Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Within the last 30 years, the rate of suicide amongst young Inuit men and boys has increased exponentially. It is currently 500 per 100,000, 40 times greater than the rate for age matched men in the rest of Canada (12.6 per 100,000). Indeed, Inuit boys between 15-19 are at a higher risk of suicide than any other sub-population in the world. Like many health issues, men's mental illness and suicide are deeply gendered. However, to date, no research has systematically explored the connections between masculinities and Inuit male youth suicide, nor has gender been thoughtfully considered in suicide prevention programs. Using a Participatory Action Research Design (PAR) and innovative qualitative methods, this project seeks to understand the connections between masculinities and Inuit male youth experiences of mental illness and suicidality. Understanding these diverse connections is critical for developing targeted and effective mental health and suicide prevention programs. This study will help to inform communities, clinicians, and policy-makers in how to design gender-sensitive programs and messaging to attract and retain Inuit male youth to their interventions. It will also make an important theoretical contribution. As a focus of health scholarship, masculinity has largely been theorised and studied with white anglo-saxon populations. This project will provide much-needed knowledge about the applicability of masculinity theory in non-Western populations.