Pittaro, M. (2020). Understanding the Men Who Die by Suicide. Psychology Today.

Introduction

A few weeks ago, a local police officer in my community died by suicide. Sadly, this occurs far more often than most imagine, particularly among police officers and other first responders.

According to the American Society for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. There were 47,511 suicides in 2019, which, on average, equates to 130 suicides per day.

Men are four times more likely than women to die by suicide, and middle-aged white men, like me, are considered “high risk.” White males accounted for 69.38 percent of all suicides in 2019. To break it down further, in 2019, the suicide rates were slightly higher among adults ages 45 to 54 years than those 55 to 64 years, yet the suicide rate was highest among adults ages 85 years or older, which may come as a surprise to some.