Effectiveness of man therapy to reduce suicidal ideation and depression among working‐age men: A randomized controlled trial

• Published in: Suicide & life-threatening behavior Vol. 53; no. 1; pp. 137 - 153
• Main Authors: Frey, Jodi J., Osteen, Philip J., Sharpe, Tanya L., Mosby, Amanda O., Joiner, Thomas, Ahmedani, Brian, Iwamoto, Derek, Nam, Boyoung, Spencer‐Thomas, Sally, Ko, Jungyai, Ware, Orrin D., Imboden, Rachel, Cornette, Michelle M., Gilgoff, Jon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-02-2023; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Aged; Clinical trials; depression; Depression (Psychology); Humans; Male; Males; man therapy; masculinity; Men; Mental depression; Mental Health; Original; Randomized Controlled Trials; Risk Factors; Social Support; Suicidal Ideation; Suicide; Suicide, Attempted - psychology; Suicides & suicide attempts; man therapy; depression; masculinity; mental health; men; suicide
• ISSN: 0363-0234; 1943-278X; 1943-278X
• DOI: 10.1111/sltb.12932

Objective
This randomized controlled trial of the online intervention, man therapy (MT), evaluated efficacy to reduce suicidal ideation (SI) and depression among working‐aged men.
Method
Five‐hundred and fifty‐four men enrolled and 421 completed all surveys. Control Condition men explored the Healthy Men Michigan (HMM) website and Intervention Condition men explored HMM and MT. Hypotheses included men who used MT would report decreased SI and depression over time compared to Control Condition men.
Results
Latent growth curve modeling revealed improvements in SI (slope = −0.23, p < 0.001, 95% CI: −0.29, −0.16) and depression (slope = −0.21, p < 0.001, 95% CI: −0.23, −0.18) over time for men in both groups; however, there was no difference in slope based on group assignment. Depression, lifetime suicide attempts, and interpersonal needs were associated with SI. Interpersonal needs and poor mental health were associated with depression. No group differences in change in risk and protective factors over time were observed. MT sub‐group analyses revealed significant improvements in risk and protective factors.
Conclusion
While a direct effect of MT versus HMM on SI or depression was not observed, men in both groups improved. Results suggest online screening might play a role in reducing SI and depression among men and there are potential benefits to MT related to mental health, social support, and treatment motivation.