It may be that the effects we're having now were caused by that "man up" attitude that was going on back then.
Playing devil's advocate but wouldn't the effects have been causing problems in the past as well. The "man up" attitude has been going on for much longer than a single generation. Also do you know of any stats or papers looking at possible connections? Genuinely curious.
Not unless you can control for all the other ills in the world, somehow. Weak evidence is just that; weak. Why not look at other things that happened in 2016 and draw equally valid conclusions? Eg, President Obama's presidency ended in 2016 when the results of the election were announced; the difference between his successor certainly changed national and international attitudes, far more than "man up" is a evidence-based practice that lowers suicide rates, anyway.
For any problem, there is an explanation that is simple, easy, and wrong.
> I remember a while back that the general public's tone on suicide was a lot less sober. More of a "man up" sort of attitude.
Not trolling: wouldn't this provide (weak, but nevertheless some) evidence that a "man up" sort of attitude was more effective at combating suicide than our attitude towards it now?