| dc.description.abstract | Men, especially veteran men, are at greater risk to die by suicide as compared to women and civilians. Researchers have previously attributed this to men’s more probable use of fatal means, although the role of male cultural scripts have garnered increased attention. Researchers have also theorized that the stress caused by deviation from male cultural scripts, (i.e., masculine gender role conflict), influences men’s suicide risk because it limits the availability of social support, increases isolation, and diminishes men’s ability to build reciprocally caring relationships with other men. While researchers have identified numerous variables associated with suicidality, depression and alcohol use have been consistently found to predict suicide risk. As such, this study assesses the relationship between Gender Role Conflict (GRC) and suicidal ideation among a sample of justice involved veteran men. It also examined the hypothesis that GRC moderates the relationships of depression and alcohol use on suicidal ideation. Finally, this study assessed individual components of GRC separately using the Gender Role Conflict Scale (GRCS) to determine which specific types of conflict predicted suicidal ideation. Moderated ordinal logistic regression results indicated that GRC and depression predicted suicidal ideation. Alcohol use did not. Surprisingly, GRC interacted with depression to decrease suicidal ideation, however, no moderation effect was found for alcohol use. Supplementary analyses also revealed that two features of GRC, Restrictive Emotionality (RE) and Restrictive Affectionate Behavior Between Men (RABBM) independently predicted suicidal ideation in veteran men. This study interpreted study variables and findings within the context of the two dominant theories of suicide: the escape theory of suicide and the interpersonal theory of suicide. Limitations of the study and noteworthy avenues for future research are provided. Implications of the study and their relevance to the assessment and intervention of veteran men’s suicide are also discussed. | |
