• Middle-aged men are defined as men aged 35-64
• 6 million are affected by depression each year (Mental Health America, 2019)
• 1 in 5 develop an alcohol dependency in their life (Mental Health America, 2019)
• 9-15% with mental health concerns make mental health visits (Spencer, Thomas, Hindman, & Conrad, 2012)
• Prolonged depression in men leads to different presentation than in women (National Institute of Mental Health, 2018)
• Signs of depression in men are acts of aggression, isolation, and self-medication through drug and alcohol use (Suicide Prevention Research Center, 2014)
  

Suicide

• 2nd leading cause of death of men aged 25-54 (Spencer-Thomas et al., 2012)
  
• 78% of all deaths by suicide occur in 25-54 year old males (Spencer-Thomas et al., 2012)
  
• Men are 4 times more likely to die from suicide compared to women (Spencer-Thomas et al., 2012)
  
• Middle-aged men comprised 40% of completed suicides in the United States in 2014 (Suicide Prevention Resource Center, 2014)
• White men had the highest rate of suicide at 35.91 per every 10,000 (Suicide Prevention Resource Center, 2014)
• 43.1% of men 40-64 years of age who died by suicide had experienced depressed mood (Suicide Prevention Resource Center, 2014)

Stigma

• Self-Stigma
  • Negative feelings about self
  • Decreased self-esteem
  • Increased depression (Latalova, Kamaradova, & Prasko, 2014)
    
• Less likely to report feeling depressed to health professionals due to social stigma (Brownhill, Wilhelm, Barclay, & Parker, 2002)
• Men have higher self-stigma scores than women
  • Male average score: 12.7
  • Female average score: 10.0
  • Wanting to obtain higher positions at work accounts for higher self-stigma in men (Latalova et al., 2014)
• Masculine expectations in rural men are 2 times as strong compared to other men (Latalova et al., 2014)