Why Some Men Feel Trapped by Masculinity—And What It Means for Mental Health

A new study published in Heliyon explores how traditional gender norms and expectations for masculinity shape men’s mental health and increase their risk of suicidality. Researchers led by Lisa Eggenberger at the University of Zurich found that men who conform to rigid masculine ideals—particularly those emphasizing emotional control, self-reliance, and dominance—are significantly more vulnerable to depression and suicidal thoughts.

While research has long suggested that gender norms influence mental health, this study takes a deeper look at how specific masculine beliefs create barriers to help-seeking and drive men toward crisis. Given that men are 2.3 times more likely to die by suicide than women, understanding the role of masculinity in suicidality is critical.

“The interplay between the conformity to masculine norms dimensions—restrictive emotionality, self-reliance, and willingness to engage in risky behavior—paired with suicidal beliefs about the unbearability of emotional pain, may create a suicidogenic psychosocial system,” the researchers write.

Rather than attributing men’s higher suicide rates to individual pathology or biological vulnerability, the findings underscore how dominant masculine norms—shaped by historical, economic, and culturall forces—actively constrain emotional expression, discourage help-seeking, and create a psychosocial landscape where distress is internalized, somaticized, or externalized through risk-taking and aggression. The research points to the need for interventions that move beyond symptom management and instead challenge the cultural and institutional structures that sustain harmful masculinities and calls for a more socially and politically engaged understanding of psychological distress and suicide prevention.

The traditional male norms that men must contend with are deeply connected with the development of what has been termed, toxic masculinity. The term toxic masculinity was established to describe the harmful beliefs, values, and expectations of men in our modern capitalist society, and how the failure to meet these expectations leads to social ostracizing and diminishment. Some of these expectations include positioning men into the category of more socially dominant, breadwinners, and keeping emotions such as sadness, anxiety, and others concealed. Meanwhile, only being allowed to express anger. These make it difficult for men to seek help, as it´s associated with weakness and seen as feminine.

This study was a part of a larger project within the University of Zurich. The researchers recruited German-speaking people across Europe and asked them to fill out an online survey. They aimed to evaluate the underlying mechanisms by which suicidality might differ in men when considering traditional masculine norms.

After controlling for missing data and other factors, 488 participants were included in analysis. They evaluated endorsement of traditional masculinity, depressive symptoms, suicidal thoughts, beliefs and behaviors, and social desirability. As for their demographic variables, they explored history of suicidal attempts, psychiatric diagnosis, and psychotherapy use.

Further, they evaluated educational, socioeconomic levels, sexual orientation, and other demographic variables and did not find any differences between groups.

While many participants had never been diagnosed with depression or sought psychotherapy, the data revealed strong links between masculinity and mental health struggles. Specifically, men who adhered more strongly to traditional masculine norms were more likely to experience:

• Higher levels of depression and suicidality
• Greater emotional suppression and anger
• Beliefs that their emotional pain was unbearable and unsolvable

The researchers identified three distinct groups based on how much participants conformed to traditional masculine norms:

1. Egalitarians (60% of participants): These men expressed low conformity to traditional masculinity. They were the least likely to experience severe depressive symptoms or suicidal thoughts.
2. Players (15% of participants): This group adhered to patriarchal beliefs emphasizing dominance, promiscuity, and heteronormativity. They exhibited higher levels of externalizing behaviors, including aggression and risk-taking.
3. Stoics (25% of participants): These men strongly identified with ideals of emotional control, self-reliance, and risk-taking. They were the most likely to suppress emotions, somaticize symptoms, and report beliefs that their pain was unbearable and inescapable.

Both the Players and Stoics showed significantly higher levels of depression, emotional suppression, and suicidality compared to the Egalitarians. Notably, despite their distress, these men were:

“Less likely to be formally diagnosed with depression, less likely to seek psychotherapeutic treatment, and, thus, less likely to receive professional help when experiencing depression symptoms.”

This suggests that traditional masculinity not only exacerbates mental health struggles but actively prevents men from seeking the help they need.

The study found that stoic men were especially vulnerable to internalizing distress. They were more likely to experience somatization, a process in which psychological distress manifests as physical symptoms. This pattern has been linked to lower rates of help-seeking and increased suicide risk.

Both Players and Stoics were also more likely to believe that their emotional pain was permanent and insurmountable—two cognitive patterns that have been strongly associated with suicidality.

“These findings can potentially help to understand how a specific subgroup of men, entrenched in restrictive socialized gender norms, might find themselves in a situation where they perceive suicide as the only viable way out of their emotional pain,” the authors explain.

Researchers have previously highlighted the need to reform masculinity in favor of healthy masculinities. To do this, we must first understand that masculinity does not form in a vacuum but that it exists and forms within specific societal structures. Research has shown that adherence to traditional male ideals is associated with low health literacy and higher distress.

There is still much to learn about suicidality and how to prevent it, but we know that completing suicide follows a series of feelings, thoughts, and intent. Thus, studying the pathways that lead to suicide completion for men is a vital form of suicide prevention. The current findings double down on how modern capitalist society´s values, beliefs, and expectations of men are harmful for them, signaling an imperative and urgent need to change these practices and ideals.

Although it is well known that conformity to traditional gender norms has a profound impact on women, research such as this one is crucial to also understand the effect it has on men. In addition, toxic masculinity has been posed as a symptom of colonialism. Colonialism served as a mechanism to repress Latine, LGBTQ+ and indigenous cultures where gender fluidity was the norm and the existence of diverse gender identities, and gender norms and roles was considered normal. Additionally, there is evidence that gender stereotypes and norms are learned from a young age, highlighting the need to address families, educational institutions, and other societal structures.

The researchers conclude:

“Based on our findings, we recommend tailored intervention programs for men in this high-risk subgroup to encourage open emotional expression, promote and normalize help-seeking behaviors, and provide strategies to mitigate risky behaviors to reduce their risk of suicidal behaviors.”

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Eggenberger, L., Spangenberg, L., Genuchi, M. C., & Walther, A. (2024). Men’s Suicidal thoughts and behaviors and conformity to masculine norms: A person-centered, latent profile approach. Heliyon, 10(20). (Link)