Intimate partner relationship breakdown and suicidal ideation in a large representative cohort of Australian men

This study examined moderators of the association between intimate relationship breakdown and suicidal ideation using data from a large representative cohort of Australian men. Across four waves (2013-2022), participants (n = 14,610) responded to measures of past 12-month relationship breakdown, past 2-week suicidal ideation, theorised but to-date untested moderators (age, social support, alcohol use, and masculine norms of self-reliance and emotional control), and demographic covariates. Binomial logistic regression models using generalised estimating equations modelled the association between relationship breakdown and suicidal ideation at both proximal (i.e., within-wave), and future (i.e., at the next wave) timepoints, with iterative adjustments for wave, demographics, other covariates, and prior-wave suicidal ideation. Interaction terms in sequential models examined moderation. In multi-wave cross-sectional analyses, after full adjustment, relationship breakdown was associated with 82 % greater odds of suicidal ideation (OR = 1.82, 95 % CI 1.56-2.12). Moderation analyses indicated that this association was specific to men without prior-wave suicidal ideation (OR = 2.18, 95 % CI 1.85-2.56), in comparison to men who had reported prior-wave suicidal ideation (OR = 1.19, 95 % CI 0.94-1.51). The association between relationship breakdown and proximal ideation did not differ by men's age, levels of social support, harmful alcohol use, or endorsement of self-reliance or emotional control. Finally, longitudinal models highlighted relationship breakdown was not associated with men's suicidal ideation at a subsequent wave, after adjustment for covariates and proximal suicidal ideation. Our findings suggest that suicidal ideation should be monitored in men known to have experienced relationship breakdown in the past year, especially those without a recent history of suicidal ideation.