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Following the end of a romantic relationship, men face an elevated risk of suicidal thoughts, attempted suicide, and death by suicide, with the highest risk occurring immediately after the split. These findings come from a massive global review published in Psychological Bulletin, providing a detailed look at how age, culture, and social isolation influence mental health after a breakup.
Around the world, men die by suicide at much higher rates than women. While many variables contribute to this disparity, the end of an intimate partnership is a recognized risk factor. Romantic relationships often provide essential emotional support, security, and a sense of belonging. When these bonds dissolve, people can experience profound psychological distress.
For many men, social expectations regarding masculinity can complicate this distress. Some traditional gender norms encourage self-reliance and emotional restriction, which can limit a person’s willingness to seek professional help. As a result, men often rely solely on their romantic partners for emotional intimacy. A breakup can lead to sudden social isolation and feelings of failure.
Despite the known association between breakups and mental health crises, details about which men are most at risk have remained poorly understood. To better investigate this pattern, Michael J. Wilson, a researcher at the University of Melbourne and Orygen in Australia, led a team to examine the specific variables that influence suicidal behavior in men after a relationship ends.
Wilson and his colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. A meta-analysis is a statistical technique that combines the results of multiple independent studies to identify broad trends. The team searched academic databases for peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2023. They looked specifically for research comparing suicidal behavior among men based on their relationship status.
In total, the researchers gathered 75 studies spanning 30 countries. The combined sample size was massive, representing more than 100 million men. From this pool, 29 studies contained enough compatible data to be included in statistical meta-analyses. The remaining studies were analyzed narratively to identify common themes and demographic patterns.
The team examined three specific outcomes. These included suicidal ideation, which refers to having thoughts about or making plans for suicide. They also tracked data on suicide attempts, as well as recorded deaths by suicide.
The researchers first looked at non-fatal outcomes. Based on a pooling of available data, they found that separated or divorced men had 1.64 times the odds of experiencing suicidal ideation compared to married men. When looking at suicide attempts, the meta-analysis showed that divorced men had 1.73 times the odds of making an attempt compared to those who remained married.
The data on fatal outcomes revealed higher odds. Across the analyzed studies, divorced men had 2.82 times the odds of dying by suicide compared to married men. The risk was highly pronounced for younger men. Separated men aged 34 and younger faced more than eight times the odds of suicide compared to married men in the same age group.
The researchers also found that the timing of the relationship breakdown factored into the risk levels. Men in the state of separation, which typically represents the immediate aftermath of a breakup, showed nearly twice the odds of suicide compared to men whose divorces had been finalized. The data suggests that the acute emotional crisis of a fresh split poses the highest risk, which then tends to dissipate as time passes.
Cultural and socioeconomic variables played a role in the statistics as well. Divorced men in Asian countries displayed higher odds of suicide than divorced men in Western countries. The researchers note this could relate to cultural differences in family structures, child custody norms, and the social stigma associated with divorce in different regions. Additionally, men with less than a college education and those facing unemployment showed higher vulnerability.
The narratively synthesized studies pointed to underlying psychological themes connected to these breakups. Men who experienced intense shame, loneliness, and a loss of social networks after a split were heavily represented in the data. For some individuals, the breakup appeared to act as a sudden stressor that interacted with existing mental health conditions or substance use issues, leading to severe emotional dysregulation.
The source literature contained wide methodological variability, which prevented the researchers from including all 75 studies in the statistical meta-analyses. Many of the included studies also featured inconsistent reporting of demographic details. This limited the ability to run more specific statistical comparisons among different subgroups of men.
The bulk of the available research focused strictly on legal marital separation and divorce. There is comparatively little data tracking the mental health impacts of non-marital relationship breakups, such as the end of long-term cohabiting partnerships or dating relationships. The lack of data on non-marital splits means these findings primarily reflect the dissolution of formal marriages rather than all intimate relationships.
Future research will need to address these gaps by measuring relationship breakups more consistently across different types of partnerships. Investigators also recommend exploring the specific psychological mechanisms that cause a person to transition from suicidal thoughts to suicidal actions in the wake of a breakup.
The study, “Suicidality in Men Following Relationship Breakdown: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Global Data,” was authored by Michael J. Wilson, Amelia J. Scott, Vita Pilkington, Jacqui A. Macdonald, Simon M. Rice, John L. Oliffe, and Zac E. Seidler.