Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0826-4356

Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Amy Fiske

Committee Member

Barry Edelstein

Committee Member

JoNell Strough

Committee Member

Marnin Heisel

Abstract

Suicide rates are exceedingly high in U.S. older men (aged 65 years and older). In 2020, older men were about 6.5 times more likely to die by suicide than older women and 1.14 times more likely than men aged 18 to 64 years. Masculine norms (e.g., emotional suppression, self-reliance, anger, physical toughness risk-taking behaviors, alcohol misuse) are believed to influence the presentation of mental disorders, such as depression, which has led to the conceptualization of masculine depression. Research on masculinity often focuses on the experiences of younger men, ignoring how gender identities may change as one progresses through adulthood. Meanwhile, theories on gender and aging such as Guttman’s crossover theory and Silver’s degendering theory lack empirical evidence. This has left a gap in the literature of investigating how theories on masculinity apply to older men, specifically focusing on how older men have constructed and altered their masculinity. Additionally, it is unclear how older men view suicide and how suicide may or may not fit into conceptualizations of masculinity. The present qualitative, semi-structured interview study asked twenty (N = 20) men over the age of 65 years (M = 75.95) about topics including the formation of their masculine identity; how, if at all, this identity has changed over the years; the personal meaning of their masculinity; their perceptions of suicidal ideation and behaviors; how, if at all, masculinity relates to suicide; and how to prevent suicide among older men. Acting as a community builder, being compassionate, being family-oriented, having integrity, having male interests, personhood, physical ability, power/control, relation to other men, relation to women, and self-actualization were themes that emerged in the context of what it means to be a man. Importantly, the men in this study did not consider suicide to be a manly act, and they believed that increased education, having hobbies, improved healthcare, having male camaraderie, and social connectedness would decrease the suicide rate among older men. Study results indicated that, while the men in this study described ways in which they shed some traditional masculine social norms as they aged, being a man remains salient in older adulthood. Researchers should consider the development of a new theory on gender and aging that incorporates the individuality of experiencing both the gender and aging processes, possibly through blending social constructionist theory of masculinity and Guttman’s crossover theory of gender and aging.

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