New study on suicidal risk challenges gender stereotypes on aggression

The COVID-19 pandemic's effects on mental health have led researchers to reevaluate widely held assumptions about gender differences in aggression, impulsivity and emotional resilience. A recent study challenges the stereotype that men are more aggressive and impulsive under stress. The study highlights the different ways men and women experience mental health challenges during crises. These insights can help shape more effective approaches to assessing suicidal risk.

The study, published in Health Science Reports, explores mental health factors like anxiety, depression, aggression, impulsivity and suicidal risk of French men and women during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show differences between men and women in feelings of loneliness and the impact of the number of people they were isolated with. However, both men and women showed connections between anxiety, depression and suicidal risk. But contrary to traditional beliefs, men did not demonstrate greater aggression or impulsivity than women. Instead, women showed a stronger link between hopelessness, aggression and suicidal risk.

For men, suicide risk was linked to anxiety, depression and hopelessness. Meanwhile, women showed a similar pattern, except for reduced connections with lack of perseverance and aggression. Social dimensions also influenced women differently, underscoring the role of interpersonal factors in female mental health.

“Aggression may trigger or mediate anxiety and depression in both genders, but has a nuanced role in women's mental health,” says Sylvia Martin, researcher at the Centre for Research Ethics & Bioethics at Uppsala University and author of the article.

This study challenges the assumption that men are universally more aggressive or impulsive during stressful times. For women, hopelessness and aggression were particularly predictive of anxiety, depression and suicidal risk, highlighting the need for gender-specific mental health interventions.

Do you want to know more? Read the article: Martin, S. (2025), Examining Gender Differences in Aggression as a Predictor of Anxiety, Depression, and Suicide in a Cross-Sectional French Sample. Health Science Reports, 8: e70359. DOI: 10.1002/hsr2.70359

By Fanny Klingvall