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Reasons for this trend are varied for individuals, but as a group, a panel of psychologists, economists and social scientists concluded that the pressure to meet the expectations of others is too much for some.
Other reasons include a breakdown in supportive family units and the collapse of traditional male-dominated industries creating a "masculine identity" crisis. Traditionally, males are also more unwilling to discuss personal problems, which could alleviate their self-imposed pressure.
Working class men who have lost not just a job, but an entire career, find themselves struggling to provide for the family. A reluctance to talk about emotions and a greater tendency to turn to drink and drugs were also cited as reasons for the suicide rates among this group, BBC Health News reports.
Rory O'Connor, professor from the University of Stirling, suggested the shift could be partially explained by an aging generation of at-risk people. "The data would suggest it is the same group of people. We think of young people 20 years ago and the societal expectations of what is a successful man or a successful contributor to society, the expectations were particularly high."
"And with the change in the male role being less well-defined now than it was 20 years ago, men have great difficulty responding to the challenge of how we define ourselves as men."
