A new study says mental health services need to be improved to tackle the rising rate of suicide among young men.

According to the Young Men and Suicide Project Ireland now has one of the highest incidences of the problem in the European Union (EU).

The report, commissioned by the Men's Health Forum in Ireland, also points to rising levels of self-harm - and says alcohol abuse and unemployment are among the factors behind the spike in suicide rates.

This cross-border initiative was jointly funded by the National Office for Suicide Prevention here and the Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland.

The aim was to identify a range of possible means to promote positive mental health among young men on the island of Ireland, and to assess the efficacy of these approaches.

Unemployment attributing to spike

It says that the recent spike in suicide rates among young males in both Northern Ireland and the Republic "coincides with the economic downturn and increasing levels of unemployment".

It adds that although rates of attempted suicide and deliberate self harm have overall been traditionally higher among females, these rates are now higher among younger males.

The report says the two key factors that are known to be effective in reducing suicide rates are physician education in depression recognition and treatment, and restricting access to lethal means of suicide.

Organisations that took part in online surveys as part of this report said that their top priorities were:

• Awareness raising and signposting - recognising signs and symptoms, and knowing where and how to access support.
• Resources - funding and staff to carry out such work.
• Age and gender specific community based services.
• Mental health promotion and personal development for young men - with a focus on building resilience, reducing stigma, teaching positive life skills, and encouraging emotional communication.
• Training for frontline staff on all aspects of suicide prevention and the most up-to-date examples of effective practice.
• Challenging masculine ideology and improving young men’s help seeking behaviour.
• Early intervention, and the provision of appropriate services for those most at risk.

It concludes that there can be no quick-fix solutions to tackling "the extensive and complex causes and risk factors that underpin the very grave statistics on suicide in young men".

But it has made several recommendations, including to develop and promote positive models of mental health that are specifically targeted at boys and young men, and to plan services and programmes for and with young men, and work on developing trust and safety through the creation of non-threatening and male-friendly environments.

The full report on the project was launched in both Dublin and Belfast.