The UKMSA commissioned Ipsos to design and conduct research among men aged 50 to 75 and the wider population. In order to do this, Ipsos used its online omnibus service to reach over 4,000 UK adults aged 18-75. It also conducted surveys with an additional boost sample of around 300 men aged 50-75 to ensure a robust number of men aged 50-75 within the overall sample (n=1205).
Men aged 50-75 appear less likely to choose words with negative connotations when selecting words that apply to their personal lives. They are more likely than some other groups to report having more free time to themselves, yet are no more likely to say they have too much free time than other groups.
However, they are less likely to select “loved” when asked what applies to their personal lives, and, like other groups, many report shrinking social circles and less time spent with these social circles. They are also more likely than younger respondents to have experienced many of the negative life-events that naturally come with getting older, but in some cases (e.g., experiencing the death of a close friend) are more likely than women to have done so.
Yet they think about their mental health less often than some other groups, and they are less likely to turn to many possible sources of support for help with mental wellbeing (other than perhaps more “traditional” healthcare-based ones such as their GP or NHS resources) than other groups. For example – they are less likely to say they would reach out to friends or family. This could mean that they are more self-reliant, but another possible hypothesis here is that they are less prepared for things going wrong when it comes to their mental health. This is something to be mindful of, given that they are more frequent drinkers than some other groups and are slightly more likely to drink by themselves than women drinkers of the same age too.
They are less likely to see community organisations as being for people like them (compared to some other groups), suggesting that there may be a need for better education around the potential benefits of such groups for all, including men in this age cohort.