The “men in grief” phenomenon among suicide bereaved Chinese men in Hong Kong

Abstract

This qualitative study addressed the intersectionality between masculine grief and gender role expectations during the grief process among men. The sample comprised 10 Chinese men in Hong Kong who had lost their wife or child to suicide. The study found that the “men in grief” phenomenon comprised three themes: making sense of hidden grief, processing grief-related guilt, and removing the stigma of masculine grieving. Future research on the masculine grieving process can focus on the association between perceived weaknesses and expected help-seeking behaviors in men who experience multiple losses after a suicide death in the family.