL, Cohen JN, et al. (2016) Identifying a physical indicator of suicide risk: Non-suicidal self-injury scars predict suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Comprehensive Psychiatry 65: 79–87.

6

Xiao M, Hu Y, Huang S, et al. (2022) Prevalence of suicidal ideation in pregnancy and the postpartum: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders 296: 322–336.

7

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2022) Causes of Death, Australia. https://www.abs.gov.au/statist...

Study information

Authors

  • Alison Fogarty
  • Grace McMahon
  • Helen Findley
  • Casey Hosking
  • Madison Schulz
  • Monique Seymour
  • Liana Leach
  • Rohan Borschmann
  • Craig F Garfield
  • Rebecca Giallo

Study originally published

8 August 2024

Read the full paper

Translated on Life in Mind

19 September 2024

Population group

Citation

Fogarty A, McMahon G, Findley H, et al. Prevalence of suicidal and self-harm ideation in fathers during the perinatal and early parenting period: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 2024;0(0). doi:10.1177/00048674241267896