Coping and Suicide amongst the Lads

"This analysis of the causes of suicide among young working class Irish males is timely and the author's conclusion - that the origins are mainly socio-cultural - is accurate. High levels of unemployment prevent these men from establishing autonomous lives in the traditional sense and the internalization of outmoded forms of masculinity constrain them from seeking help. In this time and emotional vacuum alcohol becomes the main support in cushioning reality and achieving a collective identity." - Anne Cleary, Deputy Head of School, School of Sociology,University College Dublin, Ireland "Felicia Garcia is an extraordinary scientist of the modern time who demonstrates her research findings in a way that policy makers and practitioners can easily grasp. The interview techniques that Garcia applied in her research provide useful insights into the conditions that provoke suicide among the lads in Ireland. This is a 'must read' book for everyone!" - Sarah Wamala, Former Director General of the Swedish National Institute of Public Health and Professor of Health Policy and Leadership at the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. Co-editor of The Handbook of Global Health Policy (2014)

For every female suicide in Ireland, there are five male suicides.For every female suicide in Ireland, there are five male suicides. This book is based on fieldwork done in and around Cork, Ireland between 2008 and 2012 among some forty young lads, aged 18-34. This anthropological approach aims to help explain why some groups in a specific society or community are more prone to commit suicide than others. In addition to suicide, this book focuses extensively on related issues such as alcohol, drug abuse, and other self-destructive behaviors prominent within Irish lad culture. This includes peer pressures and loyalties, chauvinistic jargon, homophobic bullying, humor, and the culture of mocking so as to grasp the cultural expectations of this particular form of masculinity. The everyday workings of gender segregation and gender-appropriateness is examined in detail by informants while addressing the underlying question whether increased gender equality—which includes men—could lessen young men's vulnerability to self-destructive behaviors and suicide in Ireland.