Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) released its report yesterday. In the report, the suicide prevention group revealed that 292 men and 123 women had committed suicide last year.
It added that in the past decade, there have been more men than women who committed suicide. 7 out of 10 people who committed suicide were men, and the number of men who committed suicide rose by nearly 30%, while the number of women fell by 20%.
SOS executive director Christine Wong says that this is because men tend to keep quiet about their problems and find it harder to seek help.
"(Men) feel the continuous pressure to solve issues faced on their own, and suppress feelings of distress," she said.
"Help-seeking is often associated with loss of status... loss of control and autonomy, and incompetence."
Ms Wong noted that most of the people who seek help at SOS are female.
The difference between the genders, she added, is clearest for those aged between 60 and 69. This is likely to be because the elderly tend to adhere more strongly to traditional gender roles.
Problems such as loneliness and mental health issues were common to both genders. However, many men faced financial or debt issues, while more women faced problems at home.
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